Media Contact: Lori N. Jones, ljones@fairfield.edu , 203-254-4000 x2975

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (November 7, 2017) — Father Patrick Desbois made global headlines for his pioneering efforts to uncover Third Reich killing fields in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine. His award-winning book, The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews , is an autobiography, travelogue, and collection of transcripts written as he revisited dozens of sites where Hitler’s soldiers and local militias brutally executed Jews. He will present his life’s work in a lecture entitled, “A Voice of Conscience: Uncovering Mass Murder from the Holocaust to Today, ” at the Quick Center on Wednesday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m.

“Aiming to connect the atrocities of the Holocaust with modern acts of genocide, Father Desbois will share with us his decades-long commitment to identifying sites of mass execution, and to giving voice to those who were there, yet survived,” said professor and director of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, Ellen M. Umansky, PhD. “I am deeply honored by Fr. Desbois' agreeing to be with us. I know that all of us will leave his lecture both humbled and inspired.”

Fr. Desbois is president of the international organization, Yahad-In Unum, [Hebrew and Latin for “Together in One”], its mission to prevent genocide and mass killings anywhere in the world today and to identify and commemorate the sites of Jewish and Roma mass executions in Eastern Europe during World War II. In addition to the Holocaust during World War II, Fr. Desbois has also worked to bring to light modern-day genocide, calling attention to mass killings in Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda, and even the more recent persecution of the Yazidis in Iraq. His work with Action for Yazidis collects the words of survivors to document and offer evidence of genocide of the Yazidis people by Islamic State militants.

As part of the Open VISIONS Forum series, Fr. Desbois’ lecture is the 20 ^th Annual Jacoby-Lunin Lectureship, a program is made possible through the generosity of the Frank Jacoby Foundation of Bridgeport. It is presented in affiliation with the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, and is sponsored by the Delamar & Spa, and TVEyes.

Tickets are $35, Quick Center Members: $27. For more information or to reserve your seat, visit www.quickcenter.com or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.

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Posted On: 11-14-2017 11:11 AM

Volume: 50 Number: 69

Fairfield University is a modern Jesuit Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and across the globe are pursuing degrees in the University’s five schools. Fairfield embraces a liberal humanistic approach to education, encouraging critical thinking, cultivating free and open inquiry, and fostering ethical and religious values. The University is located on a stunning 200-acre campus on the scenic Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.