University of Denver honors survivors, unveils new professorship in Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies
Holocaust survivors shared their stories and music at the Colorado State Capitol on Tuesday in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and support of a new endowed professorship at the University of Denver.
DU says the professorship in Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies is among the first of its kind and is designed to "prepare future leaders to confront hatred, moral collapse, and civic responsibility in real time."
"What feels distinctive here — and network-relevant — is the shift away from remembrance as static memory toward applied education: survivor testimony embedded in coursework, community-facing scholarship, and leadership training that treats the Holocaust as a case study in institutional failure, ethical decision-making, and human behavior," the university shared in a statement. "At a moment of accelerating antisemitism, this represents a durable, design-forward response rather than a symbolic one."
The event also honored two Holocaust survivors who live in Colorado.
Celebrated musician Oscar "Osi" Sladek, who is Jewish, survived as a child by hiding in a cave in the Tatra Mountains with his parents. His harrowing experience is documented in his newly released memoir, "Escape to the Tatras." He shared a passage from his book detailing his escape in which a man smuggled him through a snowy landscape into a forested area as he tried to avoid detection.
Sladek also gifted the crowd with a performance of the Yiddish song, "Zog Nit Keynmol," known as the anthem of the Jewish partisans. Music composed by Sladek 's father was performed for the first time at Tuesday's event, played by the Denver Young Artists Orchestra and Tom Hagerman of the Colorado-based quartet DeVotchKa, who played a violin that belonged to Sladek's father.
The event also honored Barbara Steinmetz, a Jewish Holocaust survivor as well as a survivor of the Boulder terror attack. Her family fled to Hungary following the implementation of the Italian Racial Laws, before they were forced to flee again as Germany continued to expand its control across Europe. They escaped Europe on the last boat out to the Dominican Republic in 1941.
She says her parents' courage in the face of world events and their fight to find refuge for their family helped shape her. Steinmetz says that the memories of Holocaust survivors should be a source of strength and courage for younger generations and serve as a warning to future leaders.
"As to antisemitism," Steinmetz continued, "we must educate future leaders to understand history, so as to be able to respond with truth to how dehumanizing, stereotyping any group is wrong. It is literally inhumane. They will learn how autocrats and hateful rhetoric can rob a country of its history, destroy a society's decency, and, most of all, they will learn that it takes courage to save freedom."
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis thanked Sladek and Steinmetz, emphasizing the importance of remembering their stories and using those lessons to build a better future.
"This new professor for Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies at the University of Denver is a really important way to elevate Holocaust awareness and education and understanding, and responding to the rise we see in antisemitism today across the world," Polis said. "These two go hand in hand. We must understand the past and understand the present to understand the future."
University of Denver's Center for Judaic Studies Director Adam Rovner said it's imperative that stories like theirs be preserved for future generations.
"This is a time when many of the survivors are dwindling," said Rovner. "We need a way to preserve their legacy and honor their courage and survival. So, that's what we're doing here today."
