The US and the Holocaust

A new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein

Premieres September 18 at 8/7c (Part 2 airing September 20 & Part 3 airing September 21)

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six hour series that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. Did the nation fail to live up to its ideals? This is a history to be reckoned with.

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/

This is a program of Milwaukee PBS. Local funding provided in part by HERC, the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center.

Following the series, join HERC staff on September 22nd at 7 pm for a talkback to discuss and further explore the new PBS documentary, “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” Viewers of the documentary will have the opportunity to ask questions about the documentary during a HERC-hosted webinar. Register HERE.

Also, on September 22nd at 4 pm tune in on Facebook for the premier of HERC’s new community engagement initiative, the HERC Community Learning Lab, which received funding from Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Teen Philanthropy Board last May. Inspired by local student responses to a question, the community lab will put HERC staff, students, educators, and adult learners in conversation around current topics in Holocaust education. Learn more…