Wendy Lower, an author of several books about the Holocaust and history professor at Claremont McKenna College, will discuss the role of women in World War II during a public lecture at NAU as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Lower will present “I wanted to prove myself to the men: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in Ardrey Auditorium.
Drawing from wartime documents, postwar trials, private letters, diaries and interviews, the lecture will focus on outstanding cases of women who became direct witnesses, accomplices and perpetrators of the Holocaust. In the colonial outposts of the eastern Germany, German women were an integral part of the society of perpetrators. They enjoyed privileges as members of the new ruling elite, and they possessed extreme power over the lives of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust. Lower will discuss what some of these women chose to do with this power during the war and how they distorted their criminal behavior after the war.
The lecture is free for NAU and Coconino Community College students and faculty, and $15 for the public. Tickets are available through the Central Ticket Office at www.nau.edu/cto, or by calling (928) 523-5661.
Following the lecture, Lower will sign copies of her book, “Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields,” in the lobby of Ardrey Auditorium.
This event is part of a semester-long series, “Commemorating 70 Years: The Liberation of Auschwitz and the End of WWII Remembered,” sponsored by the Martin-Springer Institute and the Student Activities Council. Future event and speaker details can be found here.