In one of his last moves before he leaves office, President Obama confirmed his presidential appointment of Lee Feinstein, the dean for the IU School of Global and International Studies, to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Feinstein, who was also the U.S. ambassador to Poland from 2009 to 2012, said he was proud when he began the process of joining those already on the council for the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“I was very proud,” Feinstein said. “I feel like the mission of the museum is more important than ever.”
Feinstein said the museum and the council that manages it have a responsibility to raise awareness of mass killings and genocide around the world and to help prevent them in the future.
The council functions like a board of trustees, Feinstein said. It reviews finances and the strategic mission of the museum, and the members work on subcommittees.
Feinstein will be working on the Committee on Conscience while on the council.
“That’s the arm of the museum which raises awareness on the danger of mass killings,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said for him the position was more than just a post — it also means something personal.
Before World War I, Feinstein’s own grandparents fled Poland, where he would later return as an ambassador.
While his grandparents managed to flee the country, their family and friends died when the Nazis established their death camps in Poland in later years, he said.
“It’s got a personal family connection,” Feinstein said.
That family connection and his time in international politics have informed Feinstein’s beliefs and research, he said.
Feinstein, in conjunction with a fellow scholar, Tod Lindberg, has conducted research and co-authored papers on preventing genocide and mass killings in the past.
“Part of it is changing the way how people think,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said he is also determined to raise awareness and to promote a responsibility to protect both those within a state’s borders and those outside. He pointed out the mass killings in Syria as prime examples.
“The mass killings in Syria are as grave as any have been in years, and international response has been weak,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein, with his new appointment, joins a select group of presidential appointees, and Alvin Rosenfeld, a former presidential appointee and the founder of Jewish studies at IU, said he was sure Feinstein would make an excellent addition.
Rosenfeld has been involved in the museum since it opened its doors in 1993. He said the projects there could be disheartening to look at but are important nevertheless.
“It helps to open people’s eyes today about how bad things can go,” Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld also is the third person from Indiana on the council. Cindy Simon Skojdt, a graduate of IU and well-known philanthropist, is also part of the council, Rosenfeld said.
“Three people on the council, that’s something Indiana can be proud of,” Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld said the museum and the council were of critical importance to keep the memory of the Holocaust and other atrocities alive. Rosenfeld also said he was sure Feinstein would be an excellent addition to the council based on his experience and work in politics and education.
“He’s a very experienced hand,” Rosenfeld said. “He knows his way around the block.”
