LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerence presents the Bridge Builders Lecture entitled A Perspective on the Holocaust: The role of Ethics and Morality for the Military Professional, Tuesday, April 13, at 7:30 PM. at the Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline Street, Houston, TX, 77004.  The Bridge Builder Series features people who personally or through their work help others build bridges of religious tolerance. This series is supported by a gift from the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation.

Our guest speaker is Colonel Edward B. Westermann, (pictured) Lackland Airforce Base.

Colonel Edward B. Westermann, commander of the Air Force Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base will join the Boniuk Center for his lecture, “A Perspective on the Holocaust: The Role of Ethics and Morality for the Military Professional,” which will address how the United States Air Force Academy’s course on the genocide of the European Jews during the National Socialist dictatorship prepares the Academy students to confront moral dilemmas that may arise when the execution of military orders directly affects the life and death of innocent civilians.

Colonel Westermann holds a B.S. in Military History from the USAF Academy, an M.A. in European History from the Florida State University, an M.A. in Military Art and Science from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and a Ph.D. in Military and European History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Free University of Berlin, a summer fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellow on two occasions.

This event is cosponsored by the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance, Rice University NROTC and University of Houston AFROTC.

Our intention for our Bridge Builders Series is to bring people together from different perspectives for meaningful discussion and engagement. Please join us for this event! It is free and open to the public.