26 | MAY 11 • 2023
W
hen I asked Fr.
Patrick Desbois
what he hopes peo-
ple get out of his appearance at
Jewish Family Service’s Spotlight
Event on May 24, his answer
surprised me. “I
hope they will not
sleep well after,
”
he said. “Because
when we see peo-
ple sleep well, they
forget what is hap-
pening.
”
A Roman Catholic priest,
distinguished author, university
professor, historian, forensic
detective and world-renowned
human-rights activist, Desbois
has dedicated his life to edu-
cating the world about the
Holocaust and antisemitism.
He is the founder of Yahad-In
Unum (“Together In One” in
Hebrew and Latin), a nonprofit
organization dedicated to dis-
covering genocidal practices
wherever they are found around
the world, providing docu-
mented proof of crimes against
humanity, and a leading voice of
protest on behalf of all past and
present victims of mass murder.
His dedication to this work has
been featured on 60 Minutes.
Yahad-In Unum’s original
charter was documenting the
evidence of the Holocaust in
Eastern Europe, known as the
“Holocaust by Bullets.
”
For nearly two decades,
Yahad-In Unum pioneered the
application of modern forensic
research to the study of geno-
cide. Through this developed
methodology, they have uncov-
ered the location of more than
2,900 killing sites and docu-
mented more than 7,000 witness
testimonies to the war crimes of
the Einsatzgruppen (Nazi Death
Squads).
Desbois’ ongoing work brings
closure to the victims and sur-
vivors of genocide and calls for
legal justice for the perpetrators.
His book, Holocaust by Bullets:
A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the
Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5
Million Jews, is based on this
work. Desbois will be signing
books (available for purchase) at
the dessert reception following
his talk, where he’ll share his
riveting story in what will surely
be an emotional, educational
evening.
The May 24 event takes
place at Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield. The program
begins at 7 p.m. Admission is
$75. Event chairs are Helen and
Martin Katz.
Given that JFS provides
services to more than 600
Holocaust survivors, Desbois is
a fitting choice for its Spotlight
event.
Risa Berris, director of
Holocaust survivor services for
JFS, says it’s beneficial anytime
somebody goes out and edu-
cates people on these topics like
Desbois will on May 24.
“He’s well known; he’s been
doing this a long time; he has a
perspective,
” Berris said. “I think
he contributes to that ‘Never
Again’ concept where people
need to be educated in order to
not have this happen again.
”
Berris says local survivors
have been invited free of charge,
though she’s not sure how many
will be there.
Desbois has been to Detroit
40-50 times and says it’s the
city and Jewish community he
knows best in all of America.
He’s excited to return once
again but is focused on the topic
at hand and how important
it is to teach new generations
what happened — not only to
remember the past, but to antic-
ipate the future.
“We must think largely to
teach the Holocaust, not only
to people who are near to us
but people who are far, because
antisemitism is not (just) a
Jewish issue, it’s an issue for the
non-Jews,
” Desbois said.
Desbois says he believes we
must train new leaders to know
exactly what happened and to
name where antisemitism is
coming from today. Otherwise,
he says, we are dreaming.
“I think we have to teach the
Holocaust to heal as a society
because these ideologies of
intolerance and hate are unfor-
tunately coming back all over
the world.
”
For registration and sponsorship
information, visit jfsspotlightevent.org
or call (248) 592-2339. Dollars raised
enable JFS to address the greatest
needs of the community and continue
serving the most vulnerable.
SPOTLIGHT
Fr. Patrick Desbois is the guest speaker for this
year’s JFS Spotlight Event on May 24.
Spotlight:
Never
Again
Fr. Patrick
Desbois
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Fr. Desbois works
to locate places
where genocide
has occurred.