Holocaust Education Committee of the Quad Cities

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.

The Lloyd M. Burstein Memorial “Holocaust Film Series 2019,” presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, begins Sunday, March 10, 2019 (4 PM) at the Figge Art Museum (225 W 2nd St, Davenport, IA).

Sunday, March 10, 2019 (4 PM): Who Will Write Our History

Sunday, March 24, 2019 (4 PM): The Last Suit

Sunday, March 31, 2019 (4 PM): Scandal in Ivansk

Sunday, May 12, 2019 (4:00 PM): Witnesses

Tickets available at the door. Adults $7; Seniors (60+) and Military $6; Students Free. For information call (309) 793-1300.  All films have adult content and have won many awards. For summaries of each film, go to our Events Page.

Sponsors for this film series: The Joyce and Tony Singh Family Foundation, Rauch Family Foundation II, Inc., Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Homes, Jewel Osco, Stanley and Bernice Harris Memorial Endowment Fund, Bernard and Irene Goldstein Memorial Endowment Fund, Louis & Ida-Fox Rich Fund, and Gary and Randi Segal Family.

Ethan Bensinger will visit the Quad Cities during Holocaust Education Week. He will speak at the Moline Public Library (3210 41st St, Moline, IL) at 6 PM on April 9, 2019. His presentation, “The Effects of Hitler’s Rise to Power on the Jews in Germany,” will focus on the three motivating factors that Jews faced in Nazi Germany in the 1930s that determined whether they should stay or leave Germany: fear, vilification and necessity. Ethan will then provide concrete examples from his family’s history in Germany, such as financial inability to leave, advanced age or caring for loved ones.

Free and open to the public. This program is sponsored by the Holocaust Education Committee of the Quad Cities, the Rauch Foundation II, the Moline Public Library and the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities. Other school and community venues to be announced.

Dr. Art Pitz will be interviewed on the radio show R.O.I. at 5:30 PM on Thursday, March 7, 2018. The topic will be the “History of Antisemitism and American Eugenics Movement.” The show airs 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

R.O.I. is produced by KALA, an affiliate of Public Radio International, which is operated by St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa. The show examines important topics and events in history and current events through books, journal article, papers, and presentations. The guest and show co-hosts then discuss the topic with experts and history buffs and ask the question “How is it relevant or irrelevant in today’s world?”

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

Student winners of the 2019 Shnurman Visual Arts Contest and the Ida S. Kramer Holocaust will be announced this spring.  Deadline for submissions was Feb. 1. The Quad Cites Yom Hashoah Committee is the sponsor of both contests, with Quad City Arts co-sponsoring the Visual Arts Contest.

Links to the annual Quad City (gr. 7-12 ) student contest guidelines:
Shnurman Visual Arts Contest
Ida S. Kramer Holocaust Essay Contest

Dr. Harold Kasimow, Professor Emeritus of Grinnell College, will be the speaker for the May 5, 2019 Yom Hashoah at Temple Emanuel (1115 Mississippi Ave, Davenport) at 6:30 PM. Free and open to the public. Photo above of Harold Kasimow’s extended family in Turmantas (circa 1944-1945). For more information, call 309/793-1300.

Presented by Yom Hashoah Committee of the Quad Cities, Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, Temple Emanuel, Congregation Beth Israel at the Tri-City Jewish Center, Churches United, Augustana College, St. Ambrose University, Black Hawk College and Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.

   The exhibition “Architecture of Murder: Auschwitz-Birkenau Blueprints” will be held at Grinnell College (1115 8th Ave, Grinnell, IA) during the first week in April, 2019. More information to be announced. Official exhibition website