Book & Author: The Rabbi of Buchenwald

The Rabbi of Buchenwald - A Conversation with Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and Dr. Rafael Medoff  

Rabbi Herschel Schacter, a U.S. Army chaplain in World War II, was part of the unit that liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald. For two and a half grueling months, Rabbi Schacter immersed himself in the world of the survivors and helped them rebuild their shattered lives. After the war, Rabbi Schacter helped spearhead a revival of Orthodox Judaism in America, played a significant role in the Soviet Jewry protest movement, and led efforts to secure American support for Israel. Join us for meaningful and enriching conversation featuring inspiring insights by renowned scholar and son of Rabbi Herschel, Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and Schacter biographer Dr. Rafael Medoff, who will speak about the transformative experience of Rabbi Hershel Schacter, and the story of how a face-to-face encounter with the Holocaust transformed the life of an American rabbi and how he, in turn, transformed the American Jewish community.  

Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, Senior Scholar, YU Center for the Jewish Future; University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought; Adjunct Instructor in Jewish Studies 

Dr. Rafael Medoff, Founding Director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies; Author of The Rabbi of Buchenwald: The Life and Times of Herschel Schacter  

Moderated by: Rabbi Reuven Brand, Founding Rosh Kollel of the Yeshiva University Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago and Dean of the Midwest Center for Jewish Learning 

 Presented in partnership with The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University and Midwest Center for Jewish Learning at YU Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago 

Community Partners: Associated Talmud Torahs, Congregation Or Torah, Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School, Ida Crown Jewish Academy, and Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago