10/23/97

ATHENS, Ohio -- Richard Breitman, a professor of history at American University, will give the Leonard Lazaroff Endowment's inaugural lecture "Staying the Course? The War and the Holocaust, 1943-1945" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in 194 Irvine Hall on the West Green of Ohio University's Athens campus.

An expert in Holocaust studies, Breitman graduated from Yale University and completed master's and doctoral degrees in history at Harvard University. He is the author of Breaking the Silence: The German Who Exposed the Final Solution.

The Lazaroff Endowment is made possible by Lazaroff, a 1936 graduate of Ohio University, and supports two courses in the History Department, one focusing on medieval Jewry and the other on the Jewish people during the era of the Holocaust. The endowment also supports historical research and periodical lectures, according to Bruce Steiner, chair of the History Department.

"Private funding increasingly is vital to our research effort and enhances our teaching mission," Steiner said. "The Lazaroff Endowment, an excellent example of alumni support, meets both of these needs on a continual basis."

The lecture is free and open to the public.