(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)September 25, 2008

MAHWAH  – The experiences of European Jewish refugees who settled in Sosúa, Dominican Republic between 1940 and 1945 will be the topic of a presentation at Ramapo College of New Jersey in November.

Dr. Marion Kaplan, author of “Dominican Haven:  The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosúa, 1940 – 1945″ will relate the settlers’ expectations, adjustments, successes and, ultimately, why most left the Dominican Republic.

Her talk will highlight factors that contributed to the migration to the country:  the Dominican government that welcomed the refugees when other governments closed their doors, the American government that agreed to the refugees’ haven in the Dominican Republic and then changed its mind, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee that supported and administered the settlement and the Dominican workers who helped build Sosúa.

Kaplan is Skirball Professor of Modern Jewish History at New York University. She is the author of “The Campaigns of the Jüdischer Frauenbund, 1904­ – 1938″ and

National Jewish Book Award winners “The Making of the Jewish Middle Class: Women, Family and Identity in Imperial Germany” and “Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany.”

She has also served on the advisory committees of the Museum of Jewish Heritage for its permanent exhibit as well as “Sosúa: A Refuge for Jews in the Dominican Republic.”

The talk will be sponsored by Ramapo College’s Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Spanish Studies Program, with support from the Office of Student Affairs Platinum Series, in conjunction with Ramapo College’s celebration of Latino Heritage Month.

The presentation will be given Thursday, November 6, at 7 p.m. in the York Room of the Birch Mansion on the campus of Ramapo College.  The presentation is free and open to the public.  For more information or to reserve a seat, please call 201.684.7409.

For more information, contact Anna Farneski, assistant vice president, Marketing and Communications, 201.684.6844.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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