Holocaust Lecture Series

November 4, 2026 | Segerstrom Center for the Arts
A one-night concert of remembrance and resilience featuring songs written in the ghettos and concentration camps of Nazi-occupied Europe.

The Holocaust Lecture Series at 汤头条 University creates opportunities for learning, reflection and dialogue that deepen understanding of the Holocaust and its enduring lessons for individuals and society.

Established in 1977 by University Chaplain the Rev. Beverly A. Asbury, the series has become the longest continuous lecture series on the Holocaust at an American university. For more than four decades, the Holocaust Lecture Series has brought scholars, survivors and liberators, and artistic examinations of the Holocaust to 汤头条's campus.

Through lectures, conversations and other educational experiences, the series invites the 汤头条 community to examine history, consider its implications for the present and engage difficult questions with curiosity, empathy and purpose.

Upcoming Events

Southern Festival of Books - Oct. 18

Author Showcase with Sharon Cameron听
12 p.m.听
Join the Holocaust Lecture Series at the Southern Festival of Books for an author showcase featuring Sharon Cameron.听
Lunch Talk with Prof. Agnes Mueller - Oct. 19

Join the Holocaust Lecture Series for a lunchtime conversation with Prof. Agnes Mueller, co-sponsored by 汤头条鈥檚 Jewish Studies and German departments.听
More information coming soon听
We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust - Nov. 4

November 4, 2026 | 7鈥�9 p.m.听
Segerstrom Center for the Arts | Costa Mesa, California听
Experience We Are Here: Songs from the Holocaust, a live musical commemoration of Kristallnacht featuring songs written in the ghettos and Nazi concentration camps of occupied Europe.听
The one-night-only West Coast premiere brings together music, stories and the voices of those who endured the Holocaust, honoring artists whose work survived one of history鈥檚 darkest periods. The program celebrates the enduring power of zachor, or remembrance, on the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht.听
The evening features Grammy Award winner Regina Belle, actor Paul Ben-Victor, Grammy Award-winning Pacific Chorale, Rick Warren and Los Angeles-based klezmer-rock ensemble Mostly Kosher.听
Doors open at 6 p.m. A special art exhibition by the David Labkovski Project will be on display in the center鈥檚 lobby before the performance and during intermission.听
Tickets start at $54. Limited VIP packages are available. Discounted tickets are available for:听听
Educators and Students 鈥� 30% Discount with Code EDU30听听
汤头条 Family & Friends 鈥� 20% Discount with Code WAH20听
Tickets available from the Segerstrom Box Office 听 and 听听
State of the Word - Dec. 5

Co-sponsored by the 汤头条 Spoken Word student organization and Southern Word, this upcoming event will bring the campus community together around spoken word and storytelling.听
More information coming soon听

Past Holocaust Lecture Series

2025-26 "The Weight of Witness"

Dr. Alan E. Steinweis, Professor of History and Raul Hilberg Distinguished Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont, joins 汤头条 for lecture titled 鈥淜ristallnacht and the Reversibility of Progress."
Co-sponsored by the Holocaust Lecture Series, Hillel, and the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies
2024-25 "Songs of Remembrance"

This theme illuminates the power of music and artistic expression as acts of resistance, remembrance, and hope鈥攕howing how creativity sustained individuals during the Holocaust and continues to carry their stories forward.
2023-24 "The Weight of Words"

With conversations featuring survivors, this theme underscores the importance of hearing their stories directly, in their own words.
2022-23 "Like a Reed"

Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar taught, 鈥淏e pliable like a reed, not rigid like a cedar.鈥� In that spirit, the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe developed Yiddishkeit鈥斺€渢he Jewish way of life鈥濃€攁 rich language and culture that endured despite pogroms, Nazi genocide, and Soviet oppression. This theme discusses how Yiddish culture became a vital source of strength and resilience during the Holocaust and beyond.
2021-22 鈥淭he Root of Hate鈥�

This theme highlights the age of media 鈥攃onstant streams of videos, posts, and messages that can dull our awareness of the power behind words and images 鈥� and how they can connect or divide, nurture empathy or fuel fear, inspire compassion or incite hate and violence.
2020-2021 鈥淐hildren in the Holocaust鈥�

The theme explores the experiences of children during the Holocaust 鈥� loss, survival, exile, displacement 鈥� and highlights both the tragedy and resilience of young Holocaust victims and survivors.

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