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The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies


Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust
Jews and Christians: The Unfolding Interfaith Relationship
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    COMMITTEE ON CHURCH RELATIONS AND THE HOLOCAUST — The United States Holocaust Memorial Council's legislation mandates Holocaust educational programming throughout the country in both religious and secular contexts. Because the religious community has a special interest in the Holocaust, a Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust was established to engage the various Christian organizations in the United States to fulfill that mandate.

Comprised of clergy and lay people from major church bodies and academic institutions, the Committee serves as a resource for individuals and groups grappling with the ethical and philosophical issues raised by the Holocaust and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. The Committee provides information, feedback, and guidance to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council based on its experience working with the concerns of religious groups. The Committee takes special interest in how Christianity, Christian institutions, and the non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust are presented in the exhibitions and educational programs of the Museum.
 

     
What we do
The Committee assists churches and related organizations in developing educational and commemorative materials addressing the historical aspects and profound moral implications of the Holocaust. It seeks to assist schools, colleges, universities, and community organizations that sponsor special courses or programs on the implications of the Holocaust, and investigates the relationship of the Holocaust to the past history and future potential of Jewish/Christian relations.

The Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust is an integral part of the Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. The Center is a related scholarly organization of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).

In Memoriam: Cardinal Lustiger
In Memoriam: Cardinal Lustiger
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum mourns the passing of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop Emeritus of Paris. He strove constantly to build bridges of interfaith and interethnic understanding and was an outspoken opponent of racism and antisemitism.
In Memoriam: Sister Rose Thering
In Memoriam: Sister Rose Thering
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum mourns the passing of Sister Rose Thering, a passionate voice against antisemitism and a pioneer in Catholic-Jewish relations. In 1961 Sister Rose submitted her dissertation at St. Louis University on the negative portrayal of Jews and Judaism that was widespread in Catholic teaching materials.
In Memoriam: Pope John Paul II
In Memoriam: Pope John Paul II
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum mourns the passing of Pope John Paul II, whose experiences as a young man under Nazi occupation were to shape much of his papacy. He will be remembered for many historic achievements, among them his singular commitment to strengthening Catholic-Jewish understanding.
The Interfaith Story behind <i>Nostra Aetate</i>
The Interfaith Story behind Nostra Aetate
2005 is the 40th anniversary of one of the most significant breakthroughs in Jewish-Christian relations, the ratification in 1965 by the Second Vatican Council of Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.
Persecution of Jews over the Centuries
Persecution of Jews over the Centuries
To provide background information on the subject of Christian Persecution of the Jews, the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust asked Fr. Gerard Sloyan to address this sensitive subject. Fr. John Pawlikowski, Chairman of the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust, provides an introduction to the excerpted piece.
Antisemitism: Special Two-Part Presentation
Antisemitism: Special Two-Part Presentation
In December 2003, the Center organized two programs with recognized experts who explored antisemitism in the context of Holocaust history and its troubling resurgence today.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the few church leaders who stood in courageous opposition to the Fuehrer and his policies. To honor his memory, the Church Relations department of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum asked Victoria Barnett to write an essay about Bonhoeffer spanning the years from the rise of Nazism until his death in the Flossenbürg concentration camp in 1945...
   

















 







CONTACT THE STAFF

Additional information about the activities of the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust is available from:

Victoria Barnett,
Staff Director of Church Relations
Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Tel.: (202) 488-0469
Fax: (202) 479-9726
E-mail: vbarnett@ushmm.org
   

     
Who we are
Hon. John T. Pawlikowski
Committee Chair, Catholic Theological Union

Dr. David R. Blumenthal
Emory University

Dr. Mary Boys
Union Theological Seminary, New York

Dr. Donald Dietrich
Boston College

Dr. Robert P. Ericksen
Pacific Lutheran University

Dr. Eugene Fisher
National Conference of Catholic Bishops

Dr. Eva Fleischner
Montclair University, ret.

Dr. Stephen Haynes
Rhodes College

Dr. Henry F. Knight
Council for Holocaust Education, Tulsa

Dr. Hubert G. Locke
University of Washington, ret.

Dr. Rochelle Millen
Wittenberg University

Mrs. Margaret M. Obrecht
Baltimore, Maryland

Dr. John K. Roth
Claremont McKenna College

Dr. Franklin Sherman
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Dr. Kevin Spicer
Stonehill College