Please join the Harriman Institute and the Kupferberg Holocaust Center for a two-day conference.
To register, please go to http://bit.ly/balkans-conference
Please note that registration does not guarantee a seat, which are first come first served.
PROGRAM
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
6:30 pm: Screening of documentary film Besa: Rescue in Albania (2009)
Runtime of 30 minutes
A documentary film about the Jewish rescue in Albania during World War II. A story told by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust who speak about the nobility of the Albanian people who put their own lives in danger in order to save those of their visitors. A touching recollection of events and ordeals that Albanians and Jews went through before, during and after WWII. The documentary was screened at the US Holocaust Museum (April 2011, Washington), Yad Vashem Museum (May 2012, Jerusalem) and at other locations.
7:00 pm: Q&A
Dardan Islami, director
Imam Tahir Kukaj, Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, New York City
Rabbi Kara Tav, New York City
Moderator: Tanya Domi, Columbia University, Harriman Institute
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21
9:00 am: Opening Remarks
9:15 am: Book Talk and Presentation by Georgia State Professor Jelena Subotic
Jelena Subotic, author of Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance After Communism
Discussant: Miriam Schulz, Ph.D. candidate, Columbia University and Harriman Institute affiliate
Moderator: Laura Cohen, Executive Director, Kupferberg Holocaust Center, Queensborough Community College, CUNY
10:45 am: Break
11:00 am: Panel Discussion on the Miracle of the Sarajevo Haggadah
Aleksandra Buncic, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University
Hikmet Karcic, author of Dervis M. Korkut: A Biography. Rescuer of the Sarajevo Haggadah
Alexander Korb, Associate Professor of Modern European History, Leicester University
Moderator: Tanya Domi, Harriman Institute, Columbia University
1:00 pm: Break
2:30 pm: Panel discussion on the Albanian Rescue of Jews during WWII
Teuta Skenderi, independent scholar and translator
Tanya Domi, Harriman Institute, Columbia University
Gazmend Kapilani, Visiting Chair of Albanian Studies, DePaul University
Ardit Bido, General Director of the National Archives of Albania
Moderator: Laura Cohen, Executive Director, Kupferberg Holocaust Center, Queensborough Community College, CUNY
4:00 pm: Final Remarks by Tanya Domi and Laura Cohen
The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) at Queensborough Community College, CUNY uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of unbridled prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. Established in 1983, it was one of the first research archives devoted to the Holocaust on the East Coast. The KHC’s facilities include a permanent exhibition about the Holocaust as well as a rotating gallery space, and in 2011 the Center was the recipient of a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The current exhibit, Survivance and Sovereignty on Turtle Island: Engaging with Contemporary Native American Art, is the first time 16 Native American and Indigenous artists are showcasing their works about mass atrocities and genocide at a US Holocaust center (on view through May 22, 2020). The KHC offers approximately twenty public programs and special events for Holocaust survivors, as well as host over 150+ tours reaching over 2,000 students and community members annually.
