Mr. Benjamin Holt

Professional Background

Benjamin Holt is a doctoral student of history at American University. He holds a dual Master’s degree in history and Jewish studies and a Bachelor’s degree in history, both from the University of Toronto, where he was also awarded the Sonshine Graduate Scholarship in Holocaust studies. Holt has served as an associate editor for the Past Tense Graduate Review of History, the University of Toronto’s graduate history journal. Holt's current research focuses on the role of Jewish youth within the French Resistance.

Fellowship Research

While at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Summer Graduate Student Research Fellow, Holt will work on his project, “Les Jeunes Résistants: Young Jewish Communists in the French Resistance.” He will conduct research on documents collected by French Communist Party (PCF) member David Diamant, which speak to Jewish youth participation in Communist Resistance organizations from 1940 to 1945. This work will explore the covert efforts of the large web of Communist Jewish youth organizations during the Second World War, such as l‘Union de la Jeunesse Juive (UJJ) and Jeunesse Communiste Juives (JCJ). In looking at these interconnected groups, Holt hopes that highlighting the imaginative tactics and far-reaching impacts of young Jewish Communists will aid in broadening the historiographical definitions of resistance and resistor.

Residency Period: June 1, 2023–August 31, 2023