Holocaust Awareness Committee records

The Northeastern University (NU) Holocaust Awareness Committee (HAC) was organized in 1991 and is affiliated with the NU Office of Spiritual Life. Prior to HAC's organization in 1991, NU had an annual Holocaust Remembrance Week, which was organized by the Office of Religious Life (later renamed the Office of Spiritual Life) between 1977 and 1991. Membership includes NU students, faculty, and staff of various religious and ethnic backgrounds. The HAC's primary purpose is to remember the Holocaust, not only as a historical fact and a memorial to its millions of victims, but also as a warning for the future. The HAC presents programs that bear witness to the Holocaust and explore issues arising out of the War of Extermination against Jews and other groups targeted by the Nazis. NU has held annual Holocaust Remembrance programs since 1977. By 2000 Holocaust Awareness Week featured several annual events including a yearly breakfast hosted by the University President, the Robert Salomon Morton Lecture, a film screening, and the Philip N. Backstrom, Jr. Annual Holocaust Survivor Lecture Series. In 2010, the HAC became a standing committee within the College of Social Science and Humanities, with the Ruderman professor of Jewish Studies serving as a member ex officio and ordinarily chaired by the Stotsky Professor. In the early 2010s, the Northeastern Law School took over hosting the annual memorial service on Yom HaShoah, in addition to sponsoring lectures of its own. In 2012, the annual film series was named in honor of Bill Giessen.