On May 8 the 35th annual Holocaust and Genocide lecture series at Sonoma State University will host Rwandan Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana, Simon Mudahogora, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, and genocide descendant Ndahiro Bazimya.

Professor Diane Parness, the lecture series coordinator, said, “Ambassador Mukantabana has been a steadfast friend and supporter of SSU’s Holocaust and Genocide lecture series for many years. She has been one of our favorite annual speakers for a long time and brings a very important story to our audience.”

According to Parness, the series has tried to bring in a variety of speakers to focus on historical tragedies besides the Holocaust. 

“We now devote a significant part of the series to other genocides, such a Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia,” said Parness. “We try to find scholars or witnesses who can speak to current crisis areas as well.”

Parness said the university supports the lecture series through SSU’s Instructionally Related Activities, specific funds dedicated to an annual lecture, the Armenians of the North Bay and the Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust. 

“We would not be able to sustain the caliber of this nationally recognized series without this support. But we struggle every year to meet the obvious and growing costs of bringing top notch speakers to SSU,” Parness said.

According to Parness, the university has an outstanding tradition of Holocaust remembrance, in which the Holocaust and Genocide lecture series is a focal point. Beginning with SSU’s Holocaust Memorial Grove, in which the university was awarded one of only eight saplings from the tree that once stood outside the house where Anne Frank was hidden in Amsterdam during the Holocaust.

“The Holocaust and Genocide Lecture Series is known throughout the country,” said Parness, “When I had the privilege of attending a conference at Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial) a few year ago, I met scholars and witnesses from around the world who were familiar with our lecture series. It’s truly one of the most important things SSU does.”

Other speakers for this semester’s series will include Professor Evgeny Finkel on Feb. 6; addressing The Holocaust, historical legacies, and local politics. On March 6, Professor Sergio La Porta will be speaking on the Armenian Genocide. Also, the Cambodian, Syrian, and American Genocides will be addressed on April 17, April 24 and May 1. 

Lectures for the series will be held throughout the semester and on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. in Ives 101.