Hiatt Holocaust Collection & Resources

 This guide is designed to assist you in conducting research with and in relation to the Hiatt Holocaust Collection at the College of the Holy Cross Libraries. On this guide you will find recommendations for resources owned by the Holy Cross Libraries pertaining to Holocaust research, as well as other recommended online resources.

For further assistance with your research, please contact us using the information on the Research Assistance page.  Please note that some of the materials in the Hiatt Collection are held by the Special Collections & College Archives. 

The College of the Holy Cross maintains a substantial collection of Holocaust materials. The origins of this collection date from 1979 when two new wings of Dinand Library were dedicated to the memory of Joshua and Leah Hiatt and all victims of the Holocaust. 

The collection's focus is the role of the Roman Catholic Church and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the Holocaust. It includes materials covering assistance given by Christians to Jewish victims of the Nazis; Christian opposition to the Nazis; persecution of Christians by the Nazis; and the relationships between Christians and Jews as they relate to the Holocaust. In recent years, the collection has expanded to include materials addressing genocide more generally. 

By sponsoring the Frances and Jacob Hiatt Collection of Holocaust Materials, the College of the Holy Cross wishes to preserve in memory the six million Jews put to death under the Nazi regime. As an academic institute, Holy Cross strives to educate its community about centrality of the Holocaust in modern religious history and to foster and deepen a commitment to social justice. This alone may prevent a repetition of the genocide and violent destruction.