Boeing Honors Bob Herschkowitz!

On January 26, 2012, Robert Herschkowitz presented his story of survival during the Holocaust to 80 members of the Boeing Everett Service Engineering Twin Aisle Group as part of their Diversity Lunch and Learn Program. Bob spoke about his childhood in Belgium, escape to France, and experience crossing the Swiss Alps to freedom on foot with his mother, father and baby brother.

In honor of his exceptional performance, Boeing presented Bob with the Boeing Recognition Award.

Bob is past president of the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center and active member of the Center’s Speakers Bureau. He has been active in our community as a speaker and Holocaust teacher. For more information on Bob, see his biography on the WSHERC website.

Teacher Seminars

40 teachers attended last week's teacher seminar on "Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide" in Bellevue with special guest Dr. James Waller.

See photos from the seminar and the public lecture!

Educators - please join us at one of our next upcoming trainings: Feb. 17 in Bellingham or March 9 in Tacoma!

500 dvds!

More than 500 people have requested and received the Holocaust Center's new educational documentary, "With My Own Eyes"!

Pictured - the Holocaust Center's amazing interns preparing dvds to be sent out.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Not to be confused with Yom HaShoah (April 19, 2012), the United States’ Holocaust Remembrance Day, today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day in 1945, the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, and in 2005 this day was adopted as the United Nations’ day of Holocaust Remembrance—a day in which every nation state in the United Nations is obligated to honor the over 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. This year, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day is dedicated to the children who died in the Holocaust. Today, the Secretary-General of the United Nations gave this statement:

“One and a half million Jewish children perished in the Holocaust – victims

of persecution by the Nazis and their supporters.

Tens of thousands of other children were also murdered.

They included people with disabilities… as well as Roma and Sinti.

All were victims of a hate-filled ideology that labelled them “inferior”.

This year’s International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust is dedicated to the children – girls and boys who faced sheer terror and evil.

Many were orphaned by the war, or ripped away from their families.

Many died of starvation, disease or at the hands of their abusers.

We will never know what these children might have contributed to our world.

And among the survivors, many were too shattered to tell their stories.

Today, we seek to give voice to those accounts.

That is why the United Nations continues to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust.

It is why we strive to promote children’s rights and aspirations – every day and everywhere.

And it is why we will continue to be inspired by the shining example of great humanitarians such as Raoul Wallenberg, in this, the centennial year of his birth.

Today, as we remember all those lost during the Holocaust – young and old alike -- I call on all nations to protect the most vulnerable, regardless of race, colour, gender or religious beliefs.

Children are uniquely vulnerable to the worst of humankind.

We must show them the best this world has to offer.

Thank you.”

H.E. Mr. Ban Ki Moon

The Secretary-General of United Nations

For more information about International Holocaust Remembrance Day and how to attend a memorial in your area, click here.

An email we received from a teacher

An email we received other day from a teacher. We have posted it with her permission.

Dear Holocaust Center,

I would like to order your DVD With My Own Eyes. I have taught the Holocaust through both my World and U.S. History classes for twenty years, and I will be retiring from teaching in June, 2013. I would like to leave not only all of my Holocaust teaching materials gathered from so many workshops over the years, but also your DVD that focuses on many of the speakers my students have listened to spellbound in person. As these wonderful people pass on, we need to have their voices still heard by this new generation of high school students.

Please tell Klaus Stern that his voice has resonated with my students from the 1990’s at Shorewood High School to the students of Northgate Middle College High School. I keep in touch with many former students, and one of the most lasting experiences of my classes has been Klaus’ talk. Just yesterday I was visiting a former student from MCHS who now has a new baby. As we were talking, she said she’d love to have me meet her husband who is also a huge history buff, especially zeroing in on WWII. She then mentioned listening to Klaus Stern and related almost every part of his talk to those kids. She mentioned how it touched her so deeply and she will never forget his story and what happened in the Holocaust. MCHS works with at risk kids, drop outs, etc., and all of them were forever changed by listening to the hardships and stories of Mr. Stern.

I am finishing my teaching career as the only high school Social Studies teacher at Seattle Public Schools’ parent partner program. I teach regular high school classes as we are bound by all of the state and national standards just as any regular or alternative high school program. Over half of my students are Muslim, mostly girls in long flowing dresses, and this message needs to be heard by them too. This spring I am hoping to put in a speaker’s request one more time for Klaus Stern if he is still able to withstand the rigors of classroom visits. If not, the new DVD will be there to tell the story of Klaus and all the other survivors.

Karen Hansen
Seattle

"Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing"
Dr. James Waller
January 19, 2012. 6:30pm - 8:30pm.
Microsoft, Building 99, Redmond
Free and open to the public
RSVP - ilanak@wsherc.org

The past century, dubbed the "Age of Genocide," saw more than 60 million people murdered to meet the needs of the state. One unassailable fact is that political, social, or religious groups wanting to commit mass murder are never hindered by a lack of willing executioners. How is it that ordinary people commit such extraordinary evil?

Dr. James Waller is the Holocaust Studies Chair at Keene State College, an Affiliated Scholar with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and author of
Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 2007).

Also offered - Teacher Training: Friday, January 20, 2012. 8:30am - 3:30pm. At Bellevue College. Keynote: Dr. James Waller, "Genocide: Ever Again."

EVA TANNENBAUM CUMMINS: MY HERO

When asked by her teacher, Jo Cripps, to write an essay on her hero, Maya didn't choose a media figure, or a relative, or even a person out of history. She chose Eva Tannenbaum Cummins, a Holocaust survivor who spoke to her class earlier in the year. Eva is a member of the Holocaust Center's speakers bureau.

EVA TANNENBAUM CUMMINS: MY HERO
By Maya P., student at Pinehurst School, Seattle

"Can any of this happen here? That’s something that’s up to each and every one of us."
--Eva

Eva Tannenbaum Cummins was born in Berlin, Germany, in1922. She had a life like all the other children at that time. She had everything a little girl could dream of. She had a loving family and a good education.

And then everything changed. Events forced her to flee from Berlin, days before Hitler started World War II. Eva left her friends, her home, and everything she knew.

In January of 1933, Hitler took power in Germany. Eva's remarkable, intelligent father came home early one day and told his family his shocking news. He’d gotten fired from his newspaper job because he was Jewish.

When Eva was in fifth grade, the school principal brought together all the Jewish students in school. The principal explained to Eva and her friends that even though they were wonderful students, Nazi laws now required all Jews to leave public schools.

Eva and her mother escaped from Germany August of 1939, two weeks before Hitler attacked Poland. They arrived in Seattle with $20. They stayed with Eva’s mother's cousin. Eva went to Broadway High School, and her mother cleaned houses. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and started World War II.

Now, Eva is telling her story to children all around Seattle and beyond. She is dramatizing her life with a play she wrote. She is devoted to her work, and she is one of the few lucky people who actually love their job. Eva is fully committed to her work with us students, and she is very brave.

Eva has been brave all her life, even during deep hardship. Today, at age 89, Eva is going strong.

With so much negativity in the world, I think it’s time that some of the nice people here got some attention instead. Eva definitely grabbed our attention with her play. But most of all, she was kind. To me and all the others. She loves us, and we learn from her and love her back. That is why she is my hero.

Photo: Eva with students at Highline Community College in 2009.

Making the world a better place

Holocaust Survivors Argue Against Donation

Holocaust survivors in Florida have successfully lobbied against the acceptance of a donation from the American subsidiary of the French National Railroad (SNCF). The donation of $80,000 was to be used to teach Florida students about the role of France in the Holocaust. Regional survivors urged the state's educational commissioner to reject the donation on the grounds that the railroad has not taken full responsibility for it's role in the deaths of 76,000 French Jews. For its part, the SNCF has issued an apology, however it also maintains the the trains had been commandeered by the Nazis.

Link:

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/15/3090768/holocaust-survivors-force-nazi-collaborator-french-railroad-to-back-down

Tensions Rise Between France and Turkey Over Genocide Issue

Tensions between Turkey and France are growing as the French parliament prepares to vote on a resolution that would penalize the denial of the Armenian genocide. If passed, the resolution would prompt France to block Turkey's membership bid to the European Union unless Turkey formally recognizes its role in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenians. Turkey has denied any role in the deaths.

Link:

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-265644-turkish-reaction-piles-up-against-sarkozy-ahead-of-genocide-denial-vote.html

Here is a link to some information on the Armenian genocide:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/turkey/armenian_genocide/index.html

German Right-wing Group Under Increased Public Scrutiny

German politicians are attempting to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) after finding possible links between former NPD leader Ralf Wohlleben with the neo-Nazi terror cell known as the Zwickau cell. The allegations connect the NPD and Wohlleben with the murders of nine people of foreign origin and a police officer.

While past attempts to ban the NPD have failed, many believe the arrest of Wohlleben is the opportunity German officials have been waiting for to finally ban the party.

Link:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,801312,00.html

The discovery of the Zwickau cell and the arrest of Wohlleben have put a microscope on Germany’s far-right movement, and it appears that the groups are better armed than originally thought. According to Der Spiegel authorities confiscated 811 weapons from right-wing groups from 2008-2010.

Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,800815,00.html

With My Own Eyes - DVD

300 classrooms around the state of Washington will use the Holocaust Center's new short documentary this year.

Want a free copy? Email us! (Please include your mailing address.)

Using the film in the classroom - We have two teacher trainings coming up at which we will be offering a session on how to use the film with your students.

• Bellevue on January 20


• Bellingham on February 17

More information can be found on our website at www.wsherc.org/news.

David Duke Held in Germany

Former Ku Klux Klan leader and Louisiana politician David Duke was arrested in Cologne, Germany last week prior to a speaking engagement with a right-wing extremist group. Duke’s detention appears to be linked to a 2009 incident in the Czech Republic where he was detained and subsequently expelled from the country on suspicion of Holocaust denial.

Duke is not new to Holocaust denial. The Huffington Post points to “a 2006 appearance at a Holocaust denial conference in Tehran, Iran. The conference featured numerous speeches denouncing the Holocaust as a "myth." At the conference, Duke voiced support for discredited, fringe scholars imprisoned in Europe for denying the use of gas chambers against Jews during the Holocaust.”

Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/david-duke-arrested-in-germany_n_1119010.html

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/04/3090552/david-duke-arrested-at-german-neo-nazi-event

Survivor speaks to homeless youth in Seattle

Speakers Bureau member Josh G. spoke to a group of individuals at Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets, an organization that provides support and services to homeless youth in the Seattle area. They aim to help youth transition from life on the streets to leading productive lives in the community.

Josh's story of survival during the Holocaust seemed to resonate with the audience, who could relate to some of his experiences. Among the important messages Josh story offered was the fact that he was able to remain resilient in the face of incredible adversity. After struggling to survive for years, Josh arrived in the United States after the war at age 16, with no possessions and no formal education to his name. Yet somehow he was able to graduate from high school, acquire a degree in psychology, and graduate from a Masters program in social work and administration.

Josh was born in Poland, where he experienced first-hand the fury of the Nazi regime. At the age of three, his grandfather, the village’s chief rabbi, was hung in the middle of town. Josh’s family decided to go into hiding to protect themselves from the Nazi regime. Josh’s father worked in his family's long-established lumber business and had many connections, which they used to go into hiding.

Posing as Christian Poles, they evaded capture and made their way to Siberia. Here, they came under the protection of the Soviet Army. Though they escaped immediate danger, life in Siberia was harsh. They faced the bitter cold and the threat of starvation. Eventually, they moved onward to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, where they spent the remainder of the war.

After the war, they returned to Poland, only to have the government officials reject them. Instead, they were sent to a displaced persons camp in Berlin. Throughout their time in Siberia, Uzbekistan, and Berlin, Josh’s family suffered under primitive conditions. Finally, the immigrated to the United States.

Gortler told the group that he was so used to having to scrounge for dirty water or melted snow, that he was overcome when he saw a full, clean basin of flowing water in the United States. He put his whole face in it and drank deeply, only afterward discovering it was a urinal.

Josh said he kept his story to himself for many years. It was only a decade ago, when he read about people who deny the Holocaust ever happened, that he knew he must tell his story and keep the memory and lessons of the Holocaust alive. He has been a dedicated member of the Center's Speakers Bureau for many years.

Voices for Humanity 2011 - Thank you!

VOICES FOR HUMANITY LUNCHEON 2011

Together we raised $264,500 in support of Holocaust education!

Thank you to all 575 of you who attended the Voices for Humanity Luncheon on November 8, 2011 at the Westin in Seattle. And, thank you to the many others who contributed to this annual fundraiser.

Your donation supports our mission of teaching and learning for humanity.

As a small non-profit, each of our donors is important to us. Donors like you who believe in the mission of our Center and the critical importance of Holocaust, tolerance and genocide education, have sustained our efforts and allowed us to continue our outreach to students, teachers and community members.

See photos of the event!