Center for the Study of War Experience
Who We Are
The Center for the Study of War Experience is primarily committed to providing a space for individuals to share their stories of war. Since its founding in 2004, the Center has been dedicated to gathering and preserving a wide range of voices and to fostering dialogue and reflection regarding the nuances and complexities of war experience. With the multiplicity of individual narratives from differing perspectives, the Center contributes to a broader analysis and understanding of the political, social, economic and cultural costs of war.
Anchored in Jesuit values, the Center is committed to the theories and practices of oral history and its potential to be a transformative process for the interviewee, interviewer and those who listen to and engage with the individual narratives. With this cornerstone, the Center offers students, researchers and members of the public the opportunity to listen deeply and reflect upon the experiences of others–particularly those who have been underrepresented or marginalized–and therefore collectively bear witness to war and how it affects lives in a multitude of ways.
While the Center’s oral history program began in the 1990s with an urgent focus on recording the stories of aging World War II veterans, we have since expanded the scope of our collection, undergraduate courses and public programming to include civilians, anti-war protestors, refugees and those employed in wartime labor. Most recently, the Center has focused on the experiences of women, Hispanic Vietnam War veterans and African American experiences of war. We are also initiating a new two-year thematic approach to programming with a focus on war from the lens of refugee experiences and cross-campus collaboration.
The U.S. and the Holocaust
Screening and Panel Discussion
Join Regis University and our partners for an important community conversation and a screening clip of the acclaimed documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein.
The evening will include remarks by Colorado Attorney General Phil Wiser as well as a screening clip of the film. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, The U.S. and the Holocaust delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America.
Following the screening clip, there will be a panel discussion moderated by Dan Leshem of JEWISH colorado. Panelists will include Adam Rovner, Director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Denver; Estelle Nadel, a Holocaust survivor; Pamela Roth, the daughter of Holocaust survivors; Todd Hennessy, co-founder of Colorado Holocaust Educators, and Kristen Blessman, PBS12 General Manager.
Date: October 20, 2022
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Claver Hall, Mountain View Room
Oral History and Archival Collection
With over 900 hours of recorded interviews and an extensive archive of artifacts, documents, and photos from the interviewees, the Center provides ample opportunities for students and researchers to engage with primary sources. The multiple and nuanced narratives allow students to explore how stories of conflict are told, how individual and collective memories influence and shape those narratives, how war experiences are translated to the public, and how they inform larger conversations about war in society.
Many of our interviews can be accessed in this digital repository hosted by the Regis University Library.
Explore the Collection
