Conference Dates: May 18-20, 2027
Conference Location: University of Manchester, UK
This workshop will explore the understudied topic of Jewish religious life during the Holocaust from a variety of perspectives and source bases. We seek to explore a range of topics, including wartime rabbinic responsa on specific religious issues, as well as Nazi policies; spiritual resistance; questions of conversion in wartime; Jewish religious life in ghettos and concentration camps (and the limitations and challenges thereof); wartime rabbinical networks; religious identities of those in “mixed marriages”; and postwar questions around required death rituals, to name only a few.
Overview of the Workshop and Volume
This workshop will be structured around the presentation of primary sources that illuminate a range of issues related to Jewish religious life during the Holocaust and in its immediate aftermath (roughly 1939-1950). Participants will each present a primary source (or a cluster of related primary sources), contextualizing them and explaining their historical, theological, or linguistic significance for the broader study of the Holocaust. After the workshop, we intend to publish with an academic press a volume of primary sources and accompanying essays for university-level classroom use, including translations if needed. The aim of the volume is to make these sources and their scholarly examination accessible to non-specialists in Holocaust Studies. Selected participants will be expected to submit draft chapters by January 15, 2028; a formal book proposal will be developed following the workshop.
Application Details
Applications are welcome from scholars at all career levels, from PhD candidates to senior faculty. Participants accepted to this project must be willing to participate in the workshop and contribute to the edited volume. Apply via our online application by October 20, 2026.
Applications must include:
A curriculum vitae
A brief abstract of 500-700 words, describing the primary source(s) that you would present,
This includes whether or not the sources have been published previously (in English or another language), their context, and their significance for Holocaust Studies
Confirmation that you are willing to participate in both the workshop and the edited volume project as it evolves
Travel and Lodging
For non-local participants, the Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will cover the cost of (1) direct travel to and from the participant’s home institution and Manchester, UK, and (2) lodging for the duration of the workshop. All participants will also be provided $150 to defray the cost of meals and incidentals. Questions should be directed to religion@ushmm.org. The Programs on Religion and the Holocaust is supported by Lilly Endowment Inc; the Hoffberger Family Foundation; and by Joseph A. and Janeal Cannon and Family.