Events
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.
Fred and Audrey Friedman Marcus Holocaust Lecture
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
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Cocktails in Cool Places: Ironworks
RMJHS is excited to partner with Historic Denver on the much-loved program series “Cocktails in Cool Places.” Join us at the Ironworks Building near lower Colfax and Larimer for a captivating evening inside the iconic Midwest Steel and Ironworks Building, built in 1903. Explore this true Denver landmark and dive into the rich heritage of the West Colfax neighborhood: RMJHS and the Beck Archives will offer an illuminating look at the early Jewish community that helped shape this vibrant area.
- 5:30 p.m. MT
- Midwest Steel and Ironworks Building | 25 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80204
Sunday, August 10, 2025
The RMJHS Book Club is reading "The Jew Who Would be King: A True Story of Shipwreck, Survival, and Scandal in Victorian Africa"
Join RMJHS and author and CJS Director Adam Rovner for a discussion of his latest book, The Jew Who Would be King. Rovner’s book tells the story of Nathaniel Isaacs—a nineteenth-century British Jew who helped establish the Zulu kingdom only to become a ruthless warlord and slaveholder. Purchase a copy of The Jew Who Would Be King HERE
RSVP to joshua.furman@du.edu or 303-871-3085
- 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. MT
- University of Denver Burwell Career Center, 2190 E Asbury Ave, Denver, CO
Sunday, September 14 & Monday, September 15, 2025
The 2025 RMJHS Annual Meeting presents RMJHS on the Road: Historic Jewish Trinidad, CO
Join the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society on the road as we explore Colorado Jewish history on location in Trinidad, CO! We’ll delve into the Jewish history of the town and learn about the restoration of Temple Aaron, which became a National Historic Landmark in 2024, and we’ll visit the Trinidad History Museum and other nearby sites.
This trip will include an overnight stay in Trinidad. Travel with RMJHS by bus from Denver or plan your own transportation and meet us there.
Details and registration coming soon! For more information, contact RMJHS Director Dr. Joshua Furman at Joshua.Furman@DU.edu.
- Trinidad, CO
