The Holocaust Awareness Institute is dedicated to furthering education about the Holocaust and its significance for current and future generations. Our public programs present new scholarship and perspectives on the Holocaust, commemorate the countless lives lost, and pay tribute to the stories of those who survived.
HAI also works to inform our community about other local events that relate to Holocaust awareness and education. Our calendar of events includes important dates that are commemorated throughout the year.
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed as a day of commemoration for the people who perished in the Holocaust and marks the anniversary of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. The day is observed on the 27th of Nisan, the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar.
Yom HaShoah will be observed on the following days on the Gregorian calendar:
2023: Tuesday, April 18
2024: Monday, May 6
2025: Thursday, April 24
Designated by UN General Assembly Resolution in 2005, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed on January 27 in commemoration of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1945.
HAI is proud to co-sponsor Holocaust remembrance events throughout the Denver metro area. Please email us at hai@du.edu for more information.
For resources on Remembrance Days, including how to mindfully organize a remembrance event, please visit the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The Marcus Lecture was created in 2003 in memory of Fred Marcus, a Jewish educator who was born in Berlin and spent the war years in Shanghai as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Fred served as a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Holocaust Awareness Institute for many years, educating students and members of churches and synagogues about the Holocaust.
In 2022, the Lecture was renamed to also honor Audrey Friedman Marcus, who co-founded the Marcus Lecture in her late husband’s memory, and without whose tireless advocacy on behalf of Holocaust education this longstanding community program would not be possible.
Presented in partnership with the Mizel Arts and Culture Center, the Marcus Lecture highlights new scholarship and perspectives on the Holocaust and illuminates its continuing significance today.
Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site
The Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site (HMSAS) is a space dedicated to inclusivity and diversity through learning, intercultural dialogue and social justice initiatives. The mission of the site is to honor and remember those who lost their lives in the Holocaust by dedicating ourselves to acts of learning, dialogue and bridge-building aimed at making the world a better place today and into the future.
Our vision is linked to the Hebrew expression, "Hineni": "Here I am," a post-Holocaust ethical teaching about the infinite responsibility that each one of us has for the other. In post-Holocaust Jewish philosophy, this expression conveys a strong message; the words "Here I am" are words of ethical response—they mark the infinite responsibility that each of us has to the person standing before us. In this spirit, the site calls us to action, while emphasizing learning and dialogue.
Upcoming Center for Judaic Studies Events
Thursday, May 29, 2025
When Strawberries Bloom: The Creation of Golda Meir
When Strawberries Bloom chronicles the life and times of Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel (and one-time Denver resident), from her early childhood in the Russian Empire through her adult years as a world leader. Don't miss this special one-night-only performance featuring CJS' own Selena A. Naumoff as Golda Meir!
7:00 p.m. MT
Historic Elitch Theatre, 4550 W 38th St, Denver CO 80212
Livingston & Abrams Lecture in American Jewish History
Behind the Podcast: The Nightingale of Iran
RMJHS welcomes sisters Galeet and Danielle Dardashti, creators of the award-winning audio documentary The Nightingale of Iran, for an evening of storytelling and song as they discuss the making of the podcast exploring their family’s musical journey from Persia to Israel and to the United States.
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
JCC Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S Dahlia St, Denver CO, 80246
An Evening of Art and Story: Frank Stella’s "Had Gadya" in Conversation
University of Denver Libraries and the Center for Judaic Studies present a conversation with CJS Director Adam Rovner and Dean Sobel, Professor of the Practice of Art History and Museum Studies and founding director of the Clyfford Still Museum about Stella’s impact on modern art, the cultural weight of Had Gadya, and what it means for a major contemporary artist to illustrate this powerful narrative.
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. MT
Kvistad Special Events Room, Anderson Academic Commons 290
Join us for a special screening of the film Blind Spot, the first film to document the presence of antisemitism on American campuses prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel, and to examine how it grew into the explosion of virulent and often violent campus antisemitism in the aftermath of October 7.
The 44th Annual Governor's Holocaust Remembrance Program
CJS joins the Mountain States ADL and other sponsors for a special commemorative program bringing together people of all faiths to honor survivors, remember those who perished, educate about this horrific crime against humanity, and translate those lessons into contemporary action.
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. MT
Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape Street, Denver, CO (or livestream)
The RMJHS Book Club is reading "Extracted: Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America’s Higher Education"
Join RMJHS in Boulder for a discussion of Dr. S. Perry Brickman’s in-depth study of antisemitism at Emory University. In 2006, Brickman attended an exhibit on the history of Jewish life at Emory, where he encountered documents strongly suggesting that many―himself included―had been failed out of Emory’s School of Dentistry because they were Jewish. Determined to uncover the truth, Brickman began extracting evidence hidden deep in the archives.
RSVP to joshua.furman@du.edu or 303-871-3085.
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. MT
Congregation Har Hashem in Boulder, 3950 Baseline Rd, Boulder, CO 80303
Thursday, May 15, 2025
The 31st Annual RMJHS Heritage Award Evening: Honoring Colorado Jewish Journalism
Join us at History Colorado for a special evening celebrating Colorado Jewish Journalism. This year's event features a panel discussion with our three Heritage Award honorees, veteran journalists Chris Leppek, Kathy Neustadt, and Gary Shapiro.
Proceeds benefit the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society in our mission to preserve Jewish history in Colorado and the Mountain West. Explore our past and build our future with RMJHS!
5:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203
When Strawberries Bloom: The Creation of Golda Meir
When Strawberries Bloom chronicles the life and times of Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel (and one-time Denver resident), from her early childhood in the Russian Empire through her adult years as a world leader. Don't miss this special one-night-only performance featuring CJS' own Selena A. Naumoff as Golda Meir!
7:00 p.m. MT
Historic Elitch Theatre, 4550 W 38th St, Denver CO 80212
Livingston & Abrams Lecture in American Jewish History
Behind the Podcast: The Nightingale of Iran
RMJHS welcomes sisters Galeet and Danielle Dardashti, creators of the award-winning audio documentary The Nightingale of Iran, for an evening of storytelling and song as they discuss the making of the podcast exploring their family’s musical journey from Persia to Israel and to the United States.
6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
JCC Elaine Wolf Theatre, 350 S Dahlia St, Denver CO, 80246
An Evening of Art and Story: Frank Stella’s "Had Gadya" in Conversation
University of Denver Libraries and the Center for Judaic Studies present a conversation with CJS Director Adam Rovner and Dean Sobel, Professor of the Practice of Art History and Museum Studies and founding director of the Clyfford Still Museum about Stella’s impact on modern art, the cultural weight of Had Gadya, and what it means for a major contemporary artist to illustrate this powerful narrative.
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. MT
Kvistad Special Events Room, Anderson Academic Commons 290
Join us for a special screening of the film Blind Spot, the first film to document the presence of antisemitism on American campuses prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel, and to examine how it grew into the explosion of virulent and often violent campus antisemitism in the aftermath of October 7.
The 44th Annual Governor's Holocaust Remembrance Program
CJS joins the Mountain States ADL and other sponsors for a special commemorative program bringing together people of all faiths to honor survivors, remember those who perished, educate about this horrific crime against humanity, and translate those lessons into contemporary action.
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. MT
Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape Street, Denver, CO (or livestream)
The RMJHS Book Club is reading "Extracted: Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America’s Higher Education"
Join RMJHS in Boulder for a discussion of Dr. S. Perry Brickman’s in-depth study of antisemitism at Emory University. In 2006, Brickman attended an exhibit on the history of Jewish life at Emory, where he encountered documents strongly suggesting that many―himself included―had been failed out of Emory’s School of Dentistry because they were Jewish. Determined to uncover the truth, Brickman began extracting evidence hidden deep in the archives.
RSVP to joshua.furman@du.edu or 303-871-3085.
2:00 - 3:30 p.m. MT
Congregation Har Hashem in Boulder, 3950 Baseline Rd, Boulder, CO 80303
Thursday, May 15, 2025
The 31st Annual RMJHS Heritage Award Evening: Honoring Colorado Jewish Journalism
Join us at History Colorado for a special evening celebrating Colorado Jewish Journalism. This year's event features a panel discussion with our three Heritage Award honorees, veteran journalists Chris Leppek, Kathy Neustadt, and Gary Shapiro.
Proceeds benefit the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society in our mission to preserve Jewish history in Colorado and the Mountain West. Explore our past and build our future with RMJHS!
5:30 - 8:00 p.m. MT
History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203
When Strawberries Bloom: The Creation of Golda Meir
When Strawberries Bloom chronicles the life and times of Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel (and one-time Denver resident), from her early childhood in the Russian Empire through her adult years as a world leader. Don't miss this special one-night-only performance featuring CJS' own Selena A. Naumoff as Golda Meir!
7:00 p.m. MT
Historic Elitch Theatre, 4550 W 38th St, Denver CO 80212
Go to the graduate admission application to submit your information. For information on admission requirements, visit the graduate academic programs page and locate your program of interest.
