WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is hosting “The Holocaust by Bullets: a Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews,” featuring Father Patrick Desbois on Monday, September 22.

Father Desbois has devoted his life to confronting antisemitism and furthering Catholic-Jewish understanding. Since 2001, he has led a truly historic undertaking. Using the Museum’s archives to inform his search, he and his team have crisscrossed the countryside in Ukraine in an effort to locate every mass grave and site at which Jews were killed during the Holocaust. To date, they have identified 800 of an estimated 2,000 such locations. They are marking these sites, collecting artifacts, and, most significantly, recording video testimonies from eyewitnesses—many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time.

Father Desbois’ important work has received international media attention, including coverage in The New York Times, Time magazine, on The Today Show and NBC Nightly News. Father Desbois was honored for his work at the Museum’s annual National Tribute Dinner in April and was awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest honor, in June by President Nikolas Sarkozy. He is also the President of Yahad-In Unum, which is a joint initiative created in January 2004 by the archbishops of Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux and the World Jewish Congress to deepen knowledge and cooperation between Catholics and Jews.

Father Desbois’ new book, The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews, published in August by Palgrave Macmillan ($26.95, http://us.macmillan.com/theholocaustbybullets) with the support of the Museum. Copies of the book will be for sale, and following the program a book signing with Father Desbois will be held.

The program will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 22, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in the Helena Rubinstein Auditorium, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW in Washington, D.C. Media inquiries should be directed to Andy Hollinger at 202-488-6133 or ahollinger@ushmm.org.

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was created to inspire leaders and citizens to confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity and strengthen democracy. Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanence, and donors nationwide make possible its educational activities and global outreach. For more information, visit www.ushmm.org.