Department of
History

What stories do the survivors tell? This question will be explored at the Lemkin Lecture March 17 which will begin this year's Powell-Heller Holocaust Conference. The Raphael Lemkin Student Essay Contest awards will be presented at the event.

Dedicated to the man who named "The Crime with No Name"

Through the efforts of PLU Alumnus and Regent, Donald R. Morken, and a colleague, Mr. Bruce Littman, Pacific Lutheran University has been added to a list of prestigious schools which sponsor prizes and scholarships in honor of Raphael Lemkin.

Mr. Lemkin coined the term "genocide" and labored for passage of the United Nations genocide convention which outlaws destruction of races and groups.  The Raphael Lemkin Trust, founded by Mr. Irving Young of Haifa, Israel, helps to support the prizes and scholarships.  The prizes serve to inspire young people to reflect upon the issue of genocide and to inform them about Raphael Lemkin.

Pacific Lutheran University invites its students to write and submit (approximately in February) essays on the topic of genocide.  A panel of faculty members judge the essays and awards first and second prize winners the amounts of $750 and $250 respectively.  The winners, as well as those who submitted an essay, are invited to a dinner that is held to honor Raphael Lemkin and the Essay Competition.

For specific requirements and deadlines regarding this competition, please contact Carol Reed, Assistant to the Dean of Social Sciences at 253.535.7669 or reedca@plu.edu. Awards will be presented at the 2011 Holocaust Conference in March.