The Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches (ASC), under the leadership of Honorary Chairman Elie Wiesel, invites you to join fellow scholars next May as we continue the significant legacy established by Franklin H. Littell and Hubert G. Locke: to remember, learn, and explore the lessons of the Holocaust and the German Church Struggle. Monroe Community College’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project (MCC) will host the 42nd annual conference on May 12-14, 2012 in Rochester, New York. The ASC offers a unique opportunity to address the historical significance of the Holocaust and the German Church Struggle through disciplined scholarship that is interfaith, international, and interdisciplinary. We invite you to submit paper abstracts (proposals, reflection pieces) as part of your conference experience. The central theme of the conference is: 70 Years Later: The Lingering Shadow of Wannsee

Zygmunt Bauman has written that “the message which the Holocaust contains about the way we live today—about the quality of the institutions on which we rely for our safety, about the validity of the criteria with which we measure the propriety of our own conduct and of the patterns of interaction we accept and consider normal—is silenced, not listened to, and remains undelivered” [Preface, Modernity and the Holocaust]. Perhaps no single event leading up to the Holocaust was of greater significance or had more profound implications in its aftermath than the conference that met on 20 January 1942, whose agenda—in the words of its technical organizer, Adolf Eichmann — “covered killing, elimination and annihilation.” Papers are invited that examine aspects of the Wannsee Conference or its implications for the modern era, as well as papers that deal with specific themes and topics related to the general subject matter of the conference: the Holocaust and the German Church Struggle.

The deadline to electronically submit paper abstracts to asc@monroecc.edu is Friday, February 17, 2012. Abstracts should be between 250 and 500 words and in Microsoft Word format. Decisions on accepted papers will be made as soon as possible after receipt. Please include on the cover page your name as you would like it to appear in a printed program; your complete title, if appropriate; and the institution/organization you represent. Also, please include your preferred phone number, email and mailing address so that conference organizers may follow up with you. Accepted paper abstracts will be distributed to conference participants at registration. Presenters and panelists are expected to provide working electronic drafts of their papers, complete with bibliographies, to conference organizers no later than May 4, 2012. The drafts will only be distributed to fellow presenters and panel chairs prior to the conference to facilitate preparation.

The ASC weekend will begin on Saturday evening, May 12 at MCC with registration beginning at 6:00 pm, distribution of conference packets including presentation abstracts, a welcoming reception at 7:30 pm, and an opportunity to renew and make new acquaintances. Free parking will be available on the MCC campus and shuttle service will be provided to and from select hotels. The ASC registration fee will include meals, refreshment breaks, and shuttle service to and from hotels. More information will be available shortly. A block of rooms has been be reserved at a rate of $139 per night at the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton Rochester (Jefferson Road, Rochester) and Country Inn and Suites by Carlson (East Henrietta Road, Rochester). The hotels are less than a mile from the MCC campus.

Abstract proposals and general inquiries should be directed to:

Monroe Community College
Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project
ATTN: Sharon K. Scurlock
1000 E. Henrietta Rd
Rochester, NY 14623
(585) 292-3321
asc@monroecc.edu

We look forward to your response and participation in the ASC. Once we receive your response, we will provide a formal confirmation, plus detailed information on the conference (registration, lodging, meals, etc.). Thank you for considering this opportunity and contributing your perspective and experience to this important, scholarly pursuit that continues to be especially relevant in the 21st century.

Henry Knight
ASC Executive Committee President
Director, Cohen Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
Keene State College
Keene, New Hampshire

Marcia Sachs Littell
ASC Executive Director Emerita
Professor, Holocaust & Genocide Studies
Founding Director, Master of Arts Program in Holocaust & Genocide Studies
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Charles Clarke
2012 ASC Conference Chair
Director, Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project
Monroe Community College
Rochester, New York