Dr. Robert J. Williams is the Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of USC Shoah Foundation. He is UNESCO Chair on Antisemitism and Holocaust Research and the advisor to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, where he also served for four years as chair of the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial. Dr. Williams has played several leadership roles in international and policy initiatives focused on Holocaust and antisemitism issues, and regularly advises international organizations and governments on these matters. His co-edited volume, “The Routledge History of Antisemitism” (September 2023), explores the history and manifestations of antisemitism, ranging from its origins to the digital age. Dr. Williams is currently writing a book on present-day attempts to restore the reputations of fascists and perpetrators of the Holocaust in Europe and in North America.
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Villains Into Heroes
The Rehabilitation of Fascists and Antisemites in Europe and North America
Tuesday, April 30, 2024, 5pm EDT
Event Overview
Over the course of the past 20 years, significant and intentional attempts to restore the reputations of Holocaust-era criminals and certain fascist organizations have become increasingly frequent. These threaten honest engagement with Holocaust history, undermine resilience against fascism, and encourage so-called “memory wars” that can have disastrous consequences at both the international and domestic levels. Stated differently, rehabilitation has the potential to encourage the dangerous distortion of historical knowledge and awareness — real consequences in a milieu of extremist nationalism — and seems to contribute to rising antisemitism and other forms of racial, interethnic, or religious prejudice.
Acts of rehabilitation and valorization can inspire and accompany the development of politics, societies, or cultures that normalize the hatred of Jews and other ethnic or religious groups. They can increase tensions between regions and states, erode respect for the legacies of the Holocaust and related atrocities, and undermine public support for democratic institutions and international structures. As recent events have shown, these acts can serve as a form of disinformation that precedes or accompanies aggressive international rhetoric and military conflict or other manifestations of violence.
This lecture features Robert Williams, Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, who will focus on the phenomenon of rehabilitation, an umbrella term that refers to attempts to absolve, exculpate, heroize, or otherwise gloss over the words and deeds of individuals and organizations complicit in the Holocaust and related crimes of the Second World War.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.
Acts of rehabilitation and valorization can inspire and accompany the development of politics, societies, or cultures that normalize the hatred of Jews and other ethnic or religious groups. They can increase tensions between regions and states, erode respect for the legacies of the Holocaust and related atrocities, and undermine public support for democratic institutions and international structures. As recent events have shown, these acts can serve as a form of disinformation that precedes or accompanies aggressive international rhetoric and military conflict or other manifestations of violence.
This lecture features Robert Williams, Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, who will focus on the phenomenon of rehabilitation, an umbrella term that refers to attempts to absolve, exculpate, heroize, or otherwise gloss over the words and deeds of individuals and organizations complicit in the Holocaust and related crimes of the Second World War.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost.
What You'll Learn
- Define the phenomenon of rehabilitation within the context of post-Holocaust issues in Europe, North America, and Australia
- Outline the different mechanisms by which this rehabilitation has manifested itself since 1945
- Provide an overview of the different forms of rehabilitation in these regions
- Contextualize rehabilitation within the broader phenomenon of denialism, the rise of a Holocaust-focused memory culture in Europe, resurgent populism, and indicators of democratic decline
- Propose a series of steps that policy makers and civil society may take to minimize these efforts in ways that ensure adherence to historical context
Speaker
Robert Williams
Finci-Viterbi Executive Director
USC Shoah Foundation
Finci-Viterbi Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation
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