Vol. 17, No. 23	March 13, 1998

4 panelists to discuss 'History & Holocaust'

Apanel of experts will discuss the Holocaust at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, in the Trabant University Center Theatre. Entitled "History, Memory and the Holocaust," the free, public program will offer an opportunity for reflection on what has been described as Hitler's "Final Solution."

Serving on the panel will be:

• Willard Fletcher, UD professor emeritus of history, who is a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and serves on its academic committee. He has taught the history of the Holocaust and modern German history for 25 years.

• George Preston, an Auschwitz survivor and retired engineer from the DuPont Co., who lives in Wilmington.

• Brewster Chamberlin, director of archives of the U.S. Holocaust Museum. A historian, he is in charge of collecting and documenting information about the Holocaust from government archives in Eastern Europe.

• David Preston, a journalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer and son of George Preston. He is currently writing a book on his deceased mother, who was a prisoner in a concentration camp in Poland.

More than a half century separates present society from the liberation of the survivors of Hitler's death camps, and, during the past five and half decades, historians have described and analyzed the events that took place throughout Europe during that time.

Some believe, however, with the passage of time the general public's memory has lost focus on the tragic events that occurred. In addition, efforts have been made to manipulate and revise historical facts.

During the program, the panel will offer variety of perspectives-as historian, archivist, journalist and survivor-to discuss how and why we remember and will describe the events and memories of the Holocaust.

At the program, each of the panelists will make a statement and then they will share comments and discussion. The program also will include a period for questions from members of the audience.

The event is sponsored by the Holocaust Education Task Force in the College of Arts and Science Outreach Program.

-Ed Okonowicz