holocaust education resources council newsletter · 2020. 9. 3. · poland trip brochure ..... 9-10...

H E R C Holocaust Education Resource Council |P.O.Box16282Tall.,FL32317 |holocaustresources.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HERCTallahassee

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Board of Directors

John Rosner PRESIDENT

Rita Blank VICE PRESIDENT

Tasha Weinstein SECRETARY

David Kirk TREASURER

Monte Finkelstein HERC EDUCATION

DIRECTOR

At-Large Members

Linda Davey Eileen Lerner Robyn Rachin

Shari Gewanter Michelle Gayle

Mary Ann Deitchman Avi Wygodski

Daniela Wellner

Dear HERC Friends,

This month we are excited to

highlight the many events. On October

26th, seventy five teachers from the Big

Bend area attended the Fall Educators

Workshop presented by the Anti-

Defamation League. The curriculum

resource guide was provided to everyone

that participated. This year marked the

thirteenth workshop in Leon County for

HERC that presented guidelines with

lessons to take back to the classroom.

This program helped launch many

education outreach activities in the

schools and community. The workshop

was planned thanks to the collaboration

of the Leon County School district with

the forward thinking approach of

reaching many new teachers.

On November 9th, the Holocaust

Education Resource Council (HERC)

hosts its annual Remembrance Dinner at

FSU's Turnbull Center. The featured

speaker will be former U.S. Attorney for

the Northern District of Florida Pamela

Marsh, who will talk about the 2011

discovery of a 16th Century art

masterpiece, stolen by the Nazis in World

War II that wound up in the state art

museum in Milan, Italy and then brought

to Tallahassee's Brogan Museum as part of a

traveling exhibit. On WFSU Perspectives, Ms.

Marsh talked about the details of the case and was

joined by former Brogan Museum Executive

Director Chucha Barber and HERC Executive

Director Barbara Goldstein.

http://news.wfsu.org/post/perspectives-herc-

remembrance-dinner

The Holocaust Education Resource

Council is in the center of advocating and

facilitating connections and providing resources to

support local programs. Through the many

initiatives, we share important issues in the

community to help expand the message of

learning from history.

We can all have an impact to take a stand

and make a difference. Donate today a gift to help

support the work to educate people in our own

community. Please help continue this work by

sending a gift. Barbara Goldstein Executive Director

Ho locaus t Educa t ion Resources Counc i l

Newsletter November 2016

Inside this Edition... Message from the President .............. 2

Why We Remember ............................ 2

November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht ...... 3

Teachers Workshop Articles ............... 4-6

HERC Book Club .................................... 7-8

Poland Trip Brochure ........................... 9-10

I Saw It In the Movies! .......................... 11

Requiem of Defiance ............................ 12

Membership ............................................ 13-15



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The images are horrifying even 75 years later. Kristallnacht, “The Night of

Broken Glass”, shattered the lives of Jews across Central Europe. More

importantly, a world watched and did very little to stop what would

become the eventual murder of over 6 million Jews. The lessons we’ve

learned cross lines and yet even as we try to keep the memory alive in

order to prevent the past from reoccurring, we are reminded of the hatred

that exists today. We live in a world where our mass‐media actually

promote people to “hate” others for their differing views and beliefs. At

what point do we end the madness and recognize the extension of these

laws and actions. Through education learning opportunity training and

telling the history of the Holocaust, our young people are reminding us why “never forget” is perhaps more

important today than ever before.

The Holocaust Education Resource Council hopes to inspire and impact everyone with the lessons of history to

understand the ramifications of unchecked hate to the extreme. Help students become the guiding light for the

next generation to make a difference in the world today.

Message from John Rosner, HERC President

As we move into November, the anticipation and excitement rises almost on a daily level. HERC’s annual Remembrance Dinner is rapidly approaching. This year’s event promises to be a truly gala affair honoring guest speaker Pamela Marsh and Susan Turner, our generous sponsors and, in fact, all attendees.

Although the dinner comprises the culmination of each year’s hard work, we are already considering the events of next year. But for now, I look forward to seeing you at the dinner. I guarantee that you will be physically satisfied, emotionally moved and intellectually stimulated.

Sincerely,

John Rosner HERC President

Why We Remember – by Barbara Goldstein



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November 9, 1938, is the date marked by historians as the official beginning of the

Holocaust. Why that date? On that night a state sponsored, state sanctioned, nationwide

(including Austria and Sudetenland) attack on the Jewish community was perpetrated. 267

synagogues and an estimated 7,500 Jewish owned businesses were destroyed on this Night of

Broken Glass ‐ Kristallnacht. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps

(many were released if they promised to leave the Reich within 3 months); 91 Jews were killed.

Again, why?

On November 9, 1938, the Nazi elite was in Munich celebrating the anniversary of the

1923 Beer Hall Putsch. A few days before, a minor German official, Ernst vom Rath, had been shot

in Paris by Herschel Grynszpan. Grynszpan's parents had been expelled by Germany and were

stranded in a dismal refugee camp on the Polish border. When vom Rath died on Nov. 9, the Nazi

leaders decided that this was the incident they had been awaiting as a pretext to launch a night of

anti‐Semitic attacks. Joseph Goebbels announced that the assassination was part of a conspiracy

of "World Jewry". He said that there would not be a Party response, but if there were

“spontaneous” eruptions of anger, they would not be hampered. These words were interpreted as

the go‐ahead command for unleashing "spontaneous" violence throughout the Reich. Storm

Troopers and Hitler Youth were directed to wear civilian clothes to support the idea of an

"outraged public reaction" while they destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. Local

police and firefighters were instructed not to respond unless non‐Jewish property was endangered

by the fires. But Kristallnacht didn't end with the overnight destruction. Within days, the German

government, in response to the ire of non‐Jewish insurance companies, blamed the Jews for the

violence. Within days in November 1938, a series of laws known as "Aryanization Laws” were

passed. These laws essentially deprived the Jews of their property and means of livelihood. Jewish

owned property and businesses were transferred to Aryans at a small fraction of their value. Jews

had to pay for the damages of Kristallnacht. Building on the 1935 Nuremberg laws which stripped

the Jews of their citizenship and rights, Aryanization laws further eliminated Jews from public life

(movies, concerts, driving, schools).

November 9, 1938 was a critical turning point in the Nazi persecution of the Jews which

culminated in the Wannsee Conference and the systematic murder of 6 million Jews. After

Kristallnacht, anti‐Jewish policy and actions were more and more directed by Himmler and

Heydrich and carried out by the SS. Also, the international Evian Conference of July 1938 and the

apathetic response of the German population to Kristallnacht were signals to the Nazi regime that

more radical measures would not be opposed either internally or internationally. Kristallnacht was

not directed at political opponents or the disabled as many previous Nazi decrees had been.

Kristallnacht was the first time the Nazis targeted and jailed Jews on a massive scale simply

because they were ethnic Jews. The path to the "Final Solution" had been chosen.

Further reading: Gilbert Martin, KRISTALLNACHT: PRELUDE TO DESTRUCTION, NY, Harper

Collins, 2006.

November 9, 1938, Kristallnacht – by Linda Davey, HERC Board



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Ryan Dailey, Tallahassee Democrat Staff Writer – 10/26/2016

Nearly 75 teachers gathered Wednesday at the Aquilina Howell

Center for the Holocaust Education Resource Council’s 13th annual

Holocaust education workshop.

The workshop is aimed at providing teachers with resources and

insight regarding how to teach Holocaust history in their

classrooms and make it more accessible to students.

Jill Rembrandt, the associate project director with Holocaust education multimedia program Echoes and

Reflections was the program’s keynote speaker.

“Our goal is to have teachers understand how to teach the Holocaust as a human story, to make sure their

students understand that each victim of the Holocaust was a person,” Rembrandt said. Rembrandt said the

resources provided at the workshop work toward humanizing Holocaust victims within the curriculum.

“When we teach that the holocaust happened and 6 million people died, we give a number that is just too

big to understand. To rescue those individuals, we use primary sources like poetry, art, diary entries and

visual history testimony.”

Barbara Goldstein, HERC’s executive director, said teacher enthusiasm and energy is abundant at the

workshops and has proven beneficial in the classroom. “They’re going to be getting many resources and

materials to take back to their students on the lessons and guidelines of teaching the Holocaust and how

it’s relevant today,” Goldstein said.

Brian Lassiter, a fourth grade teacher at Buck Lake Elementary, echoed Goldstein and Rembrandt’s

sentiments. “There’s a lot of difficulty in teaching the Holocaust to begin with because of the age of the

students and being able to understand those things,” Lassiter said. “What we want the students to

understand is how to see the different cultures and how to show tolerance.

“When you tell stories and they see a number, it might not mean much. But when they can make a

connection to a person, that’s when they start understanding more of what happened.”

(Photos by Ryan Dailey)

Jill Rembrandt, associate project director for Echoes and Reflections, speaks at workshop.

Teachers Attend Holocaust Education Workshop



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My name is JP Swope, and I am an Assistant Principal at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, Florida. I

had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Goldstein this summer as she met with a small group of teacher

leaders, the principal, and myself to explore how we could implement some pieces of Holocaust education

and artifacts into our school as a living museum. As we talked that day during the summer, the idea

blossomed into a week‐long focus on creating opportunities for students, parents, and other stakeholders

to participate in activities that focused on educating our Chiles Community on the events that took place

prior to and during World War II. Our team is excited and humbled to have the opportunity to provide

these opportunities for our community to grow in their understanding of the Holocaust. Equally as

important, we hope to help everyone involved process through their emotions and feelings surrounding

the events to an understanding that the only way we keep a tragedy like that from occurring again is by

growing in how we view and respect others. The theme for March 21 ‐ 24 will be "Facing History:

Courageous Defiance."

If you are a parent or an educator, you know that it is often difficult to build connections for our students

with their own lives and with events that happened even just last week, so the task of engaging them in

history provides an even greater challenge. On October 26, 2016, I attended the Holocaust Education

Resource Council's (HERC) workshop that I believe provided many resources to make World War II relevant

and relatable. This training focused on equipping teachers with pertinent and meaningful tools to aid them

in connecting students with an event that occurred seventy years ago. Barbara brought in a great speaker

that was able to engage a room full of teachers and administrators for over six hours. During that time,

those in the workshop participated in exercises that could be done with students or faculties and were

challenged to reflect on emotions and feelings that had been buried or were not regularly discussed with

colleagues. Though it was uncomfortable, the atmosphere that had been fostered by the speaker allowed

for each person in the room to reflect and discuss in a way that allowed them to connect on a deeper level.

Along with the discussion activities, we watched numerous biographical videos of survivors and reading

diaries and journals of individuals that did not survive.

Everything about that day seemed to be focused on a shift in thinking from the abstract to the individual.

For instance, we changed our language from saying that the Holocaust was not an event that killed 6

million Jews, but rather it was an event that killed “one Jew, 6 million times.” The Jews that were killed

were community members like you and me—doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, and nurses—who made

an impact on the lives of those around them. This change of perspective is essential as we teach and lead

people to understand the great loss of human potential that dramatically affected the last seventy years. I

am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the workshop and am looking forward to our

continued partnership with HERC.

Leaders in Holocaust Education – by JP Swope



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Chiles High School Teachers Stacey Fabrega

Donna Callaway

Grace Bigelow Mary Ann Deitchman & Barbara Goldstein

Steve Friedlander

Nancy Long

Photos from the Holocaust Education Workshop



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Holocaust Education Resource Council 2016/2017 Book Club

Date Book & Author Time Venue 11/17/2016 Assignment Rescue: An

Autobiography by Varian Fry

7:00 PM‐ 8:30 PM

Leon County Public Library 200 W Park Ave Program Room B (850) 606‐2665

No discussion group in December

XXX XXX XXX

1/19/2017 Legacy of Courage: A Holocaust Survival Story in Greece by Frederic Kapis

7:00 PM‐ 8:30 PM


2/16/2017 Shanghai Refuge: A Memoir of the WW II Jewish Ghetto by Ernest G. Heppner

7:00 PM‐ 8:30 PM


3/16/2017 The Seventh Million: Israelis and the Holocaust by Tom S. Segev

7:00 PM‐ 8:30 PM


2016/2017 HERC Book Club

Upcoming Events…

Please join us on April 23, 2017 for Holocaust Remembrance Commemoration at Temple Israel 2215 Mahan Drive Tallahassee, FL 32308



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2016/2017 HERC Book Club



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The HERC movie series, I SAW IT IN THE MOVIES, will continue in 2017. For the past two years, we have been

exploring the movies produced by American movie houses in the U.S. (Warner Brothers, United Artists, Columbia,

etc.) in the years just prior to and during WWII. We have seen that American audiences of the “social media” of the

day – the movies – knew about the discriminatory policies of the Nazis, the denial of free speech and religion, and the

existence of brutal concentration camps inside Germany. We have become aware of Nazi spy activities in America,

the labeling of “degenerate” art, and the take‐over of the minds of the youth of Germany ‐ boys being trained to be

soldiers for their “savior”, Hitler, and girls to be breeders of soldiers. We saw Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 parody of “The

Great Dictator” and heard his impassioned plea for the brotherhood of man.

In 2017, we will continue to explore what has become quite obvious – that what Americans knew about the

policy and actions of the Nazis was quite extensive. Our first film is WATCH ON THE RHINE, starring Bette Davis and

Paul Lukas. Released by Warner Brothers in 1943, the movie was based on a stirring play by the famous writer Lillian

Hellman and adapted for the screen by Dashiell Hammett. Its success on the NYC stage was echoed on the screen;

Paul Lucas both won the Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Actor. He plays a German anti‐Nazi

underground leader who has been fighting and hiding in Europe and has brought his American wife and their children

to security in America. The complacency of Americans regarding the barbaric nature of the conflict spreading across

Europe plays a role in the story as Lucas’ identity is discovered and he and his family must make a sacrificial choice.

Determination, idealism, dignity and strength are portrayed passionately by Lucas and Davis. WATCH ON THE RHINE

will be seen on January 26, 2017.

On February 23, THE SEVENTH CROSS will be presented. This 1944 MGM film is set in 1936 when the primary

purpose of German concentration camps was to incarcerate political opponents of the Nazi state. It is based on a

novel by Anna Seghers. In the film, Spencer Tracy plays an escapee who sees the six men who broke out with him

recaptured and hung on crosses to die. As he keeps one step ahead of pursuing Nazis, he feels the terror of an animal

being ruthlessly hunted. Dread, suspicion, and anxiety are his companions. However, his faith in mankind is restored

by the perilous actions of his friends who help him. SEVENTH CROSS is one of the best known of wartime

concentration camp escape movies. We are showing this movie just days before the FSU exhibit, “Cinema Judaica”

will open at the FSU Fine Arts Museum. This film, as well as seven others we have seen in our series, will be featured

in the exhibit.

On March 23, we will divert a bit from our theme of what America knew in the 1940’s. The Tallahassee

Symphony orchestra will be presenting Verdi’s “Defiant Requiem” on March 25. Our film series will show the 2012

documentary with the same title, portraying the memorial concert which told the story of how musician inmates of

the concentration camp Terezin, conducted by composer Rafael Schachter, used the power of Verdi’s music to

maintain their dignity and fight back by playing and singing to the Nazis what they dared not say to them. This is a

little known story of incredible defiance, using music as the vehicle. If you are able to hear the symphony on March

25, seeing this film will provide you with a profound appreciation for the meaning of the title, “Defiant Requiem.”

The final film of the 2017 series, THE MOON IS DOWN, is based on a 1942 John Steinbeck novel, which told a

story of the Nazi occupation of a resource rich village in Norway. While the Nazis expected capitulation, the

townspeople, led by their dignified, compassionate mayor, resist and experience brutal retaliation. It is a story of

people whose will and nobility cannot be broken by violence. It also depicts a conflict of ideologies and is a

philosophical indictment of the Nazi “new order”. Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Henry Travers (you might recognize him

as Clarence in its A WONDERFUL LIFE) lead the cast. Twentieth Century Fox released THE MOON IS DOWN in 1943.

ALL FOUR FILMS WILL BE SHOWN ‐ AT NO CHARGE ‐ AT ALL SAINTS THEATRE 918 ½ RAILROAD AVENUE AT

7:00 ON THE DATES SHOWN

I SAW IT IN THE MOVIES !



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David and Barbara Abrams Nigel Allen

Donald Axelrad Susan Baldino Meg Baldwin Sandy Ballas

Brian and Carol Berkowitz (in memory of Rachel Capelouto)

Bill Berlow Bruce and Karen Bickley

Libby Bigham Martha Billings

Felix and Rita Blank Phil and Rita Blank

Byron and Pam Block Joe and Sue Boyd

David and Liz Brady Dr. Logan and Maryanne Brooks

Fran and Nancy Buhler Raymond and Wendy Capelouto

Tonya Chavis Thomas and Margaret Clark

Judge Robert and Karen Cohen Caroline Collins Michael Conn

Art and Elaine Cooper Arnold Cooperman

Bill and Stephanie Corry Martha Cunningham

Karen Culpepper Linda Davey

Paul and MaryAnn Deitchman Doreen DuMond Mark Easterling Shelia Erstling

Brian and Libby Fairhurst Lisa Finkelstein and Jim Hruska

Monte Finkelstein Joan Fowinkle

Stephan and Marcia Fregger Steve Friedlander

Daniel and Linda Fuchs Ann Gabor and Jay Payne

Michelle Y. Gayle Elizabeth George Shari Gewanter

Mitchell and Jacque Gilberg Linda Gilleon

Steve Goldberg Stacey Goldring

Ron and Barbara Goldstein Shimon and Nechama Gottshalk

Bill Graham and Shelley Hill Richard and Leigh Ann Greenberg

Susanne Griffin Kara Gross Sue Gross

Bill Gwynn Susan Haddix

Kathleen Hamption Gina Harris Paul Harvill

Tom and Dot Hayward Jeff Helicher

William Herrell Jerry and Roberta Hill

Sol Hirsch Lori Holcomb

Madelon Horwich Richard and Linda Hyson

Robin Johnston Wendy Johnston

Louise Kahn Janet Kaplan Kamila Kavka Patrick Kaye

Sandra Kendall Dr. Howard Kessler and Anne Van Meter

Paula Kiger Sam and Jessica Kimelman

Lynda Kinard Beth Kinnon

David Kirk and April Wetherington Kraft Nissan

Davia Kramer Joel and Betty Kramer

2016 HERC MEMBERSHIP



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Kim Koutnik David and Debra Lachter Dr. Sam and Judy Lamb

Dian Latour Eileen Lerner

David and Cathy Levenson Wayne Logan

Gabriella Mackee Daniel Maier-Katkin

David and Mona Markell Julie Matherly Joanna Mauer

Martin and Marion Merzer Jim and Laurye Messer Steve and Val Mindlin

Paul Mitchell Duncan and MaryAnn Moore

Jonathon and Eli Moore Richard and Jamie Morris

Diane Neidhart Jerome and Jaoanna Novey

Eva Pelt David Pepper

Brooks and Almena Pettit Earle and Virginia Perkins

Jorge and Betty Piekarewicz Colin and Anne Phipps

Corinne Porcher Sandy and Melinda Proctor

David and Jill Quadagno James and Martha Quinn

Robyn Rachin Radey Law Firm

DeeDee Rasmussen Kathy Reeves

Robert and Linda Reiser Steve and Amy Reznik

Howard and Kenya Rich Marty and Jan Roberts

David and Barbara Rosen Myrnalee Rosinsky

John and Monica Rosner Dr. Herbert and Judy Rubin

Eleanore Rosenberg Cherie Rowland

Ruby Diamond Foundation Lesley Sacher

Ron Sachs Dr. Ron and Tere Saff

Diane R Salz Joanne Sapolsky Paula Saunders

Ron and Jane Schagrin Martin and Sue Schneiderman

Mark and Missy Shamis Jerry Shapiro

Mimi Shaw (In memory of Dick Arnold) Judge J. Layne and Cynthia S Smith

Leslie Smith Dena Sokolow

Larry and Beverly Sokolow Mary Spector

Alvin and Susan Stauber Nat Stern

Gerry and Susan Sternstein Charles and Susan Stratton

Jackie Stubbs Tallahassee Jewish Federation Jan and Joanne Tanenbaum

Allison Tant Marjorie Turnbull

Steve and Susan Turner Steve Uhlfelder

Barry and Tiffanie Webster Brian and Tasha Weinstein Aria and Daniela Wellner Bruce and Wendy Wiener

Jodi Wilkof Palmer Williams

Steve and Judy Winn Jim and Jolene Wolf

Avi and Alexandra Wygodski Ken and Janice Zimmerman

Gary Yordon Peggy Youngblood

2016 HERC MEMBERSHIP - continued



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HERC Membership Form

Name:

Address:

Home phone: Cell phone: Email:

I am interested to help on one or more committee:

Book Club Holocaust Remembrance

Film Series Community Outreach

Memorial Membership

Teacher Workshop

MEMBERSHIP ENABLES YOU TO:

• Attend programs, films, and scholars’ lectures – at reduced rates or no charge

• Receive notice of ongoing programs and invitations to special events

• Borrow from our extensive collection of books, media, research files, and curricula on Holocaust

• Affirm your personal commitment to our mission and help us reach our goal

HERC is making a difference in our community, but we cannot continue to do so without your support. We

urge you to join us at whatever membership level is most comfortable for you.

HERC OFFERS VARIOUS LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP: Please select a membership level.

$36 (Life) This membership level purchases a DVD, book, or periodical for our school resources

$100 (Peace) This membership level provides a scholarship for a student outreach program

$250 (Courage) This membership level buys a set of books for a school classroom

$500 (Remembrance) This membership level helps to sponsor a speaker for Professional Learning

Opportunities.

PLEASE SEND CHECKS TO:

Holocaust Education Resource Council

P.O. Box 16282

Tallahassee, FL. 32317

Donations can be submitted by PayPal on HERC website www.holocaustresources.org

holocaust education resources council newsletter · 2020. 9. 3. · poland trip brochure ..... 9-10...

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