Honoring the Past, Protecting the Future

In recognition of the unique and profound place that survivor testimony holds in Holocaust memory and education, MCHE is pleased to present this monthly conversation with a Holocaust survivor throughout our 30th anniversary year.

Each month we will feature a survivor in conversation with MCHE’s Executive Director, Jessica Rockhold, exploring not only their experiences in the Holocaust, but about their life before and after the war and their perspective on the world today.

Registration is required.

Featuring Noë L. Bourdeau
October 4, 2023 at 6:30 pm

This presentation bridges the fields of Holocaust studies and transgender studies to examine the role of gender non-conformity during the Third Reich and Shoah. It explores how a trans* reading of the sources can expand ways of thinking about sexuality, emotions, survival, resilience, and power in the context of the Holocaust. What can a focus on gendered boundary crossing reveal about how logics of power function to reinforce multiple and often different definitions of normalcy? How do stigmatized notions of gender and sexuality work to further ostracize Jews in these instances? This work maintains that trans* analysis as a theoretical model promises to reveal the gradation of gendered experiences that are integral to Holocaust history.

This program is offered in partnership with Congregation Kol Ami in recognition of National Coming Out Day.

Democracy Destroyed – The Transformation of Germany and the Path to the November Pogrom

Featuring Dr. Shelly Cline – Historian, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

This commemoration is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested by emailing rsvp@mchekc.org.

Liberation and Beyond: Postwar journeys of the Sh’erit ha-Pletah

For those who survived the Holocaust, liberation was a complicated event. It marked the end of their physical imprisonment, but the impact of the Holocaust on their lives was far from over. This five-week course will chart the journey of this surviving remnant as they began to rebuild their lives and families. Topics include: end of the war, liberation, displaced persons camps and leaving Europe.