2012 Summer Research Workshop, Exploring the plight and path of Jewish refugees, survivors, and displaced persons (NY/DC)‏

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Center For Advanced Holocaust Studies and Skirball Department of the Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University

2012 Summer Research Workshop
July 23-August 3, 2012

Exploring the plight and path of
Jewish refugees, survivors, and displaced persons

The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (CAHS) of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University (NYU), invite applications from advanced doctoral candidates and recent PhDs for a workshop on Exploring the Plight and Path of Jewish Refugees, Survivors, and Displaced Persons, to be held on successive weeks in New York City and Washington, D.C.� The workshop will be led by David Engel (NYU), Michael Brenner (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit�t M�nchen), and Alexandra Garbarini (Williams College).

The workshop aims to advance participants' proposed research projects through both sustained engagement with archival resources in New York and Washington, D.C., and intensive workshop discussion among participants, workshop leaders, and other invited respondents.� Daily sessions will be comprised of both archival research and presentation and discussion of the participants' work.� The workshop will be conducted in English.

The workshop welcomes proposals that explore the above topic, broadly defined.� Projects might address the question of European Jewish refugees, survivors, and displaced persons before, during, and after the Holocaust from a variety of geographic areas and experiences.�� Applications are welcome from all disciplines and research areas related to the above topic, including but not limited to: history; Judaic studies; sociology; law; the arts; literature; religion and philosophy; sociology; genocide studies; etc.

The workshop will be led by three master scholars and teachers.� David Engel is Professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies, Professor of history, and Chair of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University. He holds the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Chair of Holocaust Studies at NYU, established in 1999 in partnership with USHMM, through the generosity of Maurice R. and Corrine P. Greenberg and the Starr Foundation.� Among his many publications is: Between Liberation and Flight: Holocaust Survivors in Poland and the Struggle for Leadership, 1944-1946 (Hebrew).� Michael Brenner is the Chair of Jewish History and Culture at the University of Munich.� His many publications include: After the Holocaust: Rebuilding Jewish Lives in Postwar Germany.� During the 2007-2008 academic year, Brenner served as the Ina Levine Invitational Scholar at the USHMM.� Alexandra Garbarini is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Jewish Studies Program at Williams College (Williamstown, MA).� Professor Garbarini is editor of the recently published volume, Jewish Responses to Persecution, 1938-1940, the second in a USHMM-produced, five-volume series that explores the wartime responses of Jews to the unfolding persecution and genocide.� Garbarini is also the author of Numbered Days: Diaries and the Holocaust, which she partially wrote during her time as a 1999-2000 fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.

Relevant archival collections in New York City include: the Center for Jewish History (American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research); the Jewish Labor Committee Collection (Robert F. Wagner Archives, New York University Library); Yeshiva University Archives; the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee archives; the archives of the American Jewish Committee; the archives of UNRRA; among other resources. Relevant archival collections at USHMM include: oral histories, music, film, and photo archives, and the more than 60 million pages of archival documentation.� USHMM archival resources pertinent to the topic include: the archives of Jewish communities throughout Europe; records of Jewish immigration and settlement (for example: Latin America, Shanghai, North Africa, South Africa, Canada, the United States, and countries throughout Europe); records of Jewish organizations with offices throughout the world; and many other collections and resources relating to the transnational movement and attempted survival of Jews during this period.� The Museum also provides access to the newly released International Tracing Service Archive, which includes over 50 million pages of documentation on the fate of Jewish and non-Jewish survivors and victims, including extensive information on displaced persons.� Applicants should consult the Archival Guide to the Collections on the Center's home page at www.ushmm.org/research/center for additional resources pertinent to their specific project.

A maximum of fourteen scholars will be selected.� Applications must be submitted in English and include: (1) a current CV; (2) a statement (maximum 750 words) addressing the candidate's specific interest, background in the program's area of study (including previous coursework, projects, language study, etc.) as well as how workshop will benefit the candidate's research, teaching, or future publications; (3) an abstract (maximum 750 words) outlining the specific project that the applicant is working on, plans to research, and is prepared to present (4) a supporting letter from an academic advisor, department chair, or dean that addresses the candidate's qualifications and research as well as his/her potential as a scholar in the field. Participants are required to attend the full duration of the workshop.

The Center will provide participants with: (1) the direct transportation required to attend both segments of the workshop; (2) lodging for the duration of the workshop; and (3) $500 toward the cost of incidental expenses, which will be distributed within 2-4 weeks of the workshop's conclusion.

Applications must be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than December 12, 2011.� Applications should be sent to University Programs, Center of Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024 (Fax: 202-479-9726; Email: lwolfson@ushmm.org