Joshua D. Zimmerman

Joshua D. Zimmerman holds the Eli and Diana Zborowski Professorial Chair in Holocaust Studies and East European Jewish History as Professor of History at Yeshiva University, maintaining offices on both Wilf Campus (Furst Hall, Room 506) and Beren Campus (215 Lexington Ave, Room 228).

Education:

• BA, University of California at Santa Cruz
• MA, University of California at Los Angeles
• PhD, Brandeis University

His research examines East European Jewish history through the lens of Holocaust studies, nationalism, and Polish-Jewish relations. He investigates how Jewish communities navigated political upheaval in Eastern Europe, with particular focus on resistance dynamics during Nazi occupation and the contested historical narratives that emerged in its aftermath. His methodological approach combines archival research with memory studies to analyze how trauma shapes collective identity.

Publications spanning 2003-2017 reveal consistent thematic threads: the complexities of Jewish-non-Jewish relations under totalitarian regimes, the evolution of Jewish political movements in Eastern Europe, and the politics of historical memory. His work demonstrates how localized case studies (Poland, Italy, Russia) illuminate broader patterns of minority-majority interactions during periods of state collapse.

Scientific Awards:

• Miles Lerman Center Research Fellow, US Holocaust Memorial Museum (2011-2012)
• Skirball Visiting Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
• Fulbright Scholar, Warsaw University

Dr. Zimmerman teaches courses including The Holocaust (HIS 2141/HIST 2141), History of Modern Russia (HIS 2154/HIST 2154), and Jews in Eastern Europe: 1914-Present (JHI 5441). He serves as a media resource for Holocaust-related topics through Yeshiva University's public affairs office.