Understanding Antisemitism. Preparing Leaders.
The Resnick Center supports an array of initiatives designed to counter antisemitism. It is the only academic center or department at West Point that does so. Through courses, expert lectures, cadet experiences, research, and professional development, we help future military leaders recognize the causes and warning signs of antisemitism and develop practical strategies to address it.
Center faculty regularly speak, teach, and engage with issues of antisemitism, both current and historical. From the classroom to international conferences, our work brings together scholarship, real-world experience, and principled leadership to confront hatred and strengthen democratic societies.
Our Approach
Educate
Courses and cadet experiences that build knowledge and critical thinking.
Engage
Lectures, conferences, and public programs that advance the conversation.
Research
Scholarship and tools that inform understanding and prevention.
Lead
Professional development and outreach to strengthen institutions and communities.
Education & Scholarship
Teaching the History — Confronting it’s Legacy
Teaching & Learning
- West points first course on antisemitism (2023-2024), taught by Dr. Frey.
- Hiring of an expert on antisemitism for at least a two-year term.
- Cadet trips specifically designed to learn about antisemitism, including the Partnership for Leadership and Integrity.
- Programs for U.S. soldiers stationed in Israel to understandhistorical antisemitism through a day-long event at Yad Vashem.
Faculty Scholarship & Outreach
- Dr. Micheal Geheran’s book Comrades Betrayed: Jewish World War I Veterans under Hitler (Cornell University Press, 2020).
- Podcast interview with the New Books Network (September 2021).
- Conversation with Wesley Livesay on the History of the Great War podcast (December 2021).
- Dr. David Frey’s participation in the international symposium Confronting Antisemitism: Activating Archives, Libraries, and Museums in the Fight Against Antisemitism (2021).
Featured Program
Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski
In April 2024, West Point hosted a special screening of Remember This, followed by a panel discussion with members of the cast and crew, including actor David Strathairn. Moderated by Cadet Andrew Keith ’24, the program explored the extraordinary story of Jan Karski — a Polish resistance fighter who risked his life to report on Nazi atrocities.
The discussion highlightedf Karski’s moral courage and the enduring relevance of his message: the responsibility of individuals and institutions to confront hatred, speak out, and take action in the face of injustice.
A Tradition of Remembrance
National Day of Remembrance
Until commemoration of the National Day of Remembrance was abolished for federal institutions in 2025, the Resnick Center was an integral partner in selecting speakers to invite to West Point and supporting the event, which normally attracted audiences of over three hundred. Past speakers arranged by Center personnel include:
2024 – Paula Apsell, the 13-time Emmy Award winner and producer of the documentary Resistance: They Fought Back, about Jewish resistance to Nazi genocide. The program also featured streaming of Apsell’s documentary.
2022 – Dr. Michael Geheran organized a visit of 90 members of the Orange Country Jewish Community to the West Point Jewish Chapel to commemorate Yom HaShoah. They were joined by a number of West Point faculty, staff, and cadets. This unique event, the first of its kind, was made possible by a collaboration between the Resnick Center, West Point’s Chaplains, and the Newburgh Jewish Community Center (JCC).
After a welcome and introductory remarks by Dr. Geheran and Chaplain Frommer, JCC member Sharon Goldberg paid tribute to the life and achievements of Paula Neyman, a local Holocaust survivor. The remainder of the ceremony was devoted to commemorating the Holocaust and featured a limited complement of the Jewish Chapel Cadet Choir.
2021 – Carolyn Enger, Pianist and Multimedia Artist, creator of The Mischlinge Exposé.
2019 – Survivors Kristine Keren (nee Krysztyna Chiger) and her husband Marian. The day featured a showing of the award-winning film In Darkness, which was based on the book that Keren co-wrote with Dan Paisner, The Girl in the Green Sweater, which detailed how Christine and her family survived for well over a year hiding in the sewers of Lvov.
2018 – Howard Lorber, Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
2017 – Dr. Deborah Lipstadt. Emory Professor of History, Holocaust and antisemitism expert, and later US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism. The program also included a screening of the film about Dr. Lipstadt’s legal battle about Holocaust truth, Denial.
2016 – Father Patrick Desbois, president of Yahad-In Unum, director of the Episcopal Committee for Catholic-Judeo Relations, under the auspices of the French Conference of Bishops, and Professor of Practice of Forensic Study of the Holocaust at Georgetown University.
2014 – Max Lerner, Viennese-born Holocaust survivor, author and World War II US Intelligence Officer
2013 – Holocaust survivor, psychologist and Army Veteran Jack Terry
2012 – Famed New York City District Attorney and scion of the Morgenthau family Robert Morgenthau (with Dr. Frey), Holocaust Survivor Rabbi Jacob Jungreis.
2011 – Award-Winning Filmmaker Ms. Victoria Barnett, the writer, producer, and director of Desperate Hours.
2010 – Ms. Neeltje “Nellie” Noorlander, Holocaust survivor from Rotterdam.
Professional Development
Department of Homeland Security Investigations Division Training
Dr. David Frey, then the Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, ran two annual iterations of a program on ethical leadership for senior leaders in the Investigations Division of the New York office of the Department of Homeland Security. The program, which took place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, was based on one of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ signature products, the Ordinary Soldiers case study. This case study examines the behavior of three company commanders in the World War II German Army who were all given the order to eliminate Jews in their areas of operations by their battalion commander. The case study is currently being used nationally in ROTC education and at other professional military education institutions. Discussion of German history and the context in which the company commanders lived regularly enabled a great discussion of leadership, ethics, legal obligations, and professionalism.