Upcoming Events
Genocide Today: The Uyghurs in China | Tuesday, August 11
12:00-1:00pm (Pacific Time) | With speaker Ellen Kennedy, Ph.D, World Without Genocide
The Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim minority in western China, are being persecuted by the Chinese government with practices that governments, human rights leaders, and experts are labeling as ‘genocide.’ These actions include the use of sophisticated artificial intelligence to round up and incarcerate more than a million Uyghurs in concentration-camp-like facilities; forced sterilization of women; harvesting of body organs; mass disappearances; and the destruction of Uyghur language, culture, practice, and community. Learn about the economic and political reasons at the heart of the crisis and efforts to hold the government of China accountable for perpetrating genocide against this vulnerable Muslim minority population.
Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., is the founder and Executive Director of World Without Genocide, located at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, MN. The organization provides education about past and current conflicts and advocacy at local, state, and national levels for policies and legislation that promote peace and justice. She has been an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law since 2011.
Thank you to our program community partner:
JOIN ON FACEBOOK LIVE ON Aug 11
Upcoming Presentations
Join us for our weekly Lunch-and-Learn series to hear children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, notable speakers on timely issues, and historical experts. Lunch-and-Learns will be offered at the same time every Tuesday. A separate link will be posted for each event.
12:00 - 1:00pm (PT) Every Tuesday
Tuesday, August 18 | The Yellow Star House: The Remarkable Story of One Boy's Survival in a Protected House in Hungary.
With author Paul Regelbrugge. Paul Regelbrugge, a teacher in Spokane, WA at the time, asked survivor Robert Holczer to come and speak to his 6th grade class. His students were enthralled by the unique story of Robert and the motivations of his rescuer. Paul and Robert became friends over the last decade of Robert's life and Paul became one of the few people trusted to record Robert's story. From these stories and interviews comes Paul's first book, and one of the first books on this incredible story of the rescue of 400 Jews in the middle of Budapest, Hungary: The Yellow Star House.
JOIN ON FACEBOOK LIVE ON Aug 18
Tuesday, August 25 | King County’s Segregation Story: Unpacking the History of Race, Neighborhoods, Inequality
With Professor James Gregory. James Gregory, professor of History at the University of Washington and director of the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project, will explore the history of segregation in Seattle and King County emphasizing the racial restrictive covenants that made it impossible for Blacks, Asians, and in some cases Jews to buy or rent in many neighborhoods. The Civil Rights Project has uncovered more than 500 restrictive deeds and covenants covering at least 20,000 properties in scores of neighborhoods in Seattle and nearby suburbs. This history haunts our region today, continuing to shape neighborhoods and, more important, to structure unequal access to housing and wealth decades after racial discrimination became illegal.
Wednesday,* September 2 | Law as an Instrument of Mass Crimes? The Legal System Under the Third Reich
A Lawyers CLE Program & Open to all. 1 Washington State Bar CLE Ethics Credit available.
Speaker: Lawrence Douglas, James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought, Amherst College. Join the Holocaust Center for Humanity, and legal professionals from around Washington state, for a special virtual Lawyers CLE program with Professor Lawrence Douglas on Law as an instrument of Mass Crimes and the Legal System Under the Third Reich. Hitler’s Germany disturbingly demonstrated how a legal system can become an instrument of state sponsored mass atrocities. This talk will examine questions such as: How did the Nazi state succeed in perverting the German legal system? What role did prominent lawyers and judges play in resisting or assisting the perversion? Are there limits to which law can be perverted before it ceases to function as law? What lessons can we apply from the German case to challenges facing lawyers today?
Zoom link available upon registraton.
*Please note this special program is taking place on a Wednesday.
Thank you to our event partners:
Past Presentations
Catch up on the presentations you missed!
August 4, 2020 | Peter Metzelaar: Surviving the Holocaust in Hiding
Peter Metzelaar, a native of the Netherlands, was just seven when his entire family was seized by the Nazis except for him and his mother, Elli. Pete then endured the Holocaust under various harrowing circumstances -- from time in hiding on the farm of a non-Jewish couple, to going to school posing as a Christian boy, to a daring escape on a Nazi truck with his mother dressed as a Red Cross nurse. Pete is a longtime member of the Holocaust Center for Humanity Speakers Bureau and resides in Seattle with his wife, Bea.
July 28, 2020 | Jim Crow Laws and Nazi Racial Policy: How the United States Influenced Hitler
With Tom White, Keene State College | As the Nazis began to coordinate and crystalize their racist program in the early 1930s, they looked for legal precedence that could help shape their own work within the German legal system. They found this precedent in U.S. legislation and initiatives, such as racist-based immigration laws and disenfranchisement of minorities. The Nazis explored ways to legitimize their racial state by studying what worked and what did not work within U.S. race-based laws and practices. Utilizing American ideas not only helped the Nazis craft the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, it also helped them cement their power.
With us today is Tom White, Coordinator of Educational Outreach for the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College in New Hampshire to talk about the influence of racist policies in the United States on Nazi Germany. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO); has participated as observer and facilitator in the Global Raphael Lemkin Seminar for Genocide Prevention at the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation; and in 2015 was named a Peace Ambassador by the Center for Peacebuilding from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tom was also just appointed to the New Hampshire Governor’s Commission on Holocaust and genocide education. Tom White's article, "The US and Racism" referenced in the program can be found here. Article includes bibliography of sources. Image: A Jewish woman sits on a bench marked "Only for Jews," Austria, 1938.
Thank our community partners for this program: The Black Heritage Society, The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at Western Washington University, and Pacific Lutheran University.
July 21, 2020 | Jessica Fenton: Granddaughter of Polish Holocaust Survivors
Jessica Fenton grew up in South Florida very close to her grandparents, Natalie and Murray Borenstein. Jessica knew that her grandparents and their friends and neighbors were Holocaust survivors. As an adult, Jessica dug deeper to learn of her grandparents' past. She collected documents, video, and photos of her grandparents' lives and shared them with the Holocaust Center for Humanity. Jessica Fenton officially joined the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau in 2020 to share the stories of her grandparents and to ensure that their legacies lived on.
Every other Wednesday from 1pm-2pm PT! Teachers can earn 1 clock hour on selected discussions.
Join engaging and highly interactive discussions of select popular Holocaust texts. Open to teachers, students, parents and anyone else.
Come prepared with questions and/or ideas you'd like to discuss, or just sit in and join the discussion.
Discussions are led by:
Paul Regelbrugge is the Professional Development and Curriculum Coordinator for the Holocaust Center for Humanity. Previously, following a career as an attorney in his native Detroit and Chicago, Paul taught for 14 years in Chicago, Buffalo, Spokane and, most recently, Kent. He is also the author of The Yellow Star House: The Remarkable Story of One Boy's Survival in a Protected House in Hungary (2019).
Kate Boris-Brown has been a supporter and volunteer at the Holocaust Center since 2015, assisting in the library and traveling with the Center to Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, and Israel. Books are her passion, especially books on the Holocaust, the refugee experience and Russian history. Her preferred vacation activity is scouting European bookstores for Holocaust and history publications. She has a B.A. in Literature, Graduate studies in Russian Language and post-retirement, earned UW Professional and Continuing Education Certificates in three writing programs: Nonfiction Writing, Literary Fiction I and II.
Register below and a link to join the discussion will be sent to you. Questions? Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany by Hans Massaquoi
Wednesday, August 5 | 1pm-2pm PT
In Destined to Witness, Hans Massaquoi has crafted a beautifully rendered memoir -- an astonishing true tale of how he came of age as a black child in Nazi Germany. The son of a prominent African and a German nurse, Hans remained behind with his mother when Hitler came to power, due to concerns about his fragile health, after his father returned to Liberia. Like other German boys, Hans went to school; like other German boys, he swiftly fell under the Fuhrer's spell. So he was crushed to learn that, as a black child, he was ineligible for the Hitler Youth. His path to a secondary education and an eventual profession was blocked. He now lived in fear that, at any moment, he might hear the Gestapo banging on the door -- or Allied bombs falling on his home. Ironic, moving, and deeply human, Massaquoi's account of this lonely struggle for survival brims with courage and intelligence. Discussion led by Paul Regelbrugge. Teachers can earn 1 clock hour.
Register to Join Discussion on "Destined to Witness"
Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower
Wednesday, August 19 | 1pm-2pm PT
Wendy Lower’s stunning account of the role of German women on the World War II Nazi eastern front powerfully revises history, proving that we have ignored the reality of women’s participation in the Holocaust, including as brutal killers. The long-held picture of German women holding down the home front during the war, as loyal wives and cheerleaders for the Führer, pales in comparison to Lower’s incisive case for the massive complicity, and worse, of the 500,000 young German women she places, for the first time, directly in the killing fields of the expanding Reich. Hitler's Furies will challenge our deepest beliefs: genocide is women's business too, and the evidence can be hidden for seventy years. Discussion led by Kate Boris-Brown.
REGISTER TO JOIN DISCUSSION ON "HITLER'S FURIES"
Surviving Genocide: Introduction to New Scholarship on Native Nations and the United States
Monday, August 10, 2020 | 10am - 11:30am (PT) | Presented by Jeffrey Ostler | More Info & Registration
Please note that this program is for educators only and is appropriate for teachers of grades 4 through 12. PDUs available. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Jeffrey Ostler’s new book — Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas — is the first part of a sweeping two-volume history that investigates how American democracy relied on Indian dispossession and the federally sanctioned use of force to remove or slaughter Indians in the way of U.S. expansion. This ambitious and well-researched book deepens our understanding of the seizure of Indigenous lands, including the use of treaties to create the appearance of Native consent to dispossession. Ostler also documents the resilience of Native people, showing how they survived genocide by creating alliances, defending their towns, and rebuilding their communities. Following a presentation by Dr. Ostler, educators will learn how this scholarship addresses the new Holocaust and Genocide mandate and then split into small groups to discuss how this learning can be brought into classrooms. The program will conclude with time for questions and answers in the full group.
This program is offered by the Oregon Historical Society, in partnership with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education and the Holocaust Center for Humanity and is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Heritage Commission and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
More Information and Registration
"Before Sleep," a piano recital by Renan Koen
Sunday, August 16, 2020 | 10:30am (PT) | Livestream via Zoom and Facebook | More Info & To Register
A commemorative recital by world-renowned Sephardic pianist Renan Koen presented from the historic Italian Synagogue of Istanbul. Program includes special greetings from the Chief Rabbi of Turkey (Hakham Bashi), Rabbi Ishak Haleva, and a traditional "Hashkavah' memorial prayer for the Sephardic communities of Greece and the Balkans destroyed in the Holocaust.
This annual event has, for 10 years, been held at the Congregation Ezra Bessaroth of Seattle. This year our memorial program, featuring Ms. Koen’s recital, will be presented virtually, allowing friends and communities from around the world to join us.
Co-sponsors: Congregation Ezra Bessaroth | Lela & Harley Franco | Holocaust Center for Humanity | Sephardic Studies Program | Stroum Center for Jewish Studies - University of Washington | Sephardic Bikur Holim | Seattle Sephardic Network | Kline Galland Community Based Services | Sephardic Brotherhood of America | Sephardic Educational Center
The Legal System Under the Third Reich | Wednesday, September 2 | 12:00pm-1:00pm (PT) | A Lawyers CLE Program & Open to All | Flyer
1 Washington State Bar Ethics CLE Credit Available.
Speaker: Lawrence Douglas, James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought, Amherst College
Join the Holocaust Center for Humanity, and legal professionals from around Washington state, for a special virtual Lawyers CLE program with Professor Lawrence Douglas on Law as an instrument of Mass Crimes and the Legal System Under the Third Reich. Hitler’s Germany disturbingly demonstrated how a legal system can become an instrument of state sponsored mass atrocities. This talk will examine questions such as: How did the Nazi state succeed in perverting the German legal system? What role did prominent lawyers and judges play in resisting or assisting the perversion? Are there limits to which law can be perverted before it ceases to function as law? What lessons can we apply from the German case to challenges facing lawyers today?
A Holocaust Center for Humanity Lawyers CLE Program
Zoom link available upon registration.
Thank you to our event partners:
Lawyers Committee:
Ruth Atherton | Marc Boman | Kathy Feldman | Avi Lipman | Gordon Lotzkar | Chuck Maduell | Jay Riffkin | Jon Rosen | Rob Spitzer | Jeff Sprung
Questions? Email Nicole - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Friday, September 25 | 12:00pm (Pacific Time)
We are excited to gather virtually for the first time on Friday, September 25 for our 2020 Voices for Humanity Luncheon.
As scapegoating and fear are on the rise, teaching empathy and resilience through the lens of the Holocaust is more important than ever. If there was ever a time when our students, teachers, and community needed the support of the Holocaust Center for Humanity's programs and resources, it is now.
Join the Holocaust Center for Humanity as we dedicate this year's virtual luncheon to our hardworking students and teachers and honor past Board President, David Alhadeff, with the 2020 Voices for Humanity award.
Together we define what is possible. The Voices for Humanity Luncheon is the Center’s signature event that funds close to half of our programming each year. Our work wouldn’t be possible without supporters like you. Please consider making an early and meaningful gift today in support of the Center’s important mission. To donate go here.
2020 Voices for Humanity Event Chairs - Paul and Leora Bloom
2020 Voices for Humanity Award Recipient - David Alhadeff
Teacher Workshop | Thursday, October 29, 2020 | 3:30-4:30pm (Pacific Time) | Virtual Program | Open to all educators | Earn 1 Clock Hour
Learn how to teach students to stop using the phrase “fake news” and to identify the many types of misleading, inaccurate and false information that they encounter every day. We use examples of misinformation to engage students in news literacy and civic learning, and we introduce digital verification skills and tools for debunking manipulated and false images. We also explain the standards of quality journalism, such as fairness, verification, balance and context.
Presented by John Silva, NBCT, Sr. Director of Education, Training, for the News Literacy Project.
Funding for this program was made possible, in part, due to a grant from the Tillie and Alfred Shemanski Testamentary Trust.
"I believe very strongly this is the most hopeful place in the city." - Local Holocaust Survivor Steve Adler
Finding Light in the Darkness - Through stories and artifacts of Washington State Holocaust survivors, the museum’s exhibit engages visitors in this history and challenges them to consider how each person’s actions make a difference.
Visitors to the Holocaust Center can take a Virtual Reality tour of the Anne Frank annex, interact with embedded testimony screens that feature survivors and stories of coming to Seattle, explore artifacts that bring history to life, and learn about local students who are upstanders in their schools and communities.
TICKETS
Open Wednesdays and Sundays | 10am - 4pm
Group Tours & Field Trips by appointment every day except Saturday
At the Henry and Sandra Friedman Holocaust Center for Humanity | 2045 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
At the entrance to the Holocaust Center for Humanity are photos of children who experienced the Holocaust. All are survivors who later moved to the Seattle region, with the exception of one. Come visit and learn more about the stories. Photo by Alan Berner, Seattle Times staff photographer.
A bookcase opens to reveal a photograph of the stairs leading to Anne Frank's hiding place in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. Explore this feature and learn more about Anne Frank when you visit the Holocaust Center. Photo by Alan Berner, Seattle Times staff photographer.
A memorial to the 6 million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust and the millions of other victims invites visitors to leave notes, prayers and wishes at the Holocaust Center. Photo by Alan Berner, Seattle Times staff photographer.
Train tracks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland at the Holocaust Center for Humanity. Designed by architects Olson Kundig. Photo by Stefanie Felix.
This exhibit was supported, in part, by 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax and The State of Washington.
The development and training of museum tour guides (docents) is made possible with the generous support of the Union Pacific Foundation.