Seton Hill hosting lecture series focused on Holocaust scholar Eva Fleischner

A lecture series focusing on the life of Holocaust scholar Eva Fleischner is scheduled for next week by the Seton Hill University National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education.

Titled “The memory of goodness: Eva Fleischner and her contributions to Holocaust studies,” the series will discuss Fleischner, a scholar of women in the Holocaust and Jewish-Christian relations. Much of her research has focused on the sacrifices made by rescuers, while coining the term “memory of goodness” about survivors’ experiences.

She also looked at the dark elements of human behavior revealed in the Holocaust.

The lecture will be hosted by John K. Roth, the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights.

Fleischner was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1925, according to the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations. Following Hitler’s 1938 annexation of Austria, her family emigrated to England. In 1943, Fleischner moved to the United States, where she studied at Radcliffe College.

After several years, Fleischner enrolled at Marquette University for her doctorate, where she found a passion for learning about the Holocaust. After focusing her doctoral dissertation on “The impact of the Holocaust on German Christian theology since 1945,” Fleischner went on to to hold the Women’s Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette.

After discovering her interest in the Holocaust, Fleischner’s focus has been to awaken her fellow Christians to the richness of the Jewish tradition and the horrors of the Holocaust, according to the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations.

During her time studying the Holocaust, she was appointed to several committees, including Seton Hill’s Board of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education.

Fleischner died July 6.

Roth’s presentation will explore the dual aspects of Fleischner’s contributions while paying tribute to her. According to Ruth, Fleischner’s life and work are devoted to reminding the public “what goodness is, the forces that threaten it and the means by which we might resist those threats,” a news release reads.

The series, scheduled for Wednesday,will be held via Zoom. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Those interested in registering can do so at setonhill.edu/NCCHE. Any questions regarding the lecture can be directed to ncche@setonhill.edu.