Casper College to Host Holocaust Remembrance Week Lecture on Resistance

Casper College will host several events as part of Holocaust Remembrance Week, including a public lecture examining resistance, inaction, and lesser-known Holocaust stories.

Casper College history instructor Tanis Lovercheck-Saunders will present “Timely Resistance to Injustice” on Tuesday, Jan. 27, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Goodstein Foundation Library on the Casper College campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.

During the lecture, Lovercheck-Saunders will challenge the common belief that few people resisted the Nazis during the Holocaust.

“Students often believe that no one resisted the Nazis. I tell them that this isn’t true,” Lovercheck-Saunders said. “What is true is that not enough people resisted at key points that may have derailed the Holocaust.”

Lovercheck-Saunders will highlight examples of public resistance that temporarily forced Nazi leaders to alter policies, while also examining how quieter changes to Germany’s educational, cultural, social, and legal systems helped make the Holocaust possible.

“The Holocaust wasn’t possible when the Nazis came to power in 1933,” she noted, explaining that incremental changes over time paved the way for genocide.

The presentation will also explore the consequences of inaction. Lovercheck-Saunders will argue that individuals who wanted to resist but felt isolated, powerless, or afraid ultimately contributed to Nazi policies through silence.

“Make no mistake about it: There were no bystanders in the Holocaust,” she said. “Inaction was tantamount to consenting to Nazi policy.”

Additional Holocaust Remembrance Week events include “Untold Forgettable Holocaust Biographies and Stories Throughout the Jewish Deaf Eyes,” a presentation by Arkady Belozovsky on Friday, Jan. 30, at 1 p.m., also in Room 215 of the Goodstein Foundation Library.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s virtual reality exhibit, “The Journey Back: A VR Experience,” will be available through Feb. 6. The experience allows participants to virtually walk through the stories of Holocaust survivors. For more information, contact Goodstein librarian Sarah Mailloux at 307-268-2137.

Holocaust Remembrance Week is sponsored by Casper College Connections, the Goodstein Foundation Library, and the Casper College History Department.

Lovercheck-Saunders has served as Casper College’s lead history faculty member since 2009 and regularly consults with community organizations and law enforcement on Holocaust history and modern extremist movements.

Event Details

What: “Timely Resistance to Injustice” public lecture

Who: Tanis Lovercheck-Saunders, Ph.D., Casper College

When: Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Casper College, Goodstein Foundation Library, Room 215

Cost: Free and open to the public