Alex Grobman, Ph.D.

Residence : Englewood, NJ

Biographical information

Dr. Alex Grobman is an historian with an MA and Ph.D. in contemporary Jewish history from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is president of the Institute for Contemporary Jewish Life and the Brenn Institute, think tanks dealing with historical and contemporary issues affecting the Jewish community. He is a member of the academic board of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and a book reviewer for Lifestyles magazine and a contributing editor and book reviewer for Together magazine.

Dr. Grobman established the first Holocaust center in the U.S. under the auspices of a Jewish Federation in St. Louis, Missouri and served as its first director. He also served as director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angles where he was the founding editor-in chief of the Simon Wiesenthal Annual. He edited Genocide: Critical Issues of the Holocaust, a companion to the Center's Academy Award winning film Genocide.

Dr. Grobman is the author of Rekindling the Flame: American Jewish Chaplains and the Survivors of European Jewry, 1944-1948, and editor of In Defense of the Survivors: The Letters and Documents of Oscar A. Mintzer AJDC Legal Advisor, Germany, 1945-46. His book Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened, and Why Do They Say It? was published by University of California Press (Berkeley) in 2000. The paperback and Italian edition were published in 2002. He has also edited: Anne Frank in Historical Perspective, Those Who Dared: Rescuers and Rescued, and Schindler's List.

His latest book on the Vaad Hatzala in post-World War II Europe will be published next year. He is currently working on Is Zionism Racism: Setting the Record Straight. He also trains Jewish students how to respond to Arab propaganda on American college campuses. One of them is currently President of Harvard Students for Israel.

Discussion topics

• What Your Children Should Know About The Arab/Israeli Conflict Before Going To College:
  On college campuses throughout the U.S., Israel is being vilified for allegedly violating human rights, causing the Arab refugee problem, colonizing Palestine, occupying Arab lands, assassinating Arab leaders, massacring innocent civilians, being a racist and imperialist state and obstructing peace in the region. We will examine ways to counter these distortions.
• Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?
  What is Holocaust denial, what are the techniques used to manipulate the facts, who are the people involved, what motivates them, and why should Holocaust denial be a critical concern for non-Jews as well?
• How Dangerous Is This "New Antisemitism" to Us Today?
  Given the current rise of antisemitism and virulent anti-Zionism, especially in Europe, there is a fear that this climate of hate is similar to that which existed prior to the Holocaust. Is this a correct reading of history? What is happening? Are there signs that we should be looking for to warn us of impending doom? Can we do anything about the present danger?
• Did American Orthodox Jews Ignore The Suffering of The Non-Orthodox During the Shoah And In the Post-War Period?
  It has been alleged that the Vaad Hatzala, (rescue organization) that rescued Jews during the Holocaust and provided spiritual rehabilitation to the survivors after the war, did so at the expense of other Jews. We will examine why this is a misreading of history, and what lessons American Jewish organizations can learn from this experience.
• Those Who Dared: Rescuers and Rescued During the Holocaust
  Yad Vashem has honored close to 20,000 Righteous Gentiles since Yad Vashem was established in 1953. Who decides who should receive the award, what are criteria that are used, how are the rescuers found and what motivates them? Real case studies will be examined with the audience being asked to judge how they would have voted.
• Is The Holocaust Unique?
  There a tendency to equate the Holocaust with other modern tragedies, which distorts the history of the Holocaust and trivializes the importance of this unprecedented and unparalleled event. It also minimizes the experiences of all those who suffered. While the Jewish people have succeeded in surviving antisemitism, the question remains is whether the West can "survive its persisting nature?"

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