New Home for the Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Lecture

As of June 2006, the Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Lecture is now under the auspices of the Holocaust Awareness Institute of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver. HAI, which promotes Holocaust awareness and education in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, is the ideal organization to house the lecture and to continue and further its place as a significant event in the Denver community.

The lecture was created in 2003 in memory of Fred Marcus, a beloved Jewish educator and a survivor of the Shanghai ghetto. For many years, Fred served as a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Holocaust Awareness Institute, teaching students and members of churches and synagogues about the Holocaust.

2008

The 2008 Lecture will take place in the Driscoll Ballroom at the University of Denver on March 30th at 4 p.m. The featured speaker will be DR. SHIRLI GILBERT, Karten Lecturer in Modern Jewish/non-Jewish relations at the University of Southampton, England, where she teaches courses in modern Jewish history, the Holocaust, and music and resistance.

A former professional pianist, Dr. Gilbert is the author of Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps (Oxford University Press, 2005), which provides the first large-scale, critical account of the role of music among communities imprisoned under Nazism. The book was a finalist for the 2005 National Jewish Book Award.

Dr. Gilbert obtained a Master of Studies in Music and Ph.D. in Modern History at the University of Oxford. Her research is primarily focused on music and memory in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

For information, or to become a Co-sponsor of the 2008 lecture, contact Amy Berkowitz Caplan at 303-871-3013 or .

Past Lectures

2007

The speaker at the fifth annual lecture was Robert Bielsky, whose father and two uncles saved 1200 Jews in the forests of Poland during World War II. He was introduced by Denver resident Paula Burger who, as an eight-year-old child, lived in the forest with the Bielsky group. This absorbing and little known story is detailed in a book called The Bielski Brothers by Peter Duffy (HarperCollins, 2003), as well as in a recent documentary on the History Channel. The lecture, which took place in the Driscoll Ballroom at the University of Denver, was attended by a sellout crowd of 500.

Sponsors - 2007 lecture

2006

The fourth annual Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Lecture took place on April 2, 2006, at Temple Sinai in Denver, Colorado. The sold out event featured a lecture entitled "Shanghai Revisited: The Refugee Diaries of Fred Marcus" by Rena Krasno and Audrey Friedman Marcus.

Following the lecture, 25 former refugees in Shanghai were honored for their courage in surviving the difficult years in China and for becoming successful and contributing American citizens. Each received a booklet called "Flight and Rescue," published by the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, that features an excellent chapter on Jews in Shanghai. In addition, a certificate was awarded to all of the "Shanghailanders," informing them of a generous donation made in their honor to the Sino-Judaic Institute for the continuation of research about the Jews in China.

Participants adjourned to a delightful reception that featured the opening of the exhibit "Shanghai: Refuge During the Holocaust." (See the following for information on the exhibit, which will remain at Temple Sinai through April 27, 2006.) Guests were also treated to delicious kosher Chinese hors d’oeuvres and Chinese music. Rena Krasno signed copies of the many books she has written, and there was a display of books on the subject of Jews in Shanghai. The films "Shanghai Ghetto" and "Port of Last Resort" were available for viewing.

Sponsors - 2006 lecture.

2005

The 2005 lecture was given on April 17 by Anna Rosmus, who uncovered the Nazi past of her hometown of Passau, Germany, and has devoted her life to fighting against anti-Semitism and bigotry through her writings and lectures. Prior to the lecture, the audience viewed the Academy Award nominated foreign film, "The Nasty Girl," about Anna’s experiences as a young German battling the establishment.

2004

On March 28, 2004, Pierre Sauvage, a noted filmmaker and child survivor, told the story of the residents of the French town of Le Chambon, who rescued him and his family, along with 5,000 other Jews. His film "Weapons of the Spirit," about this rescue effort, preceded the lecture.

2003

The first Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Lecture took place on May 2, 2003, just one year after the death of Fred Marcus. The featured speaker was Rabbi Theodore Alexander, Fred’s lifelong friend from Berlin, Shanghai, and San Francisco. "Port of Last Resort," a film about the Shanghai Jewish experience, was shown the next evening.

These lectures each attracted over 700 people, and were co-sponsored by a wide range of Jewish organizations and businesses, as well as individuals and foundations.