Professor Greg Duhl and Shira Shapiro ’09 of Robins Kaplan LLP are collaborating this fall to offer law students and members of the public alike an opportunity to discuss the legal theory and law related to the Holocaust. Mitchell Hamline is proud to gather leading experts in the field to deliver this lecture series and enable the public to learn alongside current students.
Anyone, regardless of legal background, can sign up to participate. The 11-week lecture series begins Aug. 29 and will feature renowned academics speaking about topics such as Nazi legal theory and lawmaking, prosecution of Nazi war criminals, legalized theft of private property and civil reparations lawsuits, and the role of attorneys and the judiciary during the Nazi regime. The speakers include professors, practicing attorneys, researchers, leading voices, and authors of foundational scholarship who have dedicated their professional lives to the study of justice and the Holocaust.
The intent of the course and lecture series, called “Law and the Holocaust,” is to give a thorough legal grounding in the 20th century’s defining atrocity in which the Nazis methodically killed six million Jews. The course seeks to help illuminate both the historical context and the ongoing legacy of antisemitism today, which is experiencing a surge worldwide.
After the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel last year and meetings with different student organizations and representatives, Interim President and Dean Jim Hilbert set up a working group to help employees, students, and other members of the campus community hold difficult conversations and work through a number of issues, one of which included antisemitism. He says the lecture series aligns well with that effort. “I look forward to this new and exciting opportunity, as well as other future programming, for our students and for members of the community to learn about critical historical events and how they inform our legal system today,” Hilbert said.
Participants will receive readings in advance, as well as have the chance for questions and discussion after each lecture. All sessions—which go from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m.—will take place over Zoom, so attendees can participate regardless of location.
Further information and registration for Law and the Holocaust can be found here. The cost is $395 for non-alums and $295 for alums, and registration is due August 22.
