Holocaust survivor Dr. Jacob Eisenbach devotes as much time as possible to sharing the realities and consequences of this genocide with students across the U.S. He practiced dentistry for more than 60 years, and at the age of 96, he still travels extensively to tell his story.
“This is my new career,” he told a group of students, faculty, staff, and visitors at the 2020 Feinberg Lecture, Surviving and Remembering the Holocaust: A Lesson on Genocide. Eisenbach shared his firsthand experience of one of the most atrocious examples of hatred and violence in history. In sharing his story, he aims to remind the next generation of a harrowing truth: mass ethnic genocide happened in the past, and it continues to happen today across the world. In reminding them of this truth, Eisenbach urged his audience to use the memory of a horrendous past to cultivate a more tolerant and inclusive global future.
Living through one of history’s most hateful times, Eisenbach remained resilient and full of hope. “No matter how dark the clouds will be, there will always be a day when the sun breaks through,” he said.
Shaya Ben Yehuda, managing director of the international relations division of Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, introduced Eisenbach at the on-campus event. He also spoke at a special luncheon event earlier that day, where he joined an intimate group of fourteen students and faculty around the Garrett House dining table. There, Ben Yehuda shared stories of his Jewish faith as tried by the Holocaust, the many survivors in his life, and his mission to foster global Holocaust remembrance in order to “repair the world,” piece by piece.
The Feinberg Lecture Series is made possible through an endowment established by the late Sheldon Feinberg, a former trustee of Whittier College, and his wife, Betty, in order to invite major scholars to the College to discuss broad historic, religious, and political issues encompassed by Judaism and its role in a changing world.
Previous Feinberg Lecturers include author, musician, and activist Daryl Davis; senior investigative researcher and director of special projects for the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, Joanna Mendelson; author, speaker, and foreign affairs analyst Professor Kenneth W. Stein; journalist and author Robin Wright; Holocaust historian Deborah E. Lipstadt; former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell; and U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel C. Kurtzer, among other notable individuals.
