County College of Morris presents ‘Paper Trails: How Bureaucracy Shaped the Lives of Holocaust Refugees’
RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) — The County College of Morris (CCM) invites the community to an eye-opening lecture, “Paper Trails: How Bureaucracy Shaped the Lives of Holocaust Refugees,” on Tuesday, November 19, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. The event will take place in Cohen Hall 100 on CCM’s campus and is free and open to the public.
Presented by Didi Tal, a fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Ph.D. candidate in German studies at Columbia University, the lecture will explore how immigration paperwork impacted the lives of refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Tal, who is currently a William J. Lowenberg Memorial Fellow on America, the Holocaust, and the Jews at the Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, will examine how increasing U.S. immigration restrictions during the era intersected with discussions on border control—issues that continue to resonate today.
As the U.S. tightened immigration policies, many refugees seeking safety in America faced bureaucratic hurdles that shaped their experiences and, in some cases, their fates. These experiences were often captured in literature and personal accounts, as refugees navigated a complex and often hostile immigration system. Tal’s lecture will highlight the historical and cultural context of American immigration restrictions and how they affected Holocaust survivors, framing their stories within the broader discourse on border control, nationalism, and human rights.
Tal’s dissertation, titled “Paper and Trails: The Holocaust and U.S. Border Control,” delves into the intersections of immigration policy, literature, and refugee experiences during the Holocaust. With a background in writing and history, Tal brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the study of immigration and refugee policy.
This lecture is part of CCM’s Legacy Project, an interdisciplinary initiative designed to engage students, faculty, staff, and the wider community in discussions about history, culture, and pressing societal issues. The Legacy Project aims to foster learning outside the traditional classroom by offering thought-provoking academic programs that encourage reflection on the relevance of past events to today’s world.
The event is hosted by CCM’s Department of Arts & Humanities and is made possible through the generosity of the Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation, which supports programs in higher education that promote Jewish values, democracy, human rights, ethical leadership, and cultural pluralism.
Seating is limited, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early. For more information about the lecture or CCM’s Legacy Project, email legacy@ccm.edu. The College is located at 214 Center Grove Road in Randolph, NJ, and visitors may park in Lot 7.
