Film Discussion, Skopp Speaker Series Among Holocaust Remembrance Events

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Jewish studies program will host a series of Holocaust remembrance events beginning Monday, April 21 with a screening of the short film, “The Walk,” and virtual discussion with the film’s director, Adam Fried, in 106 Hudson Hall beginning at 6 p.m.

“The Walk” is the true story of how Fried, an American Jewish man living in Germany to be with his only daughter, is faced with reminders of the Holocaust as he walks his French Bulldog through the streets of Regensburg, Germany. What today is a beautiful medieval city was once a beehive of Nazi activity.

The program will be led by David Joslin, adjunct lecturer in Jewish studies and rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh. In addition to discussing “The Walk,” Fried will also share excerpts from his recent major release, “Everything's Kosher.”

‘Who Gets In’ Book Talk

On Thursday, April 24, Dr. Norman Ravvin, professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal, will discuss, “Who Gets In: Immigration and National Identity in Canada” as part of the Douglas R. Skopp Speaker Series on the Theme of the Holocaust.

Ravvin’s lecture will explore some of the themes of his most recent book, “Who Gets In: An Immigration Story,” which blends history and memoir to recount a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to bring his family to Canada from Poland in the 1930s. 

The lecture will take place in the Douglas and Evelyne Skopp Memorial Holocaust Gallery in Feinberg Library from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by coffee and discussion with in the Reading Room on Feinberg’s third floor.

Days of Remembrance Ceremony

The annual Days of Remembrance ceremony begins at 4 p.m. in the Skopp Gallery, Feinberg Library, with featured speakers Colleen Lemza, professor in the Department of Journalism and Public Relations, and Dale Walsh of Plattsburgh, who will lead a remembrance of the life of the late Evelyne Skopp, one of the most important supporters of Jewish Studies and Holocaust remembrance at SUNY Plattsburgh who died Dec. 5, 2025.

“We're really happy that Colleen Lemza and Dale Walsh are able to join us for this,” said Andrew Buckser, director of the Jewish studies program and professor of anthropology. “Both of them were very close to the Skopps over the course of many years.”

Creative Competition Student Winner

The afternoon will conclude with presentation of the student winner of the Douglas Skopp Creative Competition on the Theme of the Holocaust.

“This is an important for us, both in the Jewish studies program and in the larger community,” Buckser said. “The Holocaust was a time of terrible loss, something that devastated Jewish communities both in Europe and around the world, leaving scars that last to the present day.

“It's very meaningful that we take time to commemorate that as a community — it's a reminder that we're not alone as we reckon with the consequences of the Holocaust and that we can look to one another to find support and friendship,” he said. “It’s also important that this isn’t an event just for Jewish members of our campus and local communities. It gives us all a chance to express our common humanity and our concern for one another across boundaries of faith and ethnicity.”

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Buckser at [email protected].

— By Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs