Kristallnacht, 77 Years After: Never Again Anti-Semitism and Racism!

[icon name=”calendar” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015
[icon name=”clock-o” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Time: Noon
[icon name=”map-marker” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Room: Atrium Amphitheater

On November 10, 2015, City Tech will host the 27th Kristallnacht Anniversary Program, “Kristallnacht, 77 Years After: Never Again Anti-Semitism, Indifference and Racism!” at 300 Jay Street, Atrium Amphitheatre, Downtown Brooklyn, at noon. The public is invited to this free event, sponsored by the City Tech Jewish Faculty & Staff Association (JFSA).

“This 27th anniversary of the JFSA program is an example of the JFSA activities that contribute to enriching the educational and cultural City Tech college environment and the greater Brooklyn community,” said JFSA’s President Albert Sherman.

This year City Tech is proud to honor Thane Rosenbaum, prominent essayist, law professor and novelist; Monsignor Guy Massie, Chair, Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Senior Pastor, Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen Catholic Church (SHSS); and Gita Kaufman and Curt Kaufman, producers of the film Shadows From My Past.

Professor Rosenbaum—a child of Holocaust survivors—has taught at Fordham Law School and at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, where he has been a frequent speaker. Prior to teaching, he practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton, where he also coordinated the firm’s pro bono cases. Rosenbaum has been invited to speak at universities and other venues around the world and has served as an advisor, writer, co-producer, and commentator on several documentary films.

The Kristallnacht Anniversary Programs often note other historic events. This year is the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Declaration of the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Paul VI. In this spirit, Msgr. Guy Massie will be honored with the ADL Rabbi Leon Klenicki (tz’l) Award for Interfaith Achievements.

Along with his pastoral duties, Msgr. Massie is also the Chairperson for the Ecumenical and Inter-Faith Commission for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. A native of Williamsburg, Msgr. Massie has a keen interest in history and interfaith dialogue; he received a master’s degree in Judaic Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Gita Kaufman–survivor–and Curt Kaufman are producers, directors and co-writers, most recently of their documentary film, Shadows From My Past (2010), filmed in Austria, Germany, France and the U.S. The film deals with Kaufman’s mixed emotions upon returning to her birthplace, Vienna, where she had to flee as a child in February 1940. Searching for the missing parts to her own past, Kaufman also seeks answers to questions of moral ambiguity, individual as opposed to collective guilt, and to what degree today’s generation is responsible for the sins of their fathers and grandfathers.

The Kaufmans have been judges for documentary video awards at the New York Film Festival and the Cable Ace Awards and were finalists in the From the Heart and The New Century Writers Contests. They taught screenwriting and writing courses, and mentored film students at The City University of New York and New York University. Previous JFSA programs have considered the Holocaust in Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Dr. James Goldman, the program curator, notes that this year for the first time the Holocaust in Austria will be discussed.

Co-sponsors: Brooklyn Historical Society, CUNY Baruch College Jewish Studies Center, CUNY Macaulay Honors College, Center for Jewish History, Facing History and Ourselves, Hidden Child Foundation/ADL, Interfaith Committee of Remembrance, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Remember the Women Institute, New York Board of Rabbis, City Tech Foundation, and City Tech Faculty Commons.

For more information, contact JFSA President Albert Sherman 718.260.5837 or asherman@citytech.cuny.edu

[icon name=”file-pdf-o” class=””] Click to view poster.