Rochelle G. Saidel is an American writer and researcher. She founded the
Remember the Women Institute in 1997 and currently serves as its executive director.
Biography
Saidel is originally from
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...
. She completed a PhD in political science at the
City University of New York. Dr. Saidel received her undergraduate education from both Queens College,
City University of New York and
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
. She then received her M.S. in education from Queens College and her PhD in political science from The Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York.
Writing
Saidel is the author of numerous books, with a focus on 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; ...
. Her first book, published in 1985, was ''The Outraged Conscience: Seekers for Justice of Nazi War Criminals in America''. She has since authored or edited seven other books about the Holocaust, mainly discussing the often untold stories of women. She authored ''Never Too Late To Remember: The Politics Behind New York City's Holocaust Museum'', ''Mielec, Poland: The Shtetl that Became a Nazi Concentration Camp'', and ''The Jewish Women of
Ravensbrück Concentration Camp''. The Ravensbrück book was named a National Jewish Book Awards finalist and was published in English, Hebrew, and Portuguese.
Saidel is also the editor of several books, including an expanded version of the memoir of
Gemma La Guardia Gluck, the sister of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
, entitled ''Fiorello's Sister: Gemma La Guardia Gluck's Story''. In addition, Saidel co-edited with Sonja Hedgepeth the anthology ''Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust''. She co-edited four editions of ''Women, Theater, and the Holocaust Resource Handbook'' with Karen Shulman; ''VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide with Batya Brutin'';
and ''Teaching and Education with Gender Equality in Childhood and Adolescence: A Practical Guide for Teachers'' (in Portuguese). Saidel has also been a correspondent for the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency. She has written numerous articles for the
Jerusalem Post, the
Times of Israel
''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman. ,
Hadassah Magazine,
Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...
, and other periodicals. Most of Saidel's works focus on the experiences of Jewish women during the Holocaust.
Exhibitions
Saidel has been the curator or coordinator for several important art and history exhibitions. She coordinated ''Bitter Hope: From Holocaust to Haven'', a permanent exhibition about the
Oswego, New York refugee camp for the
New York State Museum
The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol ...
in
Albany. In 2001, she was guest curator for the Florida Holocaust Museum's ''Women of Ravensbrück: portraits of courage'', art by Julia Terwilliger exhibition, which later travelled extensively. She also curated an exhibition about Gemma La Guardia Gluck for
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion at their New York City campus. She coordinated the 2018 exhibition: ''VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide'', Remember the Women Institute's international group exhibition at the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York City. ''VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide with Batya Brutin'';
Film and television
Saidel has worked on several films and television programs, most of them related to the Holocaust. She was a consultant and made a cameo appearance for Rosemarie Reed's ''Where Birds Never Sang: The Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camps'' (also known as ''Where Birds Don't Sing: The Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camps''). She was also a consultant for Ronnie Sarnat's ''Screaming Silence'', a documentary about children who were sexually abused during the Holocaust, and for ''Return to a Burning House'', a film about Holocaust heroine
Haviva Reik
Haviva Reik (alternately Haviva Reick, Havivah Reich, Chaviva Reiková or Chaviva Reich) (22 June 1914 – 20 November 1944) was one of 32 or 33 parachutists sent by the Jewish Agency and Britain's MI9 on military missions in Nazi-occupied Europe ...
. Saidel also appeared in ''Triangles: Witnesses of the Holocaust'', a film about LGBTQ Holocaust Survivors, and ''Living with Shadows'', about sexual violence in the Holocaust. She produced and hosted a three-part television program called ''From Hitler to Uncle Sam: How American Intelligence Used Nazi War Criminals''. This show was based on a book written by Charles R. Allen Jr., who Saidel worked with on other books about Nazis. She also created, produced, and hosted a twice-monthly documentary telecast on subjects including the Holocaust: ''Heritage and Destiny'' on the
Albany ABC Affiliate, on behalf of the Greater Albany Jewish Federation and
Anti-Defamation League.
Advocacy
In 1997, Saidel founded the
Remember the Women Institute, based in New York City. Under Saidel's leadership, the institute has organized and participated in numerous conferences related to women in the Holocaust. Her focus on sexual violence during the Holocaust has evolved to include domestic, or intimate partner, violence. Saidel, along with Sonja Hedgepeth, has worked with
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Steinem was a c ...
and other feminist activists on issues relating to sexual assault against women during genocides. In 2011, Saidel and Hedgepeth participated in a panel centered around their book, ''Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust''. Steinem led this panel. The
Women Under Siege Project
The Women Under Siege Project is an independent initiative of the Women's Media Center (WMC). The project documents online and through social media how rape and gender-based violence are used as tools in warfare and genocide. The project uses jour ...
, an initiative of the Women's Media Center founded by Steinem and others, was inspired by Hedgepeth and Saidel's book. In the 1980s, Saidel was the Special Assistant to New York State Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein. She advised him on issues relating to Holocaust remembrance and the creation of the
New York City Holocaust Museum. Beginning in 1977, she was at the forefront of early efforts to deport Nazi war criminals from the United States. She co-authored an informational booklet entitled ''Nazi War Criminals in America: Facts...Action'' with Charles R. Allen, Jr.
Honors
*
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
Summer Seminar Visiting Scholar
* Member (first woman), National Commission for Catholic-Jewish Religious Dialogue in Brazil
* 21 Leaders of 21st century from
Women’s eNews
* Associate Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Women and Society, The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York
* Senior Researcher, NEMGE Center for the Study of Women and the Social Relations of Gender,
University of São Paulo
The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...
* National Jewish Book Awards Finalist for ''The Jewish Women of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp''
Bibliography
Written
*''The Outraged Conscience: Seekers of Justice for Nazi War Criminals in America:'' (1985)
*''Never Too Late To Remember: The Politics Behind New York City's Holocaust Museum'' (1996)
*''The Jewish Women of Ravensbrück Concentration Camp'' (2004)
*''Mielec, Poland: The Shtetl That Became a Nazi Concentration Camp'' (2012)
Edited
*''Teaching and Education with Gender Equality in Childhood and Adolescence: A Practical Guide for Teachers'' (Portuguese) (1996)
*''Fiorello's Sister: Gemma La Guardia Gluck's Story'' (2007)
*''Sexual Violence Against Jewish Women during the Holocaust'' (2010)
*''Women, Theater, and the Holocaust Resource Handbook'' (2015)
*''VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide'' (2018)
See also
*
Museum of Jewish Heritage
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
*
List of Jewish American authors
*
Ravensbrück Concentration Camp
*
Jewish Women in the Holocaust
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saidel, Rochelle
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
City University of New York alumni