DC
United States
The 2026 Curt C. and Else Silberman Faculty Seminar explores resistance acts during the Holocaust with a focus on protest, hiding, and rescue. Together, we will examine the different forms of Jews’ resistance to Nazi antisemitic policies, as well as assistance that Jews and non-Jews (or “mixed” categories) provided to Jews, who found hiding places, lived under false identities, and escaped the Nazis during the Holocaust. In addition to discussing individual acts of resistance, we will investigate the ways in which Jewish and non-Jewish men and women were associated with or participated in resistance groups and networks. With the goal of teaching this content, we will consider why Jewish resistance during the Holocaust is still often perceived as a rare occurrence, and how gender stereotypes led to a restricted or distorted view of Jewish and non-Jewish resistance. We will also examine the following topics:
- varieties of Jewish resistance, including hiding, passing, and escaping, etc.
- comparative research of rescue across Europe during the Holocaust
- the contexts and methods of Jews' and non-Jews' resistance
- the consequences and moral implications of rescue actions
- Jewish and non-Jewish forms of cooperation
- the politics of commemorating resisters and rescuers, etc.
The 2026 Silberman Seminar helps faculty, instructors, and advanced PhD students who are currently teaching or preparing to teach courses that focus on or have a curricular component related to the Holocaust. Applications are welcome from instructors across academic disciplines, including but not limited to Anthropology, Archeology, Art, Disability Studies, Gender Studies, German Studies, History, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Jewish Studies, Human Rights, Migration Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, Refugee Studies, Sociology, and Trauma and Memory Studies. The seminar aims to deepen, broaden, and enrich how we teach the Holocaust by drawing on a range of perspectives and disciplinary approaches to address different forms of Jews’ resistance to the Holocaust.
The deadline for applications is Sunday, March 15, 2026. This seminar will take place June 1–10, 2026 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Seminar applicants must be teaching or anticipate teaching relevant courses at accredited institutions in North America. The full CfA and the application form are available here on the USHMM website. Please contact Campus Outreach Programs (campusoutreachprograms@ushmm.
The Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation endowed the Silberman Seminar for University Faculty in memory of Curt C. and Else Silberman. The Foundation supports programs in higher education that promote, protect, and strengthen Jewish values in democracy, human rights, ethical leadership, and cultural pluralism.
