Week 15: Research

This week I have come to know the librarians and curators at the USHMM quite well. I am currently writing my own research paper as well as helping a fellow staff member with his research. The research topic I am discussing in my personal paper focuses on how prejudice, segregation and anti-Semitic ideals have existed long before Hitler's rise to power. I am looking at past laws and regulations against the Jewish people and comparing them to Hitler's treatment of the Jews up to a certain year. My main research focuses on the struggles of the Jews up until 1941 with the implementation of death camps and the Einsatzgruppen. No event in history can compare to those years following. The museum library has more than enough sources on anti-Semitism, starting from the Roman Empire in 70 CE up until anti-Semitism today. The museum also has one exhibit section that discusses the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Jewish publication filled with malicious lies about the Jewish people. Published in 1903 the work has been instrumental in fueling the feelings of Jewish hatred and has since then been deemed inaccurate and fabricated, yet is still used today by neo-Nazis and other organizations. Attached to this exhibit is an incredible video of anti-Semitism throughout the millenniums, focusing on the Spanish inquisition, the Protestant reformation (Martin Luther preached many anti-Semitic ideals), and current events. All this research has led to my utmost respect towards Jews and their resilience throughout not just the twentieth century, but throughout thousands of years.

The other research I am partaking in involves the event known as the Orodour-sur-Glane massacre. This was just one massacre that took place in France and resulted in the death of 642 Jews, the youngest being a ten-day old child and the oldest a 91-year-old grandmother. I assisted with finding the names, ages, professions and dates of birth of each victim. In all honesty, the staff member I was working with did most of the research, I mostly helped with typing and organizing the information. This research will be presented at the museum's Day of Remembrance event, held on Yom Hashoah. Yom Hashoah is most commonly known as Holocaust Remembrance Day and takes place every year on the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. I was fortunate and able to make an extra copy of the sheet to keep for myself.

Besides my own research, I was also fortunate enough to sit in on a fellowship program. The museum has been amazing in providing various enrichment opportunities for us interns and this fellowship program was one of them. The program I attended was given by a PhD student at American University whose research focused on the Austrian police force, specifically their transition of police law after the Anschluss. After her presentation, a question and comment panel ensued and she could hear feedback and suggestions from Holocaust scholars and historians who work for the museum. It was a surreal and intimidating experience, but an enriching and informative one as well as I was surrounded by a group of scholars all participating in intelligent and insightful conversation. I strive to one day be as well-read and knowledgeable on such topics as these men and women were.

I only have 2 more weeks left at the USHMM and will be sad to leave such an incredible institution, yet am looking forward to the oncoming years of continuous learning and growing.