The Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University (HEFNU) and the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are pleased to announce the Spring 2025 Regional Institute on “Global Approaches to the Holocaust,” which will take place on April 3-5, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska at UNO.

Scholars continue to challenge the idea that the Holocaust was an exclusively European project. Recent research exploring the history, memory and representation of the Holocaust has focused on countries in Asia, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East and Australia. The Omaha Regional Institute asks how does our understanding of the Holocaust change when we shift focus from a primarily European perspective and adopt a more global approach? What new insights are gained from exploring the impact of the Holocaust from outside Europe? How do countries that were not directly impacted by Nazi policies of occupation and extermination remember the Holocaust? What consequences does a global approach to the Holocaust entail?

The Omaha Regional Institute offers an opportunity for university-level instructors and museum professionals to expand their knowledge about the global dimensions of the Holocaust. The Regional Institute will focus especially on how the Holocaust has been approached in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and the Middle East. The institute’s teaching faculty include Mehnaz Afridi (Manhattan University), Rebecca Erbelding (Holocaust historian and author), Yael Siman (Iberoamericana University) and Ran Zwigenberg (Penn State). Edward Kissi (University of South Florida) will deliver the keynote lecture.

Higher education faculty and graduate students who have attended a HEFNU Summer Institute or who have previously taught courses on any aspect of the Holocaust or on Jewish History, Civilization, or Judaic Studies are encouraged to apply to become Regional Institute fellows. We particularly welcome those who live in the Midwest and/or work at two-year institutions. A fellowship includes the cost of tuition, room, and board during the Institute. Fellowships do not cover travel expenses to and from Omaha, NE or the possible minimal cost of assigned materials.

Please send questions to the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy (friedacademy@unomaha.edu)