Media Relations
Press Release:
MEDIA CONTACT: Carol Lewis
561-297-0245, clewis36@fau.edu
FAU Libraries Host ‘The Greatest Crime of the War: The Armenian Genocide during World War I’ Exhibition
Films, Discussions, Tours also Part of Genocide Awareness Month
BOCA RATON, FL (March 28, 2011)
--
The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida
Atlantic University is sponsoring “The Greatest Crime of the
War: Armenian Genocide During World War I,” an exhibition on
loan from the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, from
Wednesday, March 30 through Wednesday, April 27, at the Wimberly
Library on FAU’s Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road.
The exhibition displays the systematic murder of more than one
million Armenians in Anatolia during the middle of World War I,
between 1915 and 1916, and sporadically until 1923. The story is
told through 21 free-standing panels that showcase photographs,
quotes from witnesses, and the history and legacy of the genocide.
Historians and human rights organizations contend that the Armenian
Genocide was the first well documented genocide of the 20th
century, but it is generally overlooked or denied.
“It is important for our community to learn about and
memorialize the Armenian victims just as we memorialize and educate
about the Shoah,” said Rose Gatens, Ph.D., director of the
FAU Center for Holocaust and Human Rights on FAU’s Boca Raton
campus. “Remembering strengthens our commitment to prevent
and intervene against genocide.”
The exhibition is being offered in April as part of Genocide
Awareness Month, which is observed to increase awareness and
prevention of genocides. The Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the
Bosnian, Rwandan and Darfur genocides occurred within the last 100
years. Although each of the genocides is unique, they follow
recognizable patterns beginning with the Armenian Genocide, said
Gatens.
“The similarities include the targeting of a national or
ethnic group, forced deportations, mass murder and the destruction
of culture,’’ said Gatens. “Just as disturbing is
the fact that the response of the international community to these
crimes continues to follow similar patterns of avoidance and
inaction.”
In addition to the Armenian Genocide exhibition, the center is
partnering with other community organizations, including FAU
Libraries, to offer films, discussions and tours to honor the
victims of the genocides, their descendants and to provide a
community forum.
Docent-led exhibition tours, which are free to the public, are
available for groups of 10 to 15 people on Wednesdays April 6, 13
and 20. More information on the month-long events and tours, which
are by reservation only, can be obtained by calling 561-297-2929.
A screening of the film “Tony,” the story of a Ugandan
boy’s recovery from his experiences as a child soldier in the
Lord’s Resistance Army, will take place on Friday, April 1,
from 6 to 8 p.m. at FAU’s College of Business, Room 120. The
film is by Invisible Children, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the
war in Uganda.
“The Armenian Genocide” film screening will be followed
by a panel discussion with descendants of survivors on Tuesday,
April 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wimberly Library, fifth floor
performance hall.
Mary Johnson, Ph.D. Johnson, curator of the exhibition, and
senior historian with “Facing History and
Ourselves,’’ will discuss the exhibition at the
Wimberly Library, fifth floor performance hall, on Monday, April
25, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The Genocide exhibition can be viewed during library hours, which
are available by calling 561-297-3770 or at
www.library.fau.edu/geninfo/hours.htm.
Parking passes and library directions can be requested at the
information booth at the FAU main entrance at Glades Road. Metered
parking may be available at the library.
-FAU-
About
Florida Atlantic University:
Florida
Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its
doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. In
commemoration of its origin, FAU is celebrating its 50th
anniversary throughout 2011. Today, the University serves more
than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven
campuses and sites. FAU’s world-class teaching and
research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the College
of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the
College of Education, the College of Engineering
& Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L.
Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of
Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High
Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit
www.fau.edu.
