Michael Grodin, M.D., professor at Boston University and director of the Project on Medicine and the Holocaust at the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies, will speak on the UNMC campus on Oct. 23 on “Jewish Medical Resistance in the Ghettos and Camps during the Holocaust.”
Dr. Grodin will give two presentations. The first, aimed at faculty and staff, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Free lunch will be provided for registered participants.) The second, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., is designed for any UNMC student. Both sessions will be held in the Sorrell Center Room 2018, and live web streaming is available.
Faced with infectious diseases, starvation, lack of medicines, and lack of sanitation, Jewish physicians practiced medicine under severe conditions in the ghettos and concentration camps of the Holocaust. Despite the odds against them, physicians managed to supply public health education, enforce hygiene protocols, inspect buildings and latrines, enact quarantine, and perform triage. Many gave their lives to help fellow prisoners.
Dr. Grodin’s discussion will focus on an array of both tragic and inspiring stories of the sanctification of life as practiced by Jewish medical professionals. More than simply a medical story, these histories represent the finest exemplification of a humanist moral imperative during a dark hour of recent history.
Faculty and staff are requested to register here for the 11:30 a.m. event. Registration deadline is Oct. 20.