See ‘Woman in Gold’ Sept. 10 Film screening, panels and presentations on Nazi plundering of art to open Rodgers Center event series

A screening of the acclaimed feature film Woman in Gold will open this year’s fall events hosted by Chapman University’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education.

The film tells the story of Maria Altmann, who sought to regain a world-famous painting of her aunt plundered by the Nazis during World War II. Introducing the film will be Marilyn Harran, Ph.D., Stern Chair in Holocaust Education and director of the Rodgers Center.

The program will begin at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 in Memorial Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. A volunteer opportunities fair with representatives from local nonprofit organizations will follow the film.

The kickoff event is part of the center’s lecture series and events, all planned to mesh with this year’s theme of “Memory, Meaning, and Justice.”

Among the fall programs related to the Maria Altmann story are:

• Looted Art: Stealing Cultural Heritage, a panel discussion with faculty from the Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Department of Art and Department of History, from 3 to 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Argyros Forum 209.
• Stolen by the Nazis: Recovering “The Woman in Gold” and Other Paintings, a talk by attorney E. Randol Schoenberg, president of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and of-counsel and co-founding partner of Burris, Schoenberg & Walden, LLP, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 13.

The Rodgers Center programs continue throughout the academic year, concluding on May 3 with An Evening of Holocaust Remembrance: A tribute in Art, Words, and Music. Watch for more event details throughout the year on the center’s Facebook page and website.