BOONE—The keynote lecture of the 2016 annual meeting of the North Carolina Jewish Studies Consortium at Appalachian State University will be delivered by Dr. Christopher R. Browning.

Browning’s talk will take place from 2 – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25, in Belk Library and Information Commons Room 114 on Appalachian’s campus. Browning’s talk is titled “Holocaust History and Survivor Testimony: The Starachowice Factory Slave Labor Camps” and is based on his recent book “Remembering Survival.” The event is free and open to the public.

The lecture will examine the suffering and memories of the Jewish inmates of a factory slave labor camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II, and investigate a crucial part of the Nazi genocide that, he asserts, has not received sufficient attention. His work largely draws on accounts from survivors of the Starachowice camp, many of which originated in oral history interviews he conducted with former camp inmates.

Browning is one of the foremost experts and key pioneers in the field of Holocaust Studies. His publications include influential works such as “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland,” which redefined the subfield of perpetrator studies, and “Origins of the Final Solution” which was described by The Guardian as “a study of decision-making, painstakingly traced through the chaos of competing Nazi institutions.” His latest book is “Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave Labor Camp.”

A sought-after lecturer and internationally recognized authority on the Holocaust, Browning has provided expert witness testimony for Canadian, Australian and British prosecutors in trials against alleged Nazi perpetrators and Holocaust deniers, and he delivers lectures about his research around the globe.

Browning is the Frank Porter Graham Professor Emeritus in the Department History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Browning’s visit is organized by Appalachian’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies and co-sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, Jewish Studies at North Carolina State University, and the Duke Center for Jewish Studies.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 828-262-2311.

Appalachian’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies

Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies was founded in 2002 to develop new educational opportunities for students, teachers and the community. Located administratively within the College of Arts and Sciences, the center seeks to strengthen tolerance, understanding and remembrance by increasing the knowledge of Jewish culture and history, teaching the history and meaning of the Holocaust, and utilizing these experiences to explore peaceful avenues for human improvement and the prevention of further genocides.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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