Summary of the 2000 Baeumler-Kaplan Memorial Event
This year's Baeumler-Kaplan Holocaust Memorial Event focuses on the theme of the Displaced Persons of the Holocaust, in particular, the response of the United States to the plight of these individuals. This year's event will be presented in two parts. On Sunday, April 16, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the UMD Kirby Ballroom the Moriah Films' documentary The Long Way Home will be shown. Dr. Leonard Dinnerstein, an internationally recognized historian and expert on the post-war Diaspora, will facilitate a discussion on the film. On Monday, April 17, 2000 at 7:00pm in the UMD Marshall Performing Arts Center Dr. Dinnerstein will present a talk based on his extensive research on the topic of the way the United States responded to World War II's Displaced Persons in both policy and practice.
The guest speaker, Dr. Leonard Dinnerstein holds a B.S.S. degree from the City College of
New York and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. Dr. Dinnerstein, in addition to
being a prolific scholar and internationally recognized expert on the subjects of
Antisemitism, Immigration Policies and Assimilation, and Displaced Persons, is a seasoned
college lecturer. He is currently a Professor of History and Director of Judaic Studies at
the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Dinnerstein was named the University of
Arizona's Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Professor in 1990. Dr. Dinnerstein is
also the author of 6 books
and the editor of 6 additional texts, he has written 20 book chapters, 25 scholarly journal
articles, numerous book reviews and he has given 100 papers/talks/conference presentations.
His book, Antisemitism in America, was chosen as one of the top five books of the
year in History by the Los Angeles Times in 1994. This same book won the National
Jewish Book Award in Jewish History and the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights
in America. Dr. Dinnerstein has served as a consultant to the United States Holocaust
Museum in 1994,
and chaired the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, and the Program
Committee of the Immigration History Society. Dr. Dinnerstein will help attendees address
issues of tolerance, truth, and how to counteract rivisionist history.
The story of the Holocaust usually ends with D-day and the liberation of the camps. Few people have stopped to consider, or in some cases, recall, the misery associated with Displaced Person status. There are numerous personal accounts of being shuttled about from country to country, refugee camp to refugee camp, but these accounts have not received wide play. The combination of the film and Dr. Dinnerstein's lecture offers a much more thorough presentation of this neglected chapter of history. Students, in particular, will learn about the aftermath of war in human terms.
Some sites related to this year's event:
University of Minnesota Campuses