Ocean County College Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education fosters student and community understanding of the causes and legacy of the Holocaust and other genocides such as the Armenian genocide, to create an acute awareness of contemporary human rights abuses locally, nationally, and globally through lectures, exhibits, and events. Please visit our website often to see what programs are forthcoming.
If you have any questions or suggestions for future programs and presenters, please contact:
Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Professor/Director of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education
Location: W. Kable Russell Building (#7), Room 227
Phone: 732.255.0400, Ext. 2368
Email: abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu
Our Mission Statement
The core mission of the Ocean County College Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education at Ocean County College is to serve the college and community by offering innovative educational programs and events which foster awareness of the Holocaust, genocides, and other crimes against humanity, and which advance ongoing dialogue about the pernicious consequences of bigotry, ethnic hatred, indifference, and intolerance. To this end, the Center will:
- Regularly invite distinguished speakers to discuss topics regarding the Holocaust, genocides, and human rights.
- Encourage student involvement in the work of the Center and in the pursuit of further study on issues pertinent to genocides and human rights, including an understanding of the various systemic stages of genocide and recognition of the signs and symptoms of prejudice and intolerance.
- Introduce to the community, timely and frequent discussion of local, national, and global issues relevant to the mission of the Center.
- Cultivate a campus climate that encourages reflection upon moral and ethical questions, so that students can become engaged and informed citizens committed to mutual respect and justice.
- Maintain a program of outreach to local schools to engage students in the Center’s programs and to be a resource center for further study in holocaust and genocide studies, as well as cultural diversity.
- Sponsor Yom haShoah, a week of Holocaust Remembrance events, including: personal testimonies and experiences of survivors; scholarly historical presentations; workshops; memorial prayer services; film, art, and music programs relative to the Holocaust.
Upcoming Events
Monday, 4/17
9:30-10:45: Not Like Sheep to Slaughter: Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust ( Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
5:00-6:15: Not Like Sheep to Slaughter: Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust ( Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
Despite starvation, dehumanization, and the “Final Solution,” many Jews in the ghettos and camps throughout Europe participated in resistance efforts; be it spiritual and cultural, armed fighting, rescue activities, producing false documents, or joining Partisan groups engaged in guerilla warfare and sabotage against the Germans.
All Programs Held in Tech Lecture Hall
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Tuesday, 4/18: Official Holocaust Remembrance Day.
9:30-10:45: I Was a Hidden Child: The Maud Dahme Story
Our guest speaker is NJ resident Maud Peper Dahme. As a six-year-old child living in the Netherlands, she and her four-year-old sister were hidden from the Nazis. Ms. Dahme will discuss her experiences as well as her book and film, “The Hidden Child.” Prayer service to follow.
All Programs Held in Tech Lecture Hall
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Tuesday, 4/18 – Official Holocaust Remembrance Day
11:00-12:15: Their Fate Shall Be Our Fate: The Righteous Among Nations (Dr. Justin Pfeifer)
Whether smuggling and hiding Jews, providing false documents, taking in Jewish children, there were non-Jews from all denominations and walks of life who stand in stark contrast to the indifference that prevailed at the time and who risked their lives to save Jews.
All Programs Held in Tech Lecture Hall
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Wednesday, 4/19
2:00-3:15: Creativity as Witness and Resistance: Art and Poetry by the Children at Terezin Camp (Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
Theresienstadt, or Terezin, established as a ghetto and transit camp in 1941, was built by the Nazis as a “model” Jewish settlement camp for propaganda purposes. Despite congestion, hunger, and forced labor, educational and cultural activities abounded. This presentation will discuss the art and poetry by the children interned there. (Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
Program will be held in Library 101A
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Wednesday, 4/19
11:00-12:15: And Our Deeds Shall Live Forever: Uprisings in Ghettos and Camps (Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
Forcibly evacuated from their homes all across Europe to isolated crowded ghettos and eventually to extermination camps, Jews maintained their religious and cultural practices, educated their children, smuggled in food and weapons, participated in uprisings, and maintained and hid documentary records of the atrocities they endured.
Program will be held in Library 101A
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Thursday, 4/20
9:00-10:15: Forests of Valor: Jewish Partisan Fighters (Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
20,000-30,000 young underground freedom fighters who escaped the ghettos and work camps fled to the hidden forests of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. They blew up thousands of Nazi supply trains, destroyed power plants and other military and strategic targets, and carried out complicated smuggling and rescue missions.
All Programs Held in Tech Lecture Hall
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
Thursday, 4/20
12:00- 1:15: Sisters in Resistance: Women Partisans During the Holocaust (Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig)
Although often known for their support roles in Partisan groups –performing camp duties and providing medical care—young women also fought alongside men. Others braved danger and death as couriers; sometimes disguised as non-Jews, they transported documents, papers, money, and ultimately ammunition and weapons across borders and into ghettos. This lecture will highlight some of those courageous women.
All Programs Held in Tech Lecture Hall
All events are free and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig, Director of the OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education. 732-255-0400 X2368, abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu. W. Cable Russell Bldg. Room 109.
All events are free and open to the public.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Ali Botein-Furrevig 732-255-0400 ext. 2368 or abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu.
2023 OCC Holocaust Days of Remembrance: Monday, April 17 – Sunday, April 23
Each Spring, and according to the Hebrew calendar, The OCC Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education sponsors Holocaust Remembrance Week. This year’s program, Not Like Sheep to Slaughter: Resistance and Survival, will run from April 17th -23, 2023. The program will include lectures and films on resistance and partisan movements throughout Eastern and Western Europe. There will also be a memorial service. Guest speaker to be announced. Stay tuned to our website for more information.
“The most deadly poison of our time is indifference” – Maximillian Kolbe
Maximillian Kolbe, venerated as Saint Maximillian Kolbe, a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a Jewish man in the German death camp of Auschwitz.
Be sure to visit:
Our flag exhibit on campus mall commemorating all 11 million victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s traveling Holocaust exhibit, “The Courage to Remember” in our Center (2nd Floor Tower Room) and throughout the library. This exhibit has been displayed in the Vatican, on Capitol Hill, at the UN, and other parts of the US and the world.
We look forward to seeing you in April. Remembering the victims and honoring survivors is a noble and necessary act. As Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), Auschwitz survivor, author, humanist, and Nobel Laureate so eloquently states:
“If we forget, the dead , they will be killed a second time…and then they are today’s victims.”
All events are free and open to the public. Questions? Contact Dr. Botein-Furrevig: (732)255-0400 X2368; abotein-furrevig@ocean.edu
Our Mission Statement
The core mission of the Ocean County College Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education at Ocean County College is to serve the college and community by offering innovative educational programs and events which foster awareness of the Holocaust, genocides, and other crimes against humanity, and which advance ongoing dialogue about the pernicious consequences of bigotry, ethnic hatred, indifference, and intolerance. To this end, the Center will:
- Regularly invite distinguished speakers to discuss topics regarding the Holocaust, genocides, and human rights.
- Encourage student involvement in the work of the Center and in the pursuit of further study on issues pertinent to genocides and human rights, including an understanding of the various systemic stages of genocide and recognition of the signs and symptoms of prejudice and intolerance.
- Introduce to the community, timely and frequent discussion of local, national, and global issues relevant to the mission of the Center.
- Cultivate a campus climate that encourages reflection upon moral and ethical questions, so that students can become engaged and informed citizens committed to mutual respect and justice.
- Maintain a program of outreach to local schools to engage students in the Center’s programs and to be a resource center for further study in holocaust and genocide studies, as well as cultural diversity.
- Sponsor Yom HaShoah, a week of Holocaust Remembrance events, including: personal testimonies and experiences of survivors; scholarly historical presentations; workshops; memorial prayer services; film, art, and music programs relative to the Holocaust.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please contact:
Ali Botein Furrevig, Ph.D.
Professor/Director of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education
NOTABLE QUOTES
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Born in Transylvania. Holocaust survivor, Nobel Prize winning writer, teacher, activist speaking out against persecution and injustice around the globe.
“The highest result of education is tolerance.”
Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author and educator who was blind and deaf.
MORE ABOUT DR. ALI BOTEIN FURREVIG
Dr. Botein-Furrevig holds a BA, MA, and Ph.D. in English literature and is a recipient of a 2009 fellowship at the renowned YIVO Institute in NYC. She holds certificates in Jewish and Holocaust studies from American and Israeli universities. A retired tenured English professor at OCC, she developed courses in Hebrew, Jewish literature, and Holocaust literature. As Center Director, she teaches courses for the college community on Holocaust and Genocide studies, and Jewish culture and history. She also develops and delivers outreach programs for local schools on Judaism and antisemitism. Dr. Botein-Furrevig is the author of four books, two of which received distinguished awards: Heart of the Stranger: A Portrait of Lakewood’s Orthodox Community and Last Waltz on the Danube: The Ethnic German Genocide in History and Memory; The Stories We Carry: Texts and Contexts of Jewish History and Literature from the Biblical Era through the Diaspora; Beyond the Pale: Shtetl Roots, Emigrant Routes, and a New York City Love Story. Dr. Botein-Furrevig is a popular speaker throughout New York and New Jersey.