Scholars and religious leaders gathered at Fairfield University on April 16 for the institution’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, an event dedicated to collective memory and moral reflection.

Dr. Shay Pilnik, a leading scholar on Holocaust and genocide studies, served as the keynote speaker. His lecture focused on the history of Babyn Yar, where tens of thousands of Jews were massacred in 1941. Pilnik discussed how the Soviet regime later suppressed the memory of the atrocity, anonymizing victims as “peaceful Soviet citizens.”

Pilnik highlighted the role of cultural resistance against state-imposed silence, specifically citing Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s 1961 poem “Babi Yar” as a turning point of “permitted dissent.”

Following the lecture, memorial candles were lit for the six million victims. The ceremony featured several university leaders, including Rev. John Savard, S.J., and Provost Christine Siegel, who read “A Prayer of Resolve” by Rabbi David Katz. The prayer called for a world rooted in justice and a shared commitment to preventing future atrocities.

The traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, was led by Rabbi James Prosnit. The remembrance was a collaborative effort between the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, Campus Ministry, and the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County.