Michael Berenbaum (born July 31, 1945, in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...
) is an American scholar, professor,
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
, writer, and filmmaker, who specializes in the study of the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. He served as deputy director of the President's Commission on the Holocaust (1979–1980), Project Director of the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust h ...
(USHMM) (1988–1993), and Director of the USHMM's Holocaust Research Institute (1993–1997).
Berenbaum played a leading role in the creation of the USHMM and the content of its permanent exhibition. From 1997 to 1999, he served as president and CEO of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, and subsequently (and currently) as Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust, located at the
American Jewish University
American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California.
Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in ...
(formerly known as the University of Judaism), in Los Angeles, California.
Professional career
Berenbaum, who is Jewish, graduated from
Queens College
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967 and received his doctorate from
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
in 1975. He also attended
The Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
, the
Jewish Theological Seminary and
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
. Berenbaum received Rabbinic ordination (
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
) by Rabbi Yaakov Rabin at the age of 23. Berenbaum held teaching posts at
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
,
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
,
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
,
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
,
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
, and
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
, and is currently a Professor of Jewish Studies at the
American Jewish University
American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California.
Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in ...
(Los Angeles).
He is the author and editor of eighteen books, including ''After Tragedy and Triumph'', a study of the state of American Jewry in the early 1990s, as well as ''The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust'', and ''Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp''. He co-edited ''After The Passion is Gone: American Religious Consequences'', an examination of the social impact of the film ''After the Passion is Gone'',with Shawn Landres (2004). Berenbaum and
Landres took a public role in shaping the interreligious response to the film.
Berenbaum was the Executive Editor of the ''New
Encyclopedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
'', 2nd ed., which includes 22 volumes, six million words, and 25,000 individual contributions to Jewish knowledge, published in December 2006 (). It won the
Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association for outstanding reference work of 2006.
Berenbaum co-produced ''
One Survivor Remembers: The Gerda Weissmann Klein Story'', a film which was recognized with an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, and the
Cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
ACE Award. He was the chief historical consultant for ''Last Days'', which also won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
in 1998. In 2001, Berenbaum was historical consultant for the
History Channel's ''The Holocaust: The Untold Story'', which won the
CINE
Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer ...
Golden Eagle Award and a silver medal at the US International Film and Video Festival. He was also Executive Producer of a film entitled ''
Desperate Hours
''Desperate Hours'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film, and a remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this film wi ...
'' about the unique and rarely acknowledged role The Republic of Turkey played in rescuing Jews from Nazi Germany's final solution and "About Face: The Story of The Jewish Refugee Soldiers of WWII." Berenbaum was executive producer of ''Swimming in Auschwitz'' and was a consultant for ''Defiance'' and ''Uprising'', among other Holocaust-related films and documentaries.
Berenbaum is the founding partner of Berenbaum Jacobs Associates, a firm that designs museums, special exhibitions, memorials and educational denters.
In 2019 and 2020 he served as a history consultant for the Serbian historical drama film ''
Dara of Jasenovac
''Dara of Jasenovac'' ( sr, Дара из Јасеновца, Dara iz Jasenovca) is a 2021 Serbian historical drama film directed by Predrag Antonijević. Based on the testimonies of survivors, it deals with war crimes and atrocities that took p ...
''.
Personal life
Berenbaum's wife is Melissa Patack Berenbaum. Berenbaum is the father of four children: Rabbi Ilana Berenbaum Grinblat, Phillip Lev Berenbaum, Joshua Boaz Berenbaum, and Mira Leza Berenbaum.
He is the model for the character Monty Pincus in
Tova Reich
Tova is a given name, nickname and a surname. Notable people with this name include:
Given name
* Saint Tova of Thorney (died ), Anglo-Saxon martyr
* Tova of the Obotrites (, Slavic princess and queen consort of Denmark
* Tova Beck-Friedman ( ...
’s 2007 satirical novel ''
My Holocaust
''My Holocaust'' is an American novel by Tova Reich. The novel was published in the year 2007. The novel is a satire on commercialization of Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during Wo ...
''.
My Holocaust at Forward.com
/ref>
References
External links
Michael Berenbaum, AJU Directory
Book reviews: A Convenient Hatred
Holocaust history books
Michael Berenbaum at American Jewish University
Articles by Michael Berenbaum
The Madness of Contemporary Times
The Complexity of the Jewish Narrative in Our Times
Op-eds by Michael Berenbaum
Middle east 2010
Essays by Michael Berenbaum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenbaum, Michael
Judaic studies
American encyclopedists
American social sciences writers
Queens College, City University of New York alumni
Florida State University alumni
Boston University alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni
Yale University faculty
Florida State University faculty
Wesleyan University faculty
Georgetown University faculty
George Washington University faculty
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
American Jewish University faculty
American documentary filmmakers
American University faculty and staff
Historians of the Holocaust
Jewish American historians
American male non-fiction writers
1945 births
Living people
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
American Orthodox rabbis
Historians from California