Dan Michman Delivers the JDC Archives’ Annual Helen Cohen Memorial Lecture: The Yiddishe Neshome of Yehuda Bauer’s Historiography

Dan Michman delivered the JDC Archives’ 6th Helen Cohen Memorial Lecture on June 11, 2025, on “The Yiddishe Neshome of Yehuda Bauer’s Historiography.” The talk centered on Yehuda Bauer, a leading figure in Genocide Studies, who is known for framing the Shoah as an unparalleled genocide and coining the term “unprecedentedness.” Beyond this, his work deeply explores Jewish history, particularly the tension between secular identity and enduring communal solidarity, which was a major factor in his decision to embark on a comprehensive study on the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) early in his career.

Dan Michman is Professor (Emeritus) of Modern Jewish History and the former Chair of the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan. He is also Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research and Incumbent of the John Najmann Chair in Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.

This lecture is cosponsored by JDC Archives and the Jewish Book Council. It is supported by Miriam “Mimi” Pasternak Toubin (z”l) Public Educational Programming from the JDC Archives.