International Scholarship for GERM 411 student

Congratulations to Olena Arbetova, who took GERM 411, a course on German-speaking Literary Representations of the Nazi Holocaust in Literature and Film (Term 2, Winter 2016/2017). Olena has won a scholarship to attend an international seminar for Undergrad students entitled “A Research Introduction to Jewish Life and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union” from Jan 8-12, 2018. The seminar is conducted by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  in Washington DC: https://www.ushmm.org/research/scholarly-presentations/conferences/soviet-union-seminar

Comments from Olena :

“My experience at the seminar on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union was definitely one to remember. Different lecturers presented such interesting insight to the Holocaust as it took place in the East. The attention they gave to the Holocaust and its tactics inflicted upon the Jews of the Soviet Union showed how they were persecuted much differently than in the West, and it really opened my eyes to how  different each Jewish persons experience of the Holocaust ranged depending on endless circumstances such as location, degree of assimilation and connections. Most importantly, however, were the people I met along my journey in this seminar. My colleagues had immense knowledge on things that have never even crossed my mind when studying the Holocaust. They opened a new way of thinking for me which I was not able to grasp until this seminar. Most exceptional, of course, were the coordinators and instructors which I got the privilege of hearing from. The staff at USHMM were exceptionally welcoming, and so knowledgeable on each of their specific topics; I was humbled to to be able to learn from them. Lastly, I would like to thank Uma Kumar, for providing me with this amazing opportunity, it will definitely leave a mark in my academic career. “