By: Anna Radinsky/Assistant News Director
The University’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program and Hillel at FIU hosted events and exhibits throughout the week of Sunday, Jan. 27 to bring awareness to historic and current events related to the Holocaust, genocide and mass violence throughout the world.
“Each year, a few different genocides are highlighted throughout the week of events, in panel discussions, interactive lectures and exhibits,” said Stacey Alpert, president of Hillel at FIU.
The following contains a gallery and descriptions of the events:
On Sunday, Jan. 27, the documentary ‘The Good Nazi’ was previewed in the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. The film told the story of a Nazi officer, Karl Plagge, that saved over 200 Lithuanian Jews during the Holocaust from the Vilna Ghetto by issuing them work permits. Survivors told stories of what occurred at the camp and walked through the buildings of where they once lived. The film also documented how a team of scientists and students rediscovered stories within the site, including lost toys and a mass grave.
On Monday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m., four panelists discussed identity and the importance of knowing and staying true to who we are and where we come from. The panelists talked of how society defines people, how stereotyping affects people of races and religions, and how people can work to rid of racial and religious profiling.
On Monday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m., Holocaust survivor Julius Eisenstein shared his story to the audience. The audience also learned how to report and share stories of survivors in a meaningful and respectful way.
On Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 11 a.m., Wayne Snellgrove of the Fishing Lake First Nation from Canada spoke on indigenous genocide and shared his experiences while in Canadian boarding schools.
On Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m., a movie screening and discussion was made about the trial of a Nazi, Adolf Eichmann, who was the only person to receive the death penalty in Israel in 1962 after hiding in Argentina for 15 years.
On Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m., Daniel Greene, a curator for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and an adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University, spoke about what Americans knew knew about the Holocaust, when they learned about it, how it affected policies, and what the range of responses were to the threat of Nazism.On Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., Holocaust survivor Laszlo Sally shared his experiences of being Jewish in Nazi occupied Budapest and his life afterwards.
On Thursday, Jan. 31, Edward Paulino, Ph.D., an assistant professor of history at John Jay College, spoke about a 20th-century ethnic cleansing event against Haitians in the Dominican Republic. The Haitian Massacre led to the creation of the Border of Lights, a collective dedicated to honoring the victims of the massacre.
On Friday, Feb. 1, the University’s Annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony commemorated victims of the Holocaust and the eleven people killed during a mass shooting in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Keynote speaker and Holocaust survivor, Allan Hall, shared his experiences of life around the events of the Holocaust. University President Mark Rosenberg, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor, spoke at the ceremony as well.
The Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week also featured three concurrent exhibits.
“Story of a Shtetl through Tears and Laughter” examined the Holocaust through animated films, comic books, and artwork by Lithuanian Jewish artist, Ilja Bereznickas in the Miami Beach Urban Studios.
“Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka” is a visual diary of artist Mark Podwal’s journey to Dąbrowa, a Polish shtetl, or a small Jewish town or village in eastern Europe, of where his mother was born. The exhibit honors the lives of Jewish people that lived in shtetls in pre-World War II Poland. The exhibit was in the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU.
“All This Has Come Upon Us” exhibits prints created by Mark Podwal to show the threats of antisemitism throughout history, from slavery in Egypt to the Holocaust, while including verses from the Book of Psalms, the third section of the Hebrew Bible. The exhibit was in the Steven J. Green School for Public and International Affairs Gallery in MMC.
Community members were also able to visit the “Historical Poster Exhibit” in the Rabbi Herbert Baumgard Learning Hub and the “Holocaust and Genocide Book Display” in the Green Library. In addition, “The Faces of Genocide” gallery was in the Graham Center.
Photos by Anna Radinsky, Patricia Menendez, Imogen Francis, Ivonne Rodriguez, Victor Jorges, Joshua Ceballos/PantherNOW; Stacey Alpert/Hillel at FIU
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