The field of contemporary Holocaust studies is increasingly international in perspective. These approaches do not detach themselves from European history; rather, they incorporate perspectives and voices not always considered in more traditional Holocaust studies. The new book, Global Approaches to the Holocaust: Memory, History and Representation, asks: What happens when scholars shift their focus from an exclusively European perspective of the Holocaust? What new insights are gained from exploring the impact of the Holocaust from outside the European milieu? How do countries that were not directly affected by Nazi policies of occupation and extermination remember the Holocaust?

What does an expansive approach to the Holocaust entail? With essays about North and South Africa, Mauritius, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Pakistan, Palestine, Colombia, New Zealand, and more, Global Approaches to the Holocaust seeks to create a critical voice in Holocaust studies that encompasses not only Europe but also Asia, Africa, South and North America, Australia, and the Middle East.

On November 10, 2025, the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust celebrated the book’s launch featuring a conversation with Dr. Mark Celinscak and Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, co-editors of Global Approaches to the Holocaust, that was moderated by Dr. Laura B. Cohen.

Click here to watch the recorded event

Click here to purchase a copy of the book

Dr. Mark Celinscak is the Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Executive Director of the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is the author of Kingdom of Night: Witnesses to the Holocaust and Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp.

Dr. Mehnaz Afridi is a Professor of Religion & Philosophy and Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan University. She is the author of Shoah through Muslim Eyes.

Dr. Laura B. Cohen is the Executive Director of the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College at the City University of New York where she oversees public programming, exhibitions, educational initiatives, and community outreach.