Honoring the Past, Protecting the Future

Once democracy has been destroyed, ordinary citizens must ask themselves what next? In these cases, individuals have differing options and agency depending on their position and particular privilege. For some this might mean taking a different route in daily life to avoid giving the Nazi salute, while others might engage in acts of sabotage or armed revolt. This five-week course, taught by MCHE Historian Dr. Shelly Cline will detail courses of action available and taken by those under Nazi control.

This program is offered both in-person and on Zoom and requires registration.

Beginning on May 10, 1933 the Nazis burned books deemed “un-German” in the public squares of university towns throughout Germany. More than 25,000 books were thrown into bonfires during ceremonies that included torchlight parades, band music, “fire oaths,” and speeches by Nazi officials, university professors, and student leaders.

MCHE is committed to applying the lessons of the Holocaust to the world today, which includes the free exchange of ideas, open access to published materials, and civil discussion of conflicting points-of-view. We invite you to register to read a banned or challenged book leading up to Banned Books Week!

During the 1930s and ‘40s, some Americans overcame enormous challenges to help Jewish refugees who were seeking to escape from Nazism’s grip. Most worked within networks of religious or humanitarian organizations, using both legal and illegal means to overcome significant obstacles, including restrictive US immigration laws. This lecture will focus on Americans who took extraordinary risks, and sometimes jeopardized even their own safety, to assist people in areas of Europe that Nazi Germany controlled or occupied.

Daniel Greene is Subject Matter Expert at USHMM and Adjunct Professor of History at Northwestern University. He curated Americans and the Holocaust, an exhibition at USHMM in Washington, DC.

This program is presented in partnership with The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Generous support has been provided by the donors to the Jean G. Zeldin Partners in Holocaust Education Fund at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

Join us for this series of presentations by MCHE’s Dr. Shelly Cline and Jessica Rockhold as they share the history and the current state of memorialization which was explored in our inaugural 2023 European Study trip when we visited Munich, Prague, Krakow and Budapest and the associated Holocaust sites in and around each of those cities.

These sessions are free and open to the public with registration. All are offered on Zoom at 12 pm and videos will be posted to the MCHE YouTube Channel in the days following each presentation. The series will be offered weekly on Wednesdays from October 9 through November 6, 2024.

This presentation by Dr. Jennifer Evans presents the latest research into LGBTQI victims of the Nazis, including who was targeted when and why. It then explores the struggles for victim recognition and restitution in the postwar period, both within queer communities and at the national level. It discusses the establishment of a memorial in central Berlin dedicated to queer victims and the broader implications of remembering such atrocities in today’s world.

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

This European study tour is open to MCHE members. Travel in 2025 will include Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw, and Vilnius. Stops include Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, the Warsaw, Krakow, and Vilna Ghettos, Sachsenhausen, and Ponar.