Talk at Allegheny To Focus on Why Ordinary People Acted Extraordinarily During the Holocaust

Glenn Sharfman, professor of history and vice president and dean of academic affairs at Manchester University, will give a talk titled “Are You My Brother’s Keeper? Why Ordinary People Acted Extraordinarily During the Holocaust” at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 in the Tillotson Room of the Tippie Alumni Center at Allegheny College. The public is invited.

Much of the historical writing and current teaching on the Holocaust focuses on famous perpetrators, but Sharfman’s talk will concentrate on ordinary individuals who acted extraordinarily during World War II. The discussion will center on some lesser known people who were put in a position where they could have acted heroically or cruelly. Sharfman will talk about why some chose to save their neighbors while others chose not to during the Holocaust.

His presentation at Allegheny College is sponsored by the Department of History, Phi Alpha Theta honor society, the Jewish Studies Minor Steering Committee and Hillel.