Holocaust scholar to speak for international remembrance day

HAZLETON, Pa. - To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27), Penn State Hazleton will hold a luncheon and presentation on Thursday, Jan. 29, with guest speaker Carol Rittner.

Free and open to the public, the luncheon will begin at 12:15 p.m. in the Center for Multicultural Engagement, 103 Charles T. Butler Teaching and Learning Resource Center. Following the lunch, Rittner will speak to students in history and sociology classes and guests at 1:30 p.m. in 109 Evelyn Graham Academic Building.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD) has been held each year on Jan. 27 since Nov. 1, 2005, when the U.N. General Assembly adopted resolution 60/7. The date marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and is meant to honor the victims of Nazism. The same resolution supports the development of educational programs to remember the Holocaust and to prevent further genocide.

A Holocaust and genocide scholar, educator, author, and member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy, Rittner's presentation is titled "This Time: Teaching the Holocaust Today," which is also the title of her new edited book.

She is a distinguished professor emerita of Holocaust and genocide studies and the Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman Professor of Holocaust Studies emerita at Stockton University, where she taught for more than 20 years.

Rittner holds degrees from Misericordia University, University of Maryland, Penn State and St. John's Seminary. She previously served as the founding director of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and has held academic and leadership roles at several institutions.

A prolific author and editor, Rittner has written extensively on the Holocaust, genocide, interfaith relations and moral responsibility. She also produced a documentary, "The Courage to Care," which was nominated for an Academy Award. Her work has earned international recognition, including multiple honorary doctorates and awards for contributions to Holocaust education and human rights. More information is available on her website.

Sponsors for the event include Penn State Hazleton's Offices of Academic Affairs and Student Services and Engagement, along with Penn State Hillel and Penn State Hazleton's Campus Honors program.

Register for the luncheon at this link, or call 570-450-3052.