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HOLOCAUST SCHOLAR TO FOCUS ON
ROLE OF MILITARY CHAPLAINS
 Christian military chaplains, Catholics and
protestants accompanied the German armies that overran Europe during World
War II. What roles did these men play in the Holocaust? This free lecture
set for Wednesday, Jan. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. is based on research
for Dr. Doris Bergen’s upcoming book that explores that
question.
Chaplains, she shows, were eyewitnesses
to the mass murder of Jews in the Ukraine, Yugoslavia and elsewhere in
German-occupied Europe. In at least one case, German military chaplains
protested the killing of Jewish children. On the whole, however, their
efforts served to provide a veneer of legitimacy for the Nazi war of
annihilation. The subject of military chaplains touches on many persistent
questions about the Holocaust: What part did "ordinary Germans" play in
the destruction of Jews? Who knew what and when did they know it? How were
Jews linked to other victims of the war?
Bergen is the Chancellor Rose and Ray
Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto. Her
research focuses on issues of religion, gender and ethnicity in the
Holocaust and World War II and comparatively in other cases of extreme
violence. Her books include “Twisted Cross: The German Christian Movement
in the Third Reich” (1996), “War and Genocide: A Concise History of the
Holocaust” (2003), “The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the
First to the Twenty-First Centuries” (edited, 2004), and “Lessons and
Legacies VIII” (edited, 2008). She has held grants and fellowships from
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), the German Marshall Fund of
the United States and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Bergen is a
member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Center for Advanced
Holocaust Studies at the USHMM in Washington, DC. Seating is limited and
advance registration is required. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx to RSVP online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or
e-mail events@hmh.org.
SAVE THE DATE FOR MUSEUM DISTRICT EDUCATORS OPEN
HOUSE
 Mark your calendars for the Museum District Educators
Open House, set for Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Holocaust Museum Houston will conduct sessions on this date, as will other
museums. To register, visit the Houston Museum District
Association’s Web site at www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org.
TEACHER TRAINING TO FOCUS ON TEACHING GENOCIDE
ISSUES
 This one-day teacher workshop set for Saturday, Feb.
6, 2010 will focus on how and what educators should teach about genocide,
including specific information about genocides in the 20th and 21st
centuries. Presenting the workshop, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1
p.m., will be Adam Jones, associate professor of political science at
the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna, Canada. From 2005
to 2007, he was an associate research fellow in the Genocide Studies
Program at Yale University. He is the author of a widely used textbook,
"Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction," and author or editor of more
than a dozen other books, including "Gender Inclusive: Essays on Violence,
Men and Feminist International Relations." He serves as executive director
of Gendercide Watch (www.gendercide.org), a web-based
educational initiative that confronts gender-selective atrocities against
men and women worldwide. Holocaust Museum Houston is a provider of
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) approved by the State Board for
Educator Certification (SBEC). This workshop also will be submitted to the
Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented for approval of hours. The
cost for the one-day event is $15 per person. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx
to RSVP online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or e-mail teachertraining@hmh.org.
Jones also will present a free public lecture
entitled "Gendering Genocide" on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, beginnning at
7:30 p.m. Seating is limited and advance
registration is required, however. Visit http://www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx
to RSVP online. For questions about membership or First Thursdays, please
call Member Services at 713-527-1640 or e-mail membership@hmh.org.
"LITERATURE AT THE 'HOUSE OF LOVE'" WORKSHOP SET FOR FEB. 9,
2010
Houston-area Holocaust survivor Bill Morgan
calls Holocaust Museum Houston the “House of Love” because he says it was
built to teach about loving each other instead of hating each
other.
Visit the Museum for a special
professional development workshop scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 from
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This workshop will focus on school
age-appropriate literature for grades three through 12. The session
will include information on how to incorporate the use of literature
in all classrooms for all development levels, and classroom-use materials
will be provided.
ELA TEKS addressed will have as their primary
focus:
- Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text,
- Reading/Comprehension of Informational
Text/Culture and History and
- Reading/Media Literacy.
Social Studies TEKS addressed will
include:
- World History (18): identify examples
of political, economic and social oppression and violations of human
rights throughout history, including slavery, the Holocaust, other
examples of genocide and politically motivated mass murders in Cambodia,
China and the Soviet Union;
- U.S. History (6): analyze major
issues and events of World War II, such as fighting the war on multiple
fronts, the internment of Japanese-Americans, the Holocaust, the battle
of Midway, the invasion of Normandy and the development of and Harry
Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb; and
- Social Studies Skills
(varies).
The Texas Association for the Gifted and
Talented (TAGT) has approved this workshop to count toward the TAGT
Awareness Certificate. Each participant will receive a certificate of
attendance that notes four hours in creativity and instructional
strategies and one hour in differentiated curriculum. It is a local
school district decision whether these hours will be accepted for required
professional development.
This one-day event has a non-refundable
workshop fee of $15 per teacher. Lunch is not provided. Register
online by Feb. 1, 2010 at www.hmh.org/RegisterEvent.aspx.
GENOCIDE
TRUNKS OFFER CLASSROOM RESOURCES
Many
educators have used the Museum's curriculum trunks filled
with Holocaust-related materials, but many may not be aware that the
Museum also offers trunks with genocide-related
materials.
These trunks have
class sets of two texts: Samantha Power’s "A Problem From Hell" and
"Century of Genocide," edited by Samuel Totten and others. There are
also individual texts and several audiovisual materials that are
classroom-appropriate.
To request a
trunk, visit the Museum’s Web site and complete the online
application. If you have additional questions about the program,
e-mail trunks@hmh.org.
WEB RESOURCE
OF THE MONTH
The Anne Frank Tree
Interactive Monument's site at www.annefranktree.nl/index.aspx allows visitors to leave a leaf on a virtual tree that
resonates with the one Anne Frank viewed from the secret annex.
Frank was in hiding in the annex for
more than two years. During the day, she had to be very quiet and she
could never go outside. She yearned for freedom. She had a clear
opinion about many things and wrote about them in her diary. Writing
made her less sad and gave her the courage to carry
on.
Frank wanted to be useful
to others after the war - not only to the people around her but also
to people she did not know. She did not survive the Holocaust, but her
diary has inspired millions of people all over the world to do their best
for a better world.
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