West Point’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) and the United States Naval Academy (USNA) Never Again Initiative, together with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (USHMM) Levine Institute for Holocaust Education, conducted the first ever Joint Service Academies Mass Atrocity Prevention Symposium (JSAMAPS). The purpose of this innovative, student-led symposium, which took place at the USHMM in Washington, DC, and included undergraduates from USMA, USNA, United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), and United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), was fourfold. First, the symposium enabled cadets and mid-shipmen to have advanced discussions about the causes, contexts, and consequences of atrocity, atrocity prevention, as well as post-atrocity justice and reconciliation with experts in the field. Second, it allowed cadets and midshipmen the opportunity to present research they conducted on the Holocaust and other genocides. Third, it encouraged the students, who will be among the first tasked with responding to future atrocities as military officers, to draw lessons from the past and learn about recent studies by peers that could lead to creative means of prevention. Fourth, it provided cadets and midshipmen with an unparalleled leadership opportunity. A committee of cadets and midshipmen, including CDT Nette Monaus, CDT Simone Askew, and MID 1/C Teresa Kennedy, guided by CHGS Director Dr. David Frey, served as the Symposium’s leaders. Their outstanding efforts earned them coins from Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy, who attended and spoke on the Symposium’s first day.
The faculty co-organizers, Dr. Frey (USMA), Dr. Richard Ruth (USNA), and Ms. Amanda Rooney Stierli and Ms. Jennifer Ciardelli of the USHMM, gathered renowned Holocaust and genocide scholars from USHMM, individuals engaged in atrocity prevention and response work from the State Department and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and individuals representing non-governmental organizations involved in anti-atrocity work. Together with the student organizers, they were able to create an exceptional learning opportunity for the young men and women who are preparing to become future military leaders and will be the first asked to contend with atrocity and genocide. Through discussions and exhibits, students learned lessons from past atrocities that may enable them to prevent future genocide and atrocities worldwide.