22nd Annual Marcus Holocaust Lecture

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January 27

6:30pm - 8:30pm

OFF CAMPUS

Audience: Alumni,  Current Student,  Faculty,  Neighbor or Friend,  Staff

This year's annual Fred & Audrey Friedman Marcus Holocaust Lecture takes place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day--January 27, 2025--marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. 

Return From The Other Planet
Documentary film screening and discussion with director Assaf Lapid

Return From The Other Planet explores the life of Auschwitz survivor and author Yehiel De-Nur. In Israel, De-Nur lived a life shrouded in secrecy, concealing his identity behind the pseudonym “Ka-Tzetnik 135633.” His books – works of fiction informed by the horror of the two years he spent in Auschwitz – were widely read in the 1950s and 1960s and influenced the way readers worldwide imagined the Holocaust. 

In one of the most dramatic moments of the 1961 Eichmann trial, De-Nur collapsed on the stand while recounting the terrors of his experience at Auschwitz, which he described as “The Other Planet”—a place of horror beyond the realm of human understanding. 

Increasingly haunted by the trauma of his experiences, De-Nur later turned to experimental psychiatric therapy using LSD. For over a year, he underwent treatment in the Netherlands, revisiting his memories from Auschwitz in search of clarity, peace, and a way back from "The Other Planet." 

Through the enigma and the legacy of Ka.Tzetnik, Return From The Other Planet examines how individuals and societies reconcile a traumatic past with a return to life.

Following the film, Lapid will be joined by clinical psychologist AJ Grovert for a conversation about the use of psychedelics in the treatment of trauma

The Fred & Audrey Friedman Marcus Holocaust Lecture is presented by the Holocaust Awareness Institute at the University of Denver's Center for Judaic Studies, in partnership with the Mizel Arts and Culture Center and the Denver Jewish Film Festival.

Students, educators, and Holocaust Survivors attend free! Contact hai@du.edu to request your free tickets. 

To purchase tickets, visit https://tickets.jccdenver.org/marcus