New Books in our Library!

All of these books and more are available to check out from our new library! Please email Amanda@holocaustcenterseattle.org

Escape in Time: Miri's Riverting Tale of Her Family's Survival During World War II

By Ronit Lowenstein-Malz

Nessya’s grandmother, Miri Eneman Malz, has friends, a loving family—and a secret: she is a Holocaust survivor. When twelve-year-old Nessya learns the truth, she wants to know what happened. After decades of silence, Grandma Miri decides it’s time to tell her story. It all begins one terrible day in the spring of 1944, when Germany crosses Hungary’s border and soldiers arrive in Miri’s hometown of Munkács. Suddenly, the Jews are trapped and in danger. Surrounded by war and unimaginable hatred, the family makes a daring escape. But that is only the beginning, and over the course of the year new threats continually confront them. Incredibly, despite numerous close calls, they defy the odds and live. Based upon actual memoirs, this is the story of the Eneman family . . . of their remarkable ingenuity, astonishing luck, boundless courage, and unending love.

On Amazon

A Good Place to Hide: How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives During World War II

By Perter Grose 

The untold story of an isolated French community that banded together to offer sanctuary and shelter to over 3,500 Jews in the throes of World War II. Nobody asked questions, nobody demanded money. Villagers lied, covered up, procrastinated and concealed, but most importantly they welcomed.This is the story of an isolated community in the upper reaches of the Loire Valley that conspired to save the lives of 3,500 Jews under the noses of the Germans and the soldiers of Vichy France. It is the story of a pacifist Protestant pastor who broke laws and defied orders to protect the lives of total strangers. It is the story of an eighteen-year-old Jewish boy from Nice who forged 5,000 sets of false identity papers to save other Jews and French Resistance fighters from the Nazi concentration camps. And it is the story of a community of good men and women who offered sanctuary, kindness, solidarity and hospitality to people in desperate need, knowing full well the consequences to themselves.

On Amazon

The Story of an Underground: The Resistance of the Jews of Kovno in the Second World War

By Dov Levin & Zvie A. Brown 

This is the story of the fighting underground of the Jews of Kovno, Lithuania, in World War II. The authors, historians Zvie A. Brown and Dov Levin, were themselves members of the Kovno underground, and this well-researched book based on documentary material, verbal testimonies, and written memoirs of witnesses, among other sources is supplemented by the authors own personal accounts. The authors here describe the first steps of the organized Jewish underground in the Kovno Ghetto, its desperate search for allies outside the ghetto, and its first bloodstained attempts to break through the ring of isolation and establish a base of support for partisan battle. They relate the insurgence at its height: contacts with partisans in the forest, acquisition of weapons and equipment, and training of fighters for partisan warfare. The authors paint a picture of daily life in the partisan brigades, including the tense relationship between the Jewish and non-Jewish fighters. They relate the final days of the underground as the ghetto was being destroyed, and then the last journey of the Kovno brigades from the forest bases back to liberated Kovno.

On Amazon

The Diary of Rywka Lipszyc: Found in Auschwitz by the Red Army in 1945 and first published in San Francisco in 2014

Here is the extraordinary Diary of Rywka Lipszyc, finally published 70 years after it was created. Handwritten in a school notebook between October 1943 and April 1944, this remarkable diary depicts the nightmare of life under the Nazis in Poland's infamous Lodz ghetto-through the eyes of a brilliant, 14-year-old Jewish girl. With the eloquence of an innocent, Rywka vividly chronicles the disease, starvation, deportations, fear and cruelty she witnessed. She lost her entire family-parents, brother, and two sisters-in Nazi ghettos and killing centers. Yet in the face of despair, she reveals a belief in God and a faith in humanity that inspired in her a determination to live. In 1945, Rywka's diary was found in the ruins of the Auschwitz-Birkenau crematoria by a doctor serving with the liberating Soviet Army. For more than a half-century the diary remained among the doctor's private possessions, until after her death, when her granddaughter emigrated from the USSR and brought it to Jewish Family and Children's Services' Holocaust Center in San Francisco. Sensitively translated, with footnotes, historical essays, photographs, maps, news clippings, and the gripping story of the recent search for Rywka Lipszyc-whose fate has never been determined-this book is sure to enter the ranks of the most poignant Holocaust testimonies, a tale of darkness and light, faith and love.

On Amazon

From the Red Desert to Jerusalem

By Elia Kahvedjian 

From the Red Desert to Jerusalem is the remarkable autobiography of a remarkable man. Urfa-born Elia Kahvedjian witnessed the Genocide of Armenians as a 5-year-old boy. The book tells of his adventures in the badlands of Turkey and Syria, his eventual move to Jerusalem, and his many achievements as a top photographer, painter, and community leader in the Holy City. The book was translated into English by his eldest son Harout Kahvedjian of Toronto.

On Amazon

New Curriculum!

NEW! 
Curriculum now available for the film

With My Own Eyes: Holocaust. Genocide. Today.

A comprehensive curriculum for the film with maps, transcripts, background information and lessons contributed by three master teachers: 

• Photo Anaylsis - By Branda Anderson, Kamiak High School, Mukilteo
• Genocide Studies Handbook: A Resource Tool for Students - By Lindsey Mutschler, Lake Washington Girls Middle School, Seattle
• Lessons from the Holocaust on the Dangers of Scapegoating - Using "With My Own Eyes": A lesson for Jewish schools - By Nance Adler, The Jewish Day School, Bellevue

Special thanks to 4Culture for supporting this project! 

A poetic "thank you"

After Peter Metzelaar, one of WSHERC's speakers, visited Wendi Fein's class at Tacoma Community College, student Joanne wrote this thank you to him in the form of a poem. More about Peter can be seen here.

Peter Metzelaar a boy with a memory of his life
His family members paid the price.
There was a couple who open their home wide
And took you and your mother on their side
German soldiers looking high and low
To capture those who hid below.
You used to trade shrapnel. Instead of cards
Since bombs were in your front yard.
Your mother was an angel in disguise So, she could save you for a better life.
You became liberated in 1945. Canada on one side
Netherlands on the other side
You lost your father by the fire, but he lived in you
Through dreams, hopes, and desires.
To hear you speak of this tragedy sent tears in my
Eyes and chills down my spine.
To see you now as an adult

Willing to share your story without any doubt
I never said it but, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
To see you were willing, for sharing the challenges in your life.

-Joanne

Forget Me Not: Agnes Ringwald

Left and Right

They came during the night,

Forcing them from their homes

Shoving them onto trains,

Like sardines in a can;

Their destination unknown

The whimpers of strangers,

Screeching of wheels meant the ride was over.

One-by-one the train was emptied,

Lines seemed to stretch on for miles

Some go right; others left

Left they went

Agnes with her mom,

Gripping tightly, each other's hands

There were stalls, for bathing

And so they prepared.

The chiking smell of their demise,

The world slowly fading

Their lives short lived.

The potential is gone and so only memories remain.

Thank you so much to Kathryn Corprew, age 14, and her grandmother Mary Lou Maguess for sharing Kathryn's poem with us!

Found Poems

Check out these awesome pieces of art from Erin Landvatter's class at Kingston High School!

"As we read Night, I have students keep track of the images and emotions they find most vividly expressed.  We then discuss Wiesel's style, including his use of poetic devices such as repetition, and how his style helps convey meaning and develop certain themes.  After this discussion, I show students how to create a 'found' poem - a poem that uses words and phrases from various parts of the novel to examine an important idea. Finally, once a student has finished his/her poem, he/she creates artwork that complements the mood of the piece and rewrites the poem onto that artwork." -Erin Landvatter

Click the image to view larger. Each piece, along with other student projects, can also be seen here.

Pledge Wall: Take Action. Stop the Hate

I will LOVE. I will THINK. I will LEARN. -Kevin Kim

To prevent genocide, I will first try to stop the little things such as racial jokes and stereotypes in our school, then our community, then it will spread hopefully worldwide! But we must start somewhere small to reach somewhere BIG :) -Sally Park

Shan Oglesby's class at Kamiak High School created a "Pledge Wall." Each pledge reads - "Take Action! Stop the Hate! What will you do to prevent genocide?" Fantastic work!

"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."

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.

Student Project on the Bosnian Genocide

Emily B, an 8th grade student, created an extensive project related to the Bosnian war for the Manatee County History fair.

"One of the major tings I learned was that even though tragic events happen and pass, they are never fogotten. Someone will always be affected by it, no matter how far in the past it occurred."

Emily contacted the Holocaust Center, and we were able to connect her with Selena, a survivor of the Bosnian war, living in the Seattle area. (Selena also contributed to the Holocaust Center's "Stories Among Us: Personal Accounts of Genocide" series published in the Seattle Times.)

"I chose my topic, the Bosnian genocide, for many reasons. My mom introduced the topic to me at first. As I researched more in depth, I learned how recent this event had occurred. Also, not a lot of people knew about it and I wanted to raise awareness. My last reason was it affected thousands of people only a few years before I was born."

Obama and others refuse to use the "G" word in the case of the Armenians

Armenian community is still waiting to hear from CongressBy Haykaram Nahapetyan - 12/27/10
The Hill's Congress Blog

The “lame-ducking” Congress did not vote on H-Res 252 recognizing the period of systematic massacres of the Armenian people during the WW1 as genocide. On March 4th, it passed House Foreign Affairs Committee with 23 to 22 votes but speaker Nancy Pelosi did not bring the Armenian Genocide Resolution to the floor agenda, despite her initial pledge. There was a certain pressure from State Department as well as from the Turkish lobby in order to prevent it from happening....

...

It’s noteworthy that President Barack Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton actively supported the Armenian Genocide Resolution, when they were candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency in 2008. Read more...

Questions on Genocide

A college student writing a paper on genocide and governmental policies for prevention and response emailed us with a few questions.

We turned to Marie Berry, a PhD candidate in Sociology with a focus on genocide in UCLA's prestigious program. Marie, a graduate of the University of Washington, spent several years working at the Holocaust Center.


Do you think any changes should be made to the UN structure to try and help responses to genocides?
Most debates about the UN’s treatment genocide are concerned with altering the definition of genocide, rather than changing the mandated responses to genocide. In general, this is because the UN’s responses to genocide have yet to successfully materialize. Thus, scholars and policy makers debate the definition in an attempt to pressure the signatories of the convention to refine the definition and thus make it more feasible for action to stop genocides that are underway.

The process of drafting the 1948 Genocide Convention was extremely political; in particular, the involvement of the Soviet Union complicated the process, given that they (and affiliated countries like Belarus) wouldn’t sign a document that criminalized something Stalin had been doing for years. What resulted was a definition that includes “national, ethnic, racial, or religious” groups, but excludes political or economic ones. And, as a result, the historical episodes of violence that are commonly accepted as genocides exclude mass murders in Ethiopia, and often Guatemala. The problem with this is that in most analyses of genocide, the real causes are obscured—instead, it is easier to explain away genocide in terms of ethnic, racial, or religious groups that “hate” each other. Of course, in every case of genocide in history, the “ethnic” or “racial” groups that end up being targeted for extermination have been integrated in the societies that they live in for centuries (or more). Jews in Europe, Tutsis in Rwanda, and Bosniaks in Bosnia weren’t simply targeted one day because of their ethno-religious identify, but rather because of a series of political power struggles that escalated and were ultimately framed as ethno-religious.

The UN’s definition of genocide, therefore, is problematic in several ways. First, it serves to reify the ethno/racial/religious aspects of a brewing conflict while obscuring the political and economic ones. In the case of Rwanda, this allowed the international media and foreign governments to dismiss the violence as “tribal” and neglect acknowledging the power struggle at play in Kigali that was in part facilitated by the international community’s attempts to negotiate a peace process between the current Hutu regime and the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front invading from Uganda. Moreover, it obscured the significance of the colonial era, recent crop shortages and resulting famines, and intra-ethnic conflicts between a powerful family from the North and other powerful families from the South.

Second, the definition revolves around the idea of “intent”; a group must have the intent to destroy a group for mass violence to be considered genocide. This eliminates some of the most massive deaths in human history, such as Mao’s “Great Leap Forward,” where it is difficult to argue that Mao intended to kill 20 million+ of his countrymen (but easy to argue that his policies had that effect). The very concept of “intent” is almost always subjectively determined; barring the leak of some sort of internal government memo explicitly stating the goal of eliminating a group within its population, intent is usually agreed upon after amassing mounds of evidence that point that direction. This is much easier in retrospect, after genocide is over, when the true intent of a perpetrating group is revealed. Intent is much more difficult to determine during the actual genocide itself—especially in cases like Rwanda, where the genocide happened rapidly over merely 100 days.

Last, the narrowness of this definition and the exclusion of political or economic (i.e. class) groups, is conducive to disagreement and debate over whether violence counts as a genocide or not. This leads, ultimately, to inaction, as we’ve seen in basically every case that ultimately resulted in genocide (with the possible exception of East Timor: See Geoffrey Robinson’s book If You Leave Us Here We Will Die, 2009). For the UN’s definition of genocide to be more effective at invoking action from the international community, I believe it needs to be centered on the degree of devastation being caused to civilians, rather than on the subject concept of intent and restrictive classifications like race and religion.


How much does politics complicate responses to genocide?
I think that politics complicates responses to genocide a lot, but self-interest complicates responses even more. Military interventions generally carry tremendous costs in terms of human lives and financial resources. If a given country has little strategic or economic relevance to an intervening state, the risks of intervening are high while the potential gains are low. Politics also factors in, particularly when strategic alliances are strained over an ally engaging in genocide. We’ve seen this most recently with US involvement in Darfur, where at the initial stages of the conflict the US was hesitant to shame Sudanese President Bashir publicly given his cooperation about eliminating al-Qaeda training cells in his country. The US-led 1995 Dayton Accords after the wars in the Balkans were also influenced by politics, and as a result we watched as the Serbian aggressors (and perpetrators of egregious crimes against humanity) were given control over 49% of Bosnian territory – a higher percentage than before the war. So we see that politics can not only influence decisions to intervene in genocides, but also the peace-process afterward.


What are some of the best tactics in stopping/preventing genocide? What is your feeling on military interference versus peaceful interventions?

The best tactics for stopping and preventing genocide are unique in each situation and at each stage in the conflict. In my opinion, however, the first and most important things to consider are the real roots of the conflict. Dismissing violence in Rwanda as merely tribal warfare between Hutus and Tutsis gives policy makers little leverage to negotiate a cessation of violence or to design a plan to physically intervene. Instead, understanding the historical processes that led to the evening of April 6, 1994, when the genocide began, are absolutely essential if we are going to be able to conceive of bringing the violence to a halt. Furthermore, understanding the “repertoires of violence” that people in a given region draw from based on historical experiences of violence can give us a better knowledge of where the violence might be heading and thus how we could potentially confront it. The brutal treatment of Serbs in Ustaša concentration campus in former Yugoslavia during WWII provided a historical memory that was adopted by Serbs several decades later against Bosniaks—had the “west” understood many of the historical roots of the types of violence being used in the war in the Balkans, intervention might have been more carefully designed and carried out. Once the history of a conflict is understood from all perspectives, the best tactics of intervention can be more successfully determined. And, in my opinion, sometimes peaceful interventions are the best option, while at other times the situation has gotten so out of control that the only possible options are military. In the case of Rwanda, for example, a military intervention really was the only option. However, I tend to believe in the cyclical nature of violence, and thus would only endorse an armed intervention as a very last resort.

Between the Two Rivers: A Story of the Armenian Genocide - BLOG!

Aida Kouyoumjian, author of Between the Two Rivers: A Story of the Armenian Genocide, a book describing her mother's experience during and after the Armenian genocide, has a blog!

http://armenianstory.coffeetownpress.com/

Learn about the book, read reviews, and more...

Between the Two Rivers is available to borrow from the Holocaust Center's library or you can find it on the Amazon.com - it is on the best seller list!

Please Note - if you link to Amazon through the Holocaust Center's homepage - use the Amazon search box - Amazon will donate a small percentage of your purchase to the Holocaust Center!

School Regulations - studying genocide in Massachusetts and Texas

School Can Exclude Materials Disputing Armenian GenocideBy ANNIE YOUDERIAN
Courthouse News Service

(CN) - Massachusetts public schools can exclude material disputing the Armenian genocide in guidelines for teaching human rights, the 1st Circuit ruled in a closely watched case.

A Turkish cultural group had objected to a draft of the guidelines, which referred to "the Armenian genocide" and stated that the "Muslim Turkish Ottoman Empire destroyed large portions of its Christian Armenian minority population" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Turkish government has denied that the mass killings in 1915 constituted genocide, instead linking the tragedy to deportations during a brutal civil war. Most Armenians insist that the killings were part of a planned, systematic extinction of between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenian Christians. Read more...


New standards for Holocaust, genocide studies in TX high schools
By LESLIE CONTRERAS SCHWARTZ
Jewish Herald Voice

The Texas Education Agency has set new state standards for Texas social studies and history classes that include the teaching of the Holocaust and other genocides in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills criterion.

The new standards, which are now mandatory for the first time, were proposed and created by the effort of the recently formed Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, with help from Holocaust Museum Houston and the Houston Independent School District. The standards went into effect in June. Read more...

Can't get to DC but want to attend one of the USHMM's teacher seminars?

On August 24, 2010, the Holocaust Center is partnering with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Seattle University to bring to Seattle

Perspectives on the Holocaust: A Seminar for Educators.

Register Now! (Space is limited.)

This one-day, information packed seminar will provide educators with a solid foundation for teaching about the Holocaust in their classrooms.

We are proud to welcome as our keynote speaker Carl Wilkens, former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda, and one of only a handful of Americans who chose to stay in the country after the genocide began. Wilkens is currently the director and founder of World Outside My Shoes.

Sessions are lead by the Holocaust Center's master teachers and USHMM teacher fellows - teachers who have had extensive training and experience in the subject of the Holocaust and genocide.

If you've been teaching the Holocaust for years, or if you have never taught the subject before - all teachers will find the day challenging, thought-provoking, and insightful. No one will leave without having gained new resources and new ideas.

Sessions include:

Nazi Ideology and the Holocaust: An Historical Overview
Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust
Breakout sessions (Social Studies, Language Arts, and others)

Nazi Propaganda

Local Resources
Antisemitism and the Holocaust
Understanding Contemporary Genocide: The Case of Rwanda (Carl Wilkens)

Stories from a Survivor (Evening program - open to the public)

This incredible professional development opportunity is FREE. Lunch, snacks, and all materials are provided. Clock hours available. Regsitration is now open and space is limited.

Register Now!

Perspectives on the Holocaust: A Seminar for Educators
August 24, 2010
At Seattle University, Seattle
Sponsored by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Seattle University.

Questions or want more information? Please email Ilana Cone Kennedy, Director of Education, Holocaust Center at ilanak@wsherc.org.

Looking for something to watch tonight?

A tip from two of our Board Members, Sharon N. and Cheryl B.:

Don't miss tonight's gripping new documentary WORSE THAN WAR on PBS.

Wednesday, April 14th at 9 p.m. on PBS

(check local listings)

Daniel Jonah Goldhagen makes a convincing case that genocide - the systematic effort to eliminate an entire group perceived of as deserving of death - is even more destructive than armed conflict, and yet often can be prevented. Read more...

Based on Daniel Goldhagen’s book of the same title, WORSE THAN WAR is a personal exploration of the nature of genocide, ethnic cleansing and large-scale mass murder.

Watch the full film online after the premiere at pbs.org/worsethanwar

Opting In vs. Opting Out

"Opting In" vs. "Opting Out" - The Holocaust Center's Director of Education, Ilana Cone Kennedy, responds to apathy towards the Holocaust and genocide in her article "Opting In." In the "Opinions" section in the JT News.

Click here to find both articles.

Opting in
Ilana Cone Kennedy
Special to JTNews


Why it’s important to humanize and bring awareness of the Holocaust and all genocides

I work at a Holocaust Center. My daily language consists of the most obscene of numbers, concentration camps, death, suffering, and incredible personal miracles.

I am just about to complete my seventh year as the director of education. When I tell people where I work, I am often met with looks of pity or silence, and then a change of subject. “Isn’t that depressing?” is the most frequent question I receive.

Until recently, I would answer that I am inspired daily by the educators with whom I work. The teachers in our schools who teach this subject — a subject that is not required or mandated — are creative, insightful, and motivated. Seven years later I am only more impressed by their efforts and determination.

However, my answer to the question has changed. The gravity of the Holocaust — of any and all genocides — is severe. The depth of human suffering is beyond description. This tragedy did not end in 1945, but continues in the survivors’ memories, in their children, and in new generations of survivors of more recent genocides. As I type this, there are at least four places in the world on the brink of genocide. No one should suffer so extremely at the hands of another person or group of people. No one.

It’s easier for us to turn the other way, to bury ourselves in our own lives, to glance over the headlines without associating the individuals involved. It is easier because we have no explanation for innocent people being persecuted and suffering so greatly — we know it is unjust, we recognize the absurdity of it all, and this is why we can hardly bear to face it.

I am the mother of two young children. When they were born, as everyone warned me it would, my view of the world changed. I think I was always sensitive to people’s feelings, fears, and to the pain and hurt a person experiences at being rejected, put down, disappointed. After having children of my own, the stories of parents hiding their kids, sending them to safety, holding on to them — all of it was too personal.

The fear experienced by children, parents, grandparents, the grappling with the unknown, the efforts to save loved ones, and even the pursuit of joy that occurred in the worst of conditions — all of this becomes part of the world we live in. We wish this was history, but in fact, people around the world continue these experiences on a daily basis.

No, depressing is not the word I would use. Overwhelming, really, is more like it.I love my job. Many people have heard me say it. I work with the most incredible people — survivors, educators, and a staff of the most driven, intelligent, passionate people.

But, there are days I go home and feel overwhelmed by the suffering, pain, hatred, and ignorance that exists in this world. What can I, one person, do? Sometimes I feel hopeless. Still, I like to think that maybe I’m making a microscopic dent. I’m idealistic, I suppose. I try to live honestly by my values, to practice the things that I tell others Holocaust education imparts: To stand up to intolerance, recognize the dangers of stereotyping, be respectful of each other’s differences, know that your words and actions affect those around you…because really, if I can’t do it, how can I expect anyone else to? All I can do is to try to work toward these lofty ideals and hope that maybe others will find it worthwhile to do so too.

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 11, I am thankful to the survivors for sharing their experiences and for trusting their listeners with their stories. I am thankful to all of those who have made an effort to remember, search for, and hear the stories of those that did not survive. On this day, we must not simply remember, we must feel, and we must act.

Read this article and/or another viewpoint "Opting Out" - click here.

Roma/Sinti (Gypsies) during the Holocaust and in Today's World

Morgan Ahern, Founder of Lolo Diklo/Red Bandanna: Roma Against Racism – an organization with a mission to make people aware of the real lives and history of the Roma/Sinti people - spoke to a group of educators last week at the Holocaust Center. The presentation was offered for the Holocaust Center's Education Advisory Committee and as a followup for participants of the Holocaust Center's recent teacher seminar in January.

Morgan Ahern’s grandmother, Jenneroze, and her extended family lived in Europe when the Nazi party came to power. As Nazi domination spread, Jenneroze began to plan a safety route for her family. But no countries were accepting “Gypsy” refugees...

The Roma/Sinti people, “Gypsies” as they are commonly called, left their native India circa 1000. Since their arrival in Europe in the 1300s, they have faced discrimination and prejudice. In Romanes (the language spoken by Roma) the Holocaust is called Porrajmos, which means “The Great Devouring.” Approximately 60% of Europe’s Roma/Sinti were murdered under the Third Reich. Morgan will speak about her family’s experience as Roma/Sinti during the Holocaust and the continued persecution of the Roma/Sinti people both in the United States and in Europe today.

In 2008, Morgan Ahern contributed to the Holocaust Center’s series “Stories Among Us: Personal Accounts of Genocide” which was published in the Seattle Times in partnership with the Newspapers In Education (NIE) Program. Read "Morgan's Story" from the "Stories Among Us" NIE series.

For more information about the Romani people, or for a list of movies and websites please visit
The Lolo Diklo blog at http://lolodiklo.blogspot.com/.

Morgan is a member of the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau.

"Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing" - What teachers are saying...

Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing
by Dr. James Waller

Over 50 educators turned out last week to hear Dr. James Waller speak on the topic of his book at Seattle University. The program was organized by the Holocaust Center in partnership with Seattle University. Here's what a few of the participants had to say:

Everyone should give some attention to James Waller’s work on “the ordinariness of extraordinary evil” and his investigation into how it is possible for ordinary people to commit horrible crimes. It has been common in the past half century to explain events such as the Holocaust by locating them outside of time and history and simply saying that such things are an evil beyond human comprehension. Although that approach may offer a means of coping with such atrocities, it does not help us to understand how they can occur. Waller approaches the problem from a different angle and argues that genocide is not simply the work of monsters but rather the monstrous work of ordinary people. Specifically, he argues that we, as humans, are all capable of such actions, depending on the way we are socialized to understand the world, “the Other,” and the concept of cruelty. Given the reality of ongoing violence against ethnic, religious, and cultural groups that exists in our world today, Waller’s work is critical to gaining an understanding of how such events can literally take place.

- Steve R., Seattle Academy

I read Dr. Waller’s article and here is my response. (I hope I am correct in sending it to you rather than going directly to the blog). I was fascinated by the provocative angle he is approaching the Holocaust from. The notion that it takes ordinary individuals to do horrible things is what can make the topic so engaging for my students. As soon as we see ourselves capable of evil we are no longer capable of dismissing the topic as “something from the past.” I would be interested in developing lessons that help students see how collectivist values, a societies authority orientation and its approach to social dominance relate to their everyday lives. In other words, how the beginnings of “perpetrators” are around us every day.
- Travis F., Kent Meridian

I'm just going to reflect back on a quote offered that evening, by Winston Churhill, I believe. It was, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." Before I went to the class that night, I noted on Facebook that I was going. I thought to myself that some people may think, "Why in the world is she going to a class about the perpetrators of genocide and mass killing?" Why indeed? There are other workshops through which to earn clock hours. But it's Churhill's quote that gives me an answer, or at least one possible answer, along with others. It's that we all must be interested in "war", because it IS interested in us. Its ripples and crashing waves are all around us and we are so affected, whether we know it or not, spiritually, psychologically, economically, physically. We can not be bystanders, especially in the ever shrinking world, or we are really no different than those who look on in the photographs from the Holocaust. Our starting point is awareness, then building from there.
- Rikke C., Seattle

The lecture was fascinating! I had never thought much about the idea of how or what specifically constituted genocide or the concept the human profile of those who readily participate. Dr. Waller's talk was so interesting and certainly gave me much to ponder. Great inspiration for deeper thinking! More importantly, it provides an interesting topic for secondary-level discussion related to World affairs and conflicts. Thank you for setting this up!
~Judy C., Kent Mountain View Academy

I found James Waller’s lecture on genocide particularly pertinent to my teaching about social justice issues. This year, I’ll be teaching books such as Maus and Cry, the Beloved Country. The fact that, as he quoted Churchill, “the story of the human race is war,” is evident in the books we teach. This event helped me reflect on how I can help students engage in dialogue around issues of violence, all the ways in which humans participate in it, and how that shapes our society in lasting ways.

- Carolyn H., Roosevelt High School, Seattle

Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation strives to stop genocide

The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
AIPR's mission: The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation seeks to prevent genocide through the training and education of mid-level policy makers from around the world.

Dr. James Waller, an affiliated scholar with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, will be speaking in Seattle on October 21 and as the keynote speaker at the Holocaust Center's annual fundraiser luncheon on October 22.

The Daily Tell
Article By Alex Zucker, Guest Writer
September 15, 2009

It has been more than sixty years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and declared genocide a crime. But tragically, genocide continues around the world. Some believe there will never be any way to stop it. But the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, a nonprofit group committed to genocide awareness and human rights networking, believes this mass murder can be prevented.

Founded with the support of the International Auschwitz Council and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the AIPR began its mission in May 2008 with a one-week seminar in Auschwitz, for policy makers from twelve countries and every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Eighteen scholars shared their knowledge on the history of genocide and the elements of genocide prevention. The aim was to give government officials the tools to identify conditions when genocide is likely and implement policies to avoid it, as well as to build an international network of professionals dedicated to stopping genocide. Read more...

UN agency names Cambodian genocide museum a key historical archive

UN agency names Cambodian genocide museum a key historical archive

The Canadian Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly a prison and torture centre operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, has been declared by the U.N. to be an archive of worldwide significance for its historical documents.

The Cambodian government and U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO - opened a meeting Monday to establish a national committee to oversee the museum's operation as a newly designated "Memory of the World" site. A UNESCO meeting at the end of July in Bridgetown, Barbados, named the museum as one of 35 archives worldwide added to a list of almost 200 that are exceptional historical repositories.

The museum, formerly a high school in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, was turned into S-21 prison after the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. Of the estimated 16,000 men, women and children who passed through its gates, only a handful survived. An estimated 1.7 million people died as a result of the communist Khmer Rouge's radical policies from 1975 to 1979.

The museum's archive includes 4,186 confessions - often falsely given by prisoners under torture - 6,226 biographies of prisoners, 6,147 photographic prints and negatives of prisoners and other items. Read more...