NY Times - Why Palestinians should learn about the Holocaust

Why Palestinians Should Learn About the Holocaust

By MOHAMMED DAJANI DAOUDI and ROBERT SATLOFF

Published: March 29, 2011

Should Palestinian and other Arab schools teach their students about the Holocaust?
This is not an academic question. Many Palestinian and Arab political organizations recently pounced on reports that a new human rights curriculum being prepared for use in Gaza schools operated by Unrwa, the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees, might include historical references to the Holocaust. Their reaction underscores the urgency of answering this fundamental question: Should Palestinians (and other Arabs) learn about the Holocaust? Should this historical tragedy be included in the Arab curriculum?
We — a Muslim-Palestinian social scientist, and a Jewish-American historian — believe the answer is yes. Indeed, there are many reasons why it’s important, even essential, that Arabs learn about the Holocaust. And much of this has nothing to do with Jews at all.
One of the sad realities of many modern Arab societies is that Arab students have been denied history, their own and the world’s. For decades, millions of Arabs have lived under autocrats resentful of the legacy of the leader they replaced and fearful of the leader-to-come. Although Arabs revere the study, writing and teaching of history, and have produced many famous historians, their rulers often tend to view history as a threat. The result is that many historians in Arab countries are more like the court chroniclers of long-dead dynasties, and entire chapters of history have been expunged from the curricula that Arab governments teach their students.
Read full article in the New York Times

Welcome newest Speakers Bureau members!

Ron F.

Ron is a second generation speaker who tells his father's story. His father Herbert, now 85, escaped from Vienna at age 14 aboard the Kindertransport. This event, and the ensuing years before his emigration to America, were the defining moments of his life.

"It is important to remember an event such as the Holocaust. It is a reminder to us all of the evils of bigotry and humiliation of others. Unfortunately, there are many holocausts in the world—both big and small—which have occurred since, and continue to occur. And it is left to ensuing generations to resonate the lessons of history. "

Marie-Anne H.

Marie-Anne is a second generation speaker who tells the story of her grandmother and mother - both part of the French resistance during the Holocaust. They helped refugees escape from Eastern Europe to free France via Paris.

"All my adult life my goal has been to inspire children to expand their view of their world through books and reading. Why? Because the few who resisted the Nazis and hid Jews at the risk of their lives and the lives of their loved ones had that elusive quality--empathy. And empathy is partially acquired through understanding and respect."

George E.

George's story begins in 1941, when he was 3 years old and living in the Warsaw ghetto with his mother, who worked in a factory making German uniforms. After escaping the ghetto with his mother, George survived by living with a series of Polish Catholic families till the war's end. He and his mother left Poland for France, and then to the U.S. in 1949.

"I kept a safe emotional distance from the Holocaust until October 2009, when I saw a scene in the film "Paper Clips." In the scene, teachers and school children in a small Tennessee town were crying after hearing the stories of Holocaust survivors visiting their school. It made me realize how important it is for those who lived through the Holocaust to speak and convey its personal meaning to today's children."

George recently visited Spanaway Lake High School and wrote about the experience (with photos) on his blog. George's memoir, Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows is available for purchase through the Holocaust Center's store.

Learn more about the Speakers Bureau here.

Swastika Pin Worn by Jewish Couple - New Artifact

This tiny silver pin is a new addition to our display in the Holocaust Center's artifact collection. Approximately 3/4" square, its history is compelling.

The donor writes:

"This little swastika pin was made by a Jewish couple in Berlin after Kristallnacht. It allowed them for a while to blend in and not wear the yellow stars that the law required. They filed down a base metal brooch until they got the shape - however they got the direction of the bent arms reversed, but no one noticed for a long time. They were able to live in the spare rooms of a German Christian couple and survive long enough that they could still have strength to come through the camps after the War ended."

The Holocaust Center has a collection of artifacts donated by survivors and friends.

Currently on display in our four showcases are a broad range of items, including a bowl and spoon used in a camp, armbands worn by a nurse in Terezin, bread cards from the Lodz ghetto, "Signal" a Nazi propaganda magazine written in French, and the typewriter used by a member of the Leica Freedom train. Our collection includes photographs, letters, documents, passports, musical instruments, flags, armbands, cloth yellow stars, books, albums and many other items.

We gratefully accept artifacts to our growing collection. We especially value and record the stories told to us by the donors. Please contact Dee Simon, the Holocaust Center's Co-Executive Director at delilas@wsherc.org if you have any items that you think would be a good addition to our collection. On view to visitors and used by the Speakers Bureau, these items are used in educational presentations.

50 teachers attend Holocaust seminar in Tacoma

From the participants:

"I had just taught a unit on Holocaust and genocides for the first time and was looking for more information to supplement my knowledge. This was the perfect event for me."

"I have never been so moved. Thank you for being committed to telling and teaching these stories."

"The excellent speakers greatly inspired me and increased my interest in the subject!"

Over 50 teachers attended the Holocaust Center's "Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust"seminar at Pacific Lutheran University on Friday, March 18th. The seminar was part of PLU's annual Powell and Heller Holocaust Conference.

Speakers for the day included: Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay in Rwanda during the genocide; Nick Coddington and several of his outstanding students from Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma; Holocaust survivor Noemi Ban; scholar Patrick Henry; and Nelli Trocme Hewitt, the daughter of rescuers in Le Chambon France.

Information on upcoming programs can be found at www.wsherc.org/programs.

Mr. Leo Hymas Is Keynote Speaker in Texas

Leo Hymas, local liberator and member of the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau was invited to Texas to be the key note speaker at Wharton County College's Spring 2011 President's Lecture Series.

Mr. Hymas, a U.S. liberator of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald, told his personal story of being a young soldier in World War II.

"I want students to cherish what we have in this country and to stand up against the bully for what is right," Mr. Hymas shared with his audience.

See photos

NH GOP State Congressman Says Disabled & Mentally Ill Should Be Shipped to Siberia

Editor's Note: Hmmm....I swear we have heard this before...in Nazi Germany in 1939.

NH GOP State Congressman Says Disabled and Mentally Ill Are "Defective People" and Should Be Shipped to Siberia

By Matthew Desmond
www.addictinginfo.org

A community health program mangager got a surprise when she emailed her NH State Congressman recently to ask him about why he had voted to cut money from mental health programs. The Senator told her that society would be better without disabled people, and he wishes he could ship disabled people to Siberia... read more.

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."

Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals Exhibit

The Holocaust Center, Seattle Men’s Chorus, The Pride Foundation, and The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle are bringing a unique opportunity to Seattle at the end of March: an exhibit that tells the little known story of the persecution of the gay community during the Nazi Era.

The exhibit, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945, will be on display at Seattle’s McCaw Hall from Wednesday, March 30 to Sunday, April 3.

Denounced as "antisocial parasites" and "enemies of the state," more than 100,000 men were arrested under a broadly interpreted law against homosexuality. This exhibit highlights the campaign against this particular group, and recognizes the unique adversity they faced under the Nazi regime.

This exhibit was produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. It will be shown in conjunction with the Seattle Men’s Chorus performance, Falling in Love Again, a love story between two men during the Nazi Era, Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

Exhibit on display:
March 30 - April 3, 2011 | Noon - 10:00pm
Sunday, April 3 | Noon-5:00pm McCaw Hall at Seattle Center
321 Mercer St., Seattle
Free and open to the public

Guided tours:
Saturday, April 2nd at 1:15 and 6:30 pm; Sunday, April 3rd at 12:30pm. Docent tours available by appointment.

Pre-concert discussions:
Saturday, April 2nd at 7:15pm; Sunday, April 3rd at 1:15pm.

More information about display dates/times:

www.wsherc.org/programs

More information about the exhibit:

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hsx/

More information about Seattle Men’s Chorus concert and discussions:
http://www.flyinghouse.org/smc/2010-11/fallinginloveagain.asp

Voices of Migration: digital stories from refugee youth

As the Holocaust Center works in partnership with schools to combat bullying, a community screening of the Seattle Refugee Youth Project offers a new perspective of intolerance through the eyes of young refugees in Foster and Kent Meridian High School. On Saturday March 5 in Kane 120 at 1pm, 12 self-made stories will be screened for the public, followed by a dance performance by some of the Bhutanese students and a Q&A with all young refugees, moderated by UW mentors.

Among the audience at the community screening will be many of the teachers of the refugee storytellers, whom each student took the time to personally invite. Family members, case workers with the International Rescue Committee, churches, and community advocates in every capacity for the rights of forced migrants within the Sea-Tac area will also be in attendance. All 20 refugee youth will be present on stage at the screening, introducing their stories and the regions from which they come. The storytellers have been planning this event since October with the help of University of Washington mentors and are thrilled to be able to interact with residents of the Seattle area, who are interested enough to listen.

According to one of the Karen refugees from Burma, "We just want everyone to know how hard it is to be refugee in school. There are bullies and you can't talk to anyone about it. We try very hard. Our parents try very hard, but we just want them to know our feelings." The event promises to be an outlet both for the storytellers themselves and their families, by airing a new voice in the Seattle community. Having as many teachers present as possible would fulfill one of the primary goals of the event, as specified by the storytellers, "to make people in schools know about what it's like to have to leave your home, language, culture, your family...know how it feel." The storytellers come from Eritrea, Burma, Russia, and Bhutan and have spent only 1-3 years in the United States. Diverse as their stories may be, they are united in the common purpose of sharing and the common experience of forced migration. Seattle educators, students, and case workers stand to learn much about the present-day manifestations of intolerance through the eyes of some of its newest and most vulnerable residents, who are resilient and excited to embark on the new opportunities available to them in the United States.

For more information, check out the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=189715497715842. There will be a link to a January KCTS9 program, which features the Seattle Refugee Youth Project. The event is sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Center for Global Studies at the University of Washington and the Center for Digital Storytelling. The Holocaust Center is an in-kind donor. Contact Kelly Miller at kellym32@u.washington.edu with questions.

Seattle Times calls Nuremberg film a "must-see"

NUREMBERG - THE FILM

Show dates extended dut to popular demand.

Seattle Times calls it a must-see!

Varsity Theater, 4329 University Way NE, Seattle. Running Time - 78 minutes. Showing until March 10.

One of the greatest courtroom dramas in history, Nurmeberg shows how the international prosecutors built their case against the top Nazi war criminals using the Nazis' own films and records. presented by the Holocaust Center in conjunction with Schulberg Productions and Metropolis Productions. For more info about the film, visit http://www.nurembergfilm.org/. For show times and location, call the Varsity Theater at 206-781-5755.