Holocaust Studies Center Celebrates 20 Years of Education

KEENE, N.H. 4/4/03 - Twenty years ago, Charles Hildebrandt, at Keene State College sociology professor, donated his collection of books and materials about the Holocaust to the College. The donation formed the basis of KSC’s Holocaust Resource Center, since renamed the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies, which Hildebrandt started in 1983.

On Sunday, April 13, KSC will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Cohen Center. The day’s events are free and open to the public.

The celebration will begin with the Charles Hildebrandt Holocaust Studies Awards, to be held at 2:30 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room of the Student Center. This will be the sixth year that the College has awarded prizes to KSC students, Keene community members, and local high school students for art pieces and scholarship that explore the meaning of the Holocaust.

At 4:30 p.m., a dedication event for the new Holocaust Center facility will be held on the first floor of Mason Library. A reception will follow.

The celebration concludes with a performance of Remnants, a one-act play written and performed by Henry Greenspan. As a psychologist at the University of Michigan, Professor Greenspan began speaking with Holocaust survivors in the 1970s. He developed these conversations into a play that he has performed across the U.S. and in Israel, Canada, and Great Britain. According to Alvin Rosenfeld, director of Jewish studies at Indiana University, Remnants “says more about the Holocaust in fewer words than just about anything I know.” Remnants will be performed at 5:30 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room.

For more information, contact Paul Vincent, director of the Holocaust Center, at 603-358-2722.