Simon Wiesenthal, Eva Kor, and the Controversies Over Using Forgiveness Scenarios to Approach the Holocaust

Simon Wiesenthal, Eva Kor, and the Controversies Over Using Forgiveness Scenarios to Approach the Holocaust

Presented by J.E. Wolfson, PhD

What happens when a survivor puts to the public the question of whether a perpetrator of the Holocaust deserves to be forgiven? Or when another survivor gives a press conference on the grounds of Auschwitz to proclaim on behalf of the murdered 6 million that all perpetrators are hereby granted absolution? Such are the controversial scenarios respectively submitted by famed “Nazi hunter” Simon Wiesenthal and youngest surviving “Mengele twin” Eva Mozes Kor.

This presentation will examine the ethical implications of how and why the two survivors attempted to shape Holocaust discourse along lines of forgiveness, as well as what sorts of responses they garnered from within and without the Jewish community. The legacies of Wiesenthal and Kor remain impactful today, when their books continue to be used for Holocaust instruction in many American classrooms.

This event will take place in-person at Congregation Tiferet Israel at 7300 Hart Lane Austin, TX 78731 (near the JCC).