Chad S.A. Gibbs serves as director of the Zucker/Goldberg Center for Holocaust Studies and Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies. He is a historian of the Holocaust, antisemitism, modern Germany, and war and society. Chad’s present research focuses on gender, geography, and social networks in Jewish resistance at Treblinka. 

Chad’s work has been supported by fellowships from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Yale University Fortunoff Video Archive, the Claims Conference, the George L. Mosse Program in History, and the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research, where he remains an Affiliated Researcher. His background in the use and analysis of oral histories at several archives contributes teaching and scholarly interests in the collection and analysis of survivor testimonies as well as the generational transmission of knowledge and trauma. Because of these interests and a desire to participate in the preservation of Holocaust history, Chad continues to volunteer as a Scholar Interviewer with the USC Shoah Foundation. In his role as director of the Zucker/Goldberg Center, Chad was elected to the Executive Committee of the Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies in 2022. 

Prior to academic life, Chad served eight years in the US Army including combat deployment to Iraq. He was wounded there in 2006 and medically retired in 2009. The intersection of Chad’s military background and research interests drives his desire to bring the lessons of the Holocaust in the form of genocide and atrocity prevention training to military audiences. In this area, he has led professional development sessions for US Army leaders at Fort Cavazos and Fort Bliss, TX.

Chad received his PhD in History with a minor in Gender and Women’s History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his MA in History from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his BA in History from the University of Wyoming. Those interested can learn more at his professional website.