Holocaust Video Project with Dr. Kenneth Hanson Dr. Kenneth Hanson

How can anybody in their right mind deny the reality of the Holocaust? You'd be surprised… Don't the horrific photographs of bodies piled high prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what went on in the death camps? But wait a second. In a court of law the burden of proof is on the accuser, and how often are clever defense lawyers able to twist and distort the evidence so that even respectable jurors are utterly confused? The fact is, proving the Holocaust isn't as easy as it sounds, and deniers abound in today's world. Find out how to confront them and how to drive home the plain truth!

Prof. Zev Garber Meaning word "Shoah" vs. "Holocaust" #20 Zev Garber, Professor Emeritus and Chair of Jewish Studies at Los Angeles Valley College, addresses the meaning of the word "Shoah" vs. "Holocaust" in a profound and moving presentation following the Pittsburg synagogue massacre.

How did the Jews of Germany respond to the rise of Hitler? Did they conclude that it was time to leave Germany? The illustrious Rabbi Leo Baeck published this chilling document (“Between Heaven and Earth”) on June 1, 1933, calling German Jews to remain firmly rooted on the soil of their homeland. Unfortunately, hindsight is 20-20…

Did the Allies abandon the Jews? Did they actually know about the size and scope of the genocide taking place and simply look the other way? It's easy and even fashionable to argue that the Allies knew about the camps, that they overflew the railroad lines but did not bomb them. Why was no rescue effort of Jews and other persecuted minorities even attempted? Find out in this provocative new video presentation.

When it comes to modern approaches toward faith, God and spirituality, the Shoah has arguably changed everything. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once remarked: “We have all the reasons to give up … on man, on faith, and even on God. We have the reasons to do so, but we will not invoke them. And in spite of everything, we will go on believing.” Not only is it important to consider how the Jewish faith has been affected, post-Holocaust, but how observant Jews were impacted, with regard to their faith, in the midst of the tragedy. Elie Wiesel, for his part, was said to have put God on trial at Auschwitz. It will also be instructive to consider two Jewish leaders, both ultra-orthodox rabbis, who were victims of the Nazi genocide. Their perspectives (unlike post-Holocaust theology) provide a window on Jewish thought while events were unfolding. The reflections of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, who was residing in Warsaw at the outbreak of the war, were published in Israel in 1960 under the title Esh Kodesh. Taken as a whole, Rabbi Shapira’s book lays out a normative theology of suffering. Another ultra-orthodox rabbi, Yissachar Teichtal, was living in Budapest during the Nazi era. His theology is even more dramatic, rejecting all exilic philosophies, and developing a religious Zionist philosophy. If there is a to be found a merging of the two approaches, it is in the idea of “reconstruction,” on the one hand of the individual, and on the other, of the Jewish nation – the uniquely Jewish concept of tikkun.

Jewish Faith in the Holocaust #16 When it comes to modern approaches toward faith, God and spirituality, the Holocaust changed everything. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has said: "We have all the reasons to give up … on man, on faith, and even on God. We have the reasons to do so, but we will not invoke them. And in spite of everything, we will go on believing." How has people's faith been affected, post-Holocaust, and how did people of faith cope in the midst of the tragedy?