Holocaust Education Committee of the Quad Cities

1^st Place: Levi Tannenbaum (10^th grade) and Yosef Tannenbaum (9^th grade), Homeschooled – “Mendel’s Journey” (Mendel Hershkowitz Kluger)

2^nd Place: Alex M. Williams (8^th grade), Rivermont Collegiate, Bettendorf, IA – “A Night We Should Never Forget” (Elie Wiesel)

3^rd Place (Tie): Zoe D. Fuglsang (8^th grade), St. Joseph Catholic School, DeWitt, IA – “A Time to Never Forget” (Aaron Elster). Paige Swain (10^th grade), Geneseo High School, Geneseo, IL – “Her Truimph” (Irene Butter)

The Quad Cities Yom HaShoah Committee sponsors the annual The Ida S. Kramer “Children and the Holocaust” Essay Contest for Quad City area (Illinois and Iowa) for students in grades 6-12. The Essay Contest, in honor and loving memory of Ida S. Kramer (1926-2015), bears her name. Ida has been the voice of Holocaust education for Quad City schools, civic groups, and the community at large for over 30 years.

Theme: Children and the Holocaust
The title of the essay may be original and may be on the first page of the essay or on a separate cover sheet. Essay must be submitted electronically to: aross@jfqc.org

Deadline: March 1 (annually)
Guidelines & Entry Form:

2022 Visual Arts Winners:

1^st Place: Seryanna C. Cutkomp (8^th grade), Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities – “Chaos in Color”

2^nd Place: Aly Perez (7^th grade), Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities – “Millions”

3^rd Place: Levi Tannenbaum (10^th grade) and Yosef Tannenbaum (9^th grade), Homeschooled – “The Sixth Bridge”

Guidelines: The annual Meyer and Frances Shnurman Visual Arts Contest theme is “Imagery and Expression: A Visual Response to the Holocaust.” The contest is open to students in grades 6-12 in the Greater Quad City area. The Visual Arts Contest bears the name of Meyer and Frances Shnurman who were both survivors of Nazi extermination camps.

Deadline: March 1 (annually)
Guidelines & Entry Form:

Save the Date: Sunday, May 1 (7 PM)
Event:  The 41st Annual Quad Cities Holocaust Remembrance, known as Yom HaShoah. 
Keynote speaker: Rodi Glass
Location: Rogalski Center, St. Ambrose, Davenport, IA
Admission: Free and open to the public

For parents and educators who are home-schooling students in grades 7-12, here is a one class period lesson (with extended activities) from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum entitled: “History of Antisemitism and the Holocaust.”

R.O.I., produced by KALA and an affiliate of Public Radio International, has interviewed several local scholars on topics relating to the Holocaust. The show examines important events in history as well as current events through books, journal article, papers, and presentations. The guest and show co-hosts then discuss the topic with experts and history buffs who ask the question “How is it relevant or irrelevant in today’s world?”

Dr. Art Pitz was interviewed on the radio show R.O.I. in 2019, on the topic “History of Antisemitism and American Eugenics Movement.” His interview can be found at this link or click on the “play arrow” below.

KALA is operated by St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa. Shows air locally on Friday night on KALA 88.5 FM and 106.1 FM at 9:30 PM. After airing, the full program and web segment will be available as a podcast at: https://soundcloud.com/kalaradio

Other Holocaust-related shows on R.O.I.:

Mark Finkelstein – Holocaust Memorial in Des Moines

Rabbi Henry J Karp – One Human Family Program   

Dr. Stephen Gaies – Pre-WWII German Youth Diaries and Memoirs Exhibit

Author Noah Lederman – A World Erased

The community is invited to join the Israel Book Discussion Group hosted by Temple Emanuel, held on alternating Thursdays from noon-1:30 PM through Zoom.  Previous books discussed were Shavit’s My Promised Land; Glick’s The Israeli Solution; Ahmad’s Shatila Stories; LeVine & Mossberg’s One Land, Two States: Israel and Palestine as Parallel States.

To participate, contact Rabbi Linda at rabbilinda@qctemple.org

Curriculum cases for teaching about the Holocaust in grades 6-8 are available for free checkout by Quad City area teachers.  These cases were developed by the Curriculum Committee for the Jeff Leibovitz Special Collection of Holocaust Education Materials.
Flyer Curriculum Cases

Three curriculum case topics:
Case 1: “You Can Make A Difference: Teaching About the Holocaust”
Case 2: “They Made a Difference: Rescuers and Resisters”
Case 3: “Voices from the Holocaust: Diaries & Memoirs”

Cases 1, 2, and 3 are located at WIU-Quad Cities Library (3300 River Drive, Moline, IL). Call to schedule curriculum case checkout at 309/762-1598. No delivery service. Self pickup required. Website   Case 1 is also available at Mississippi Bend AEA9 (729-21^st St., Bettendorf, IA). Call to schedule curriculum case checkout  at 563/359-1371. Iowa schools within the AEA9 district can request AEA9 van delivery to school building.

Date: April 1 & Oct. 1 (bi-annual deadline)
Event: Rauch Foundation Teacher Scholarship for Professional Development in Holocaust Education
Application: RAUCH SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION