JOIN US FOR "NEVER AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN... GENOCIDE, ARMENIA, THE HOLOCAUST, CAMBODIA, RWANDA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, DARFUR"

Lane H. Montgomery’s haunting and beautiful book “Never again, Again, Again… Genocide: Armenia, The Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Darfur” is as educational as it is unnerving. Montgomery asserts that it’s not that the average reader doesn’t know about genocide; most simply are unaware of the scope of genocide over the last century. More than 70 million people have been systematically murdered in the past 100 years. Most of the perpetrators responsible for these horrific killings have never been, and never will be, brought to justice. 

Montgomery is on the advisory board of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and is a member of the Center of the National Cathedral for Peace and Global Reconciliation in Washington, D.C. As an author and photographer, she has traveled worldwide to such places as Liberia, Rwanda, Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia, Ethiopia and the Congo.

She will discuss her work in this free public lecture scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at the Museum. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit www.hmh.org/register.asp to RSVP online.

PROFESSOR TO FOCUS ON "DEEP MEMORY: WHERE DOES IT LEAD US?"

Throughout his career as a scholar and author, Lawrence L. Langer, professor of English emeritus at Simmons College in Boston, has consistently urged his audiences and readers to consider the difficulties of confronting the history, memory, literature and art of the Holocaust. In his numerous publications, he often refers to Auschwitz survivor Charlotte Delbo’s idea of “deep memory,” which gives her access to the most painful details of her camp experience. 

Langer argues that any monument to the Holocaust worthy of its name must include among its many paths one leading to a destination called “atrocity.”  Efforts to minimize or circumvent the catastrophe through what he calls “evasive memory” run the risk of deflecting future generations from the true scope and gravity of the event. The revelations of “deep memory” provide a necessary balance to such temptations.

This free public lecture, set for 7 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 2009 at the Museum, will include a discussion of recent discoveries in Ukraine and Belarus that add a profound new dimension to our understanding of “deep memory” and its persisting challenge to the human imagination. Langer will invite guests to consider how the concept of “deep memory” necessarily complicates the work of Holocaust memorials and education centers. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit www.hmh.org/register.asp to RSVP online. For more information, call 713-942-8000 or e-mail teachertraining@hmh.org.

APPLY NOW FOR THIS YEAR'S MAX M. KAPLAN SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS

The Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute for Educators at Holocaust Museum Houston is a four-day program that moves beyond the general history of the Holocaust to explore the various dimensions and implications of the Holocaust and other genocides. The theme of the 2009 institute focuses on both the lesser-known aspects of the Holocaust and strategies and resources for learning about genocide. 

The institute, conducted at Holocaust Museum Houston July 7 through July 10, 2009, provides substantive content and the opportunity to network with internationally known scholars of the Holocaust and teachers from around the world. Working in the Museum’s exhibit space and classroom, teachers will grow in their understanding of the Holocaust and refine their skills to teach about the history and lessons of the Holocaust, while also considering how to include other genocides.

The program is directed toward educators on a secondary or higher level, but university students and educators of all levels who have a specific interest in, and background knowledge of, the Holocaust are invited to attend.

Seating is limited and is on a competitive basis.  The cost to attend the program is $150, which includes lunch and materials for the four days. Applications for the 2009 Summer Institute for Educators must be received with payment by Monday, June 22, 2009. For more information, contact teachertraining@hmh.org or call 713-942-8000, ext. 123.

This educator training project has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation and the Max M. Kaplan Fund.