How are we meant to respond to contemporary threats of far-right extremism, populism, and antisemitism that increasingly resemble the Nazi past? In this talk, we explore history and cast a light on the forgotten figures who found ways to challenge and undermine the most brutal of dictatorships. From the German lawyer who fled the Third Reich to help the Allies, to the Black American soldier who liberated Buchenwald, to the politicians and journalists who unearthed Nazi war criminals hiding in the United States, we will see that resistance does sometime involves incredible daring and enormous risk – but it can also begin with something as simple as writing your ideas down or showing solidarity with the oppressed.

Luke Berryman is the Founder of The Ninth Candle, a nonprofit organization that works with schools across the United States to improve Holocaust education. He’s the author of Resisting Nazism (Bloomsbury, 2026), and he’s written for newspapers including USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, and The Guardian, and for journals like Education Week and Chalkbeat. He holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London.