Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies WEek FALL 2025
Monday, November 3rd
10:30 a.m. MST
Senate Chamber, Arts & Convocation Hall
Free Public Lecture
Teaching the Holocaust in turbulent times
Dr. Melanie Carina Schmoll is a German historian specializing in Holocaust education. She earned her PhD from the University of Hamburg and holds degrees in political science, history, and philosophy. Her early research focused on cooperation in the Middle East, including relations between Israel and Jordan. She has taught at the University of Hamburg, the Bundeswehr University Hamburg, and served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. She is currently associate fellow at CMSS, University of Calgary and research fellow at the Finkler Institute of Holocaust 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ. Dr. Schmoll develops educational materials, advises publishers, and contributes to school and teaching resources in German-speaking countries. Dr. Schmoll is the author of the book Hatred of Jews - A Failure of Holocaust Education?, which was published in 2025 and examines whether Holocaust education has failed in light of rising antisemitism. The book will be available for purchase on site for CAD 48 and can be signed by the author (note: payment by cash only).
About the lecture
Many academics, politicians, teachers, and educators share the prominent idea that teaching and learning about the Holocaust is a primary bulwark against hatred of Jews. Teaching the Holocaust means to support political education. For some researchers, it is about nothing less than preventing genocides. UNESCO mainly shaped this approach in which the Holocaust is part of a global education to build global citizens. But hatred of Jews noticed a dramatic rise recently. Since Holocaust education was presented for years as the answer to the hatred of Jews, the question almost automatically occurs: Has Holocaust education failed?
Historian Dr. Melanie Carina Schmoll explores precisely this question. What can be expected from Holocaust education? What are the contents and outcomes? Why do we have to deal with gaps in knowledge and what are the reasons for? Holocaust education in turbulent times requires new ways of implementation and content. In her lecture, Dr. Schmoll will offer solutions to the questions and present her new book on the subject: Hatred of Jews–A Failure of Holocaust Education? which bridges the gap between academic research and practical support for educators, teachers, and textbook publishers.
Monday, November 3rd
12:00 p.m. MST
Senate Chamber, Arts & Convocation Hall
Lunch, Film Screening, and Q&A with director Barnabás Tóth
Those Who Remained (2019)
About the film
Those Who Remained (2019) is a Hungarian drama directed by Barnabás Tóth, set in the aftermath of World War II. The film follows the unexpected bond between two Holocaust survivors: a middle-aged doctor, Aldó, who lost his family in the camps, and a teenage girl, Klára, who is struggling with the trauma of losing her parents. Their growing connection offers a quiet, tender exploration of healing, grief, and the human need for love in the shadow of immense loss. The film is significant for its nuanced portrayal of post-Holocaust life, focusing not on the horrors of war, but on the emotional aftermath and resilience of survivors. It was Hungary’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards and was shortlisted, gaining international attention for its sensitive storytelling and powerful performances.
Thursday, November 6th
6:00 p.m. MST
Telus Centre Auditorium (150), North Campus
2025 Annual Toby & Saul Reichert Holocaust Lecture
Jews, Roma, and the Holocaust
Ari Joskowicz is Eugene Greener, Jr. Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies and History at Vanderbilt University. His work focuses on the relations between marginalized groups and on the material and financial changes that shape minority self-perceptions. His most recent book Rain of Ash: Roma, Jews, and the Holocaust (Princeton University Press, 2023) won the Ernst Fraenkel Prize of the Wiener Library, the George L. Mosse Prize from the American Historical Association, and the Sybil Milton Memorial Book Prize of the German Studies Association.
About the Lecture
From concentration camps to the killing sites of mobile shooting squads, Jews and Roma experienced Nazi persecution in close proximity to each other. Yet, after the war, the world recognized the injustices both groups faced differently. While Jewish persecution histories became memorialized in museums, monuments, and college course the international community largely ignored the Roma genocide. How should we tell the story of the Holocaust in light of this unequal treatment? How have relations between Jews and Roma—from the 1930s to the present—influenced the way we think about Nazi racial persecution? How can we write histories of entangled persecution?
Friday, November 7th
2-3:30 p.m. MST
Arts (Student) Lounge, Arts & Convocation Hall
Central European Cafe
Our November Central European Cafe offers a delicious assortment of beverages, European-style pastries, and an inviting atmosphere for lively discussion! We will be joined by Jewish Studies Week guest speaker Bonny Reichert, daughter of Toby & Saul Reichert. As always, our Central European Cafes are free to attend, open to the public, and do not require registration to attend.
Bonny Reichert is a Canadian writer, chef, food stylist, and journalist whose work often explores the intersection of food, family, memory, and identity. Born in Edmonton and raised in a restaurant family, she has worked for major magazines (such as Today’s Parent and Chatelaine) and contributed regularly to The Globe and Mail. She also trained in culinary school in midlife and holds an MFA in creative nonfiction.
Her latest book is How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty (2025), her debut memoir. In it, Reichert traces her personal journey through the lens of food – growing up in her family’s restaurants, cooking with her grandmother, the role of meals in her childhood – while also confronting her father’s Holocaust past: his near‑starvation in Auschwitz‑Birkenau, the scars (including the tattooed number) he carried, and how that legacy shaped Bonny’s life. The book is as much about heritage and survival as it is about how cooking and nourishing one another can be acts of love and resistance.
