Hermann Weiss, who taught in the Department from 1968 to 2000, celebrated his eightieth birthday in June 2017. He has been blessed with good health and continues to lead an active life. His work on two under-researched systems of forced labor camps for Jews in Silesia and adjoining areas is continuing. In addition to writing numerous entries on individual camps for the Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), he occasionally publishes detailed papers on some of these almost unknown camps. Two of these appeared in Poland in 2016 and 2017. Among his more recent discoveries is the actual place in Upper Silesia where approximately 9000 men between 15 and 50 were dragged out of Auschwitz-bound trains from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands to be dispersed to forced labor camps. On September 2, 2016, the former freight station in the city of Cosel was dedicated as a memorial site.

In 2010, Hermann Weiss and his wife Becky moved from their rural home to Great Oak Cohousing on the west side of Ann Arbor, where both take an active role in community life. They regularly travel to Oregon to enjoy that beautiful state, and to Germany to visit with family and friends. Hawaii continues to be one of Hermann Weiss’s favorite destinations. He would be happy to hear from former students (734-663-9673; hfweiss@umich.edu).