Holocaust Education Committee of the Quad Cities

The QC Night to Honor Israel committee is planning the annual Night to Honor Israel fundraising event which is scheduled to be held this year at a new location, a new time and new day of the week:  Bettendorf Christian Church, 6:30 pm, on Saturday, October 17. Please contact  aross@jfqc.org for more information.

More than 6 million people, most of them Jews, died in the Holocaust. The music they wrote as a temporary escape, however, did not, thanks in part to the efforts of an Italian composer and pianist, Francesco Lotoro. He has spent 30 years recovering, performing, and in some cases, finishing pieces of work composed in captivity. He is on a remarkable rescue mission, reviving music like a piece created by a young Jewish woman in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944. Read more.

April 21st is Holocaust Remembrance Day. 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 online Israel Book Discussion Group hosted by Temple Emanuel, held on alternating Thursdays from noon-1:30 PM through Zoom.  Books discussed:
1. Shavit. My Promised Land
2. Glick. The Israeli Solution
3. Omar Khaled Ahmad (and more). Shatila Stories
4. LeVine & Mossberg. One Land, Two States: Israel and Palestine as Parallel States

For more information, contact Rabbi Linda at rabbilinda@qctemple.org

EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19. Yom Hashoah was scheduled for April 19, 2020 (6:30 PM) at the Tri Ciy Jewish Center (2715 30th St, Rock Island, IL).

Holocaust survivor Ida Paluch Kersz will be the 2020 keynote speaker this  year in the Quad Cities.  About Ida: Ida Paluch Kersz was born May 1939, in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon after the German invasion, Ida, her mother, her twin brother, and her older sister were put into the Sosnowiec ghetto. When she was three years old, her mother committed suicide, while her father was fighting as a Polish solider against the Germans. After the war, Ida’s father found her. In 1957, Ida immigrated with her father to Israel. In 1963, Ida and her family came to Chicago. She has volunteered at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center for over 25 years.  Click on flyer for details: Ida flyer-2

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.

THIS YEAR’S 2020 CONTEST WINNERS & PARTICIPANTS
Essay and Art Flyer 2020

  

  

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