Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—was two days ago on Monday the 20th of April. It was a day to remember the 6 million Jews that died in the Holocaust and the approximately 5 million others—ethnic poles, homosexuals, gypsies, and the disabled—that also gave their lives in the concentration camps. To properly observe the holiday, The Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human rights at Claremont Mckenna College brought in one of the foremost scholars of the Holocaust and Genocide, Robert Skloot. Skloot takes the issues raised by the holocaust and genocide and looks at them through a very unique lens: theatre.
During his talk at the Athenaeum, he described and presented excerpts from five spectacular plays on the Holocaust, each one offering Holocaust experiences from a very different perspective. His talk was eloquent and emotional, forcing the audience to be truly engaged in a very difficult subject. Moreover, his theme was conveyed clearly throughout the night—that art can at times be the most communicative medium through which to grapple with tough issues. Overall, his talk was the perfect event to remember the lives lost in this horrible genocide, and I am proud to be at a school and involved in a center that encourages students to remember.
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