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We are pleased to welcome the second UW Study Abroad Course 20^th Century Eastern Europe and the Holocaust, co-led by Dr. Shay Pilnik and Dr. Karl Loewenstein. Our group of 15 students from UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh has arrived in Poland and for the next 14 days, will be touring the soil on which the murder of six million Jews and five million non-Jews took place. Our itinerary includes the Jewish quarter of Krakow; the death camps Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Belzec; the remains of the Warsaw and Lodz Ghettos; and the killing fields in Lithuania at Ponary and the Ninth Fort.

We thank our campus partners at the UW-Oshkosh History Department and the Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at UW-Milwaukee for helping us to spearhead this exciting educational program. And of course, we thank HERC’s anonymous donor for both vision and generosity. Without the scholarship that each of these students received for this program, we would have not been able to offer future teachers, professionals, and leaders in our community this rare opportunity to walk the grounds of the ghettos, killing fields, and death camps in Poland and Lithuania, helping them to bring the message of Never Again back to their communities.

Dear Milwaukee community members,

Though disappointed by the weather conditions that resulted in the cancellation of Sunday’s community commemoration of the Shoah, we are blessed by the outpouring of support we received from our partners and participants. Even in the face of the hard choice to cancel our ceremony, we are reminded that this community is bonded together in commitment, passion, and strength.

At the Yom HaShoah Community Commemoration we come together to remember, honor survivors, and affirm our community’s commitment to Holocaust memory. We demonstrate the value of l’dor v’dor – from generation to generation.

Though we were not able to gather together this year – we encourage you to find a personal moment to remember, to listen tot he words of a survivor, to remember the resistance, and to encourage and support the ongoing education of our future generations. This is a commitment for every day and not just for the day of our community commemoration.

Consider listening to the words of a survivor today:

–  Our keynote speaker for the day was Eric Blaustein. You can hear a few minutes of his experience here.

–  Other survivor testimonies can be viewed here.

Remember the resistance. Here is information about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising which took place 75 years ago.

In the past year, Neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville and anti-Semitic activities have sharply increased both nationally and locally. Here are 18 ways to live “Never Again.”

Encourage and support education of our young people:

–  Honor Holocaust educators. This year’s commemoration honors teacher Beth Feest who has shown a commitment to Holocaust education by teaching a quarter long Holocaust unit in her  20th Century History class at Christian Life School in Kenosha, Wisconsin for the past 17 years. A number of her students have won the Holocaust Essay Contest.

–  Learn about March of the Living which sends youth to learn about the Holocaust. This year marks 30 years since this endeavor was initiated and we must remain committed  to these kinds of educational activities in the years to come.

–  Learn more about the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center which educates thousands of young people and teachers across the state of Wisconsin and provides numerous public programs about the Holocaust.

Rachel Baum & Bonnie Klein-Tasman

Yom HaShoah Co-Chairs

The sickening, blatant display of hatred and bigotry shown by white supremacists in Charlottesville this past week is a prime example of the ignorance and intolerance that the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center strives to eradicate every day. We mourn the loss of Heather Heyer and condemn the violent acts perpetrated against those who came to speak up against hatred. At the same time, it is incidents such as these that strengthen our resolve to teach the lessons of the Holocaust.  We will continue to fight racism and anti-Semitism whenever it rears its ugly head, with an arsenal of books and teachers, witnesses and speakers who represent those who have seen first-hand what such hatred can unleash.  We join our community here in Milwaukee and elsewhere in condemning these acts.  Moreover, we join others both here and in Charlottesville in standing to be counted, and promise to continue spreading the lessons of tolerance and peace.

I am one of only fifty Jewish students at my Catholic University.  At first it was very difficult being away from my family on all of the holidays, and feeling like I didn’t have a community to celebrate with.  Fortunately, I have met some amazing people and have been introduced to outstanding organizations in the Milwaukee Jewish community that have welcomed me with open arms and have made me feel like I have a home away from home.  I started getting involved in the Jewish Student Union at my university my freshman year, which at the time did not have a large outreach or presence on campus.  Although there are not a lot of Jewish students at my school, I found that there are many people who love to learn about different faiths and cultures.  I found that educating others about my Jewish faith was a true passion of mine, and I became an advocate for interfaith and intercultural programming.

This year I started as an intern at the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC), which is a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.  I came in under the assumption that the organization was one that was run by Jews and that its programming and outreach was marketed for Jews.  I soon learned that the staff is very diverse and comes from many different backgrounds, and that the educational programming is in fact focused on all members of the community, especially those who do not have any background knowledge on the Holocaust.  This realization resonated with me, as I have been an advocate for interfaith and intercultural educational programming intended for a diverse group of people.  At one of HERC’s most highly attended annual events, the Kristallnacht Commemoration, I was truly impressed and inspired by the twelve faith leaders from different Milwaukee communities and the local students who shared their prayers, poems, and artwork in remembrance of a day of violence and intolerance in order to take a stand against racism and bigotry.  This event and all of the work I have done with the Holocaust Education Resource Center has given me hope that through education and kindness between diverse communities, we can live in a society that is more tolerant and understanding, and one that celebrates both our similarities and our differences.

– Anna Goldstein, Marquette University

In the wake of his passing this past Saturday, we honor the life and legacy of Elie Wiesel. Holocaust survivor and author, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, husband and father, Elie Wiesel brought a voice to the horrors of the Holocaust and championed the remembrance of all those who perished. Though Wiesel penned many books on the Holocaust and humanity, his first book Night which recounts his experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, continues to be used to teach about the Holocaust in classrooms today. He also founded the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity which engages youth in discussions about the importance of tolerance and humanity around the globe. We thank Elie Wiesel for his precious contribution to Holocaust remembrance and education, and we strive to continue his life’s work.