Presented by Dr. Lori Weintrob
Professor of History, Founding Director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, Staten Island, New York
“You do not know the extent of my courage,” wrote Marianne Cohn defiantly after her arrest by the Gestapo for smuggling Jewish children to safety.
Thousands of women trapped in Nazi-occupied Europe responded to persecution with extraordinary bravery and dignity. Among them were doctors, nurses, lawyers, journalists, educators, artists and resistance fighters who risked their lives to save themselves and others.
This program highlights the courageous choices and powerful voices of Jewish and non-Jewish women who used pen and pistol in the fight against Nazi tyranny.
Through stories of rescue, armed resistance, and moral courage, we will encounter remarkable women—including Zivia Lubetkin, Vitka Kempner-Kovner, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, Hadassah Rosensaft, and Josephine Baker—whose actions continue to inspire us and whose legacies remind us of our responsibility to confront antisemitism, hatred, and injustice.
Register to receive the Zoom link to join us online. Barring any technical issues, the recording will be posted to our Program Archive.
The Hack Family is grateful to sponsor this lecture in celebration of the 90th birthday of their dear aunt, Marilyn Boyers.
Lori R. Weintrob, PhD, is the founding Director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center in Staten Island, NY and has connected survivors with over 35,000 youth of all faiths. She is co-editor of Heroines of the Holocaust: Reframing Resistance and Courage in Genocide (2025) and Beyond Bystanders: Educational Leadership for a Human Culture in a Globalizing Reality (2017). Her forthcoming books are Beyond Such Knowledge: The Collected Works of Holocaust Survivor Frieda Aaron (2026) and Documents of the Holocaust: 100 Witnesses to History (2027). She is producer and co-author of the original play, Rise Up: Young Holocaust Heroes.
She has led interfaith community-building projects for over 25 years and serves on the boards of VISIONS and SI Women, Inc. She received her B.A. from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
We extend a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our 2026 program lineup. He dedicates the semester’s learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C.