Bringing Europe Home 2026 - The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education

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Bringing Europe Home

In 2025 MCHE led its second European Study tour. Though we can only travel with a small group to these sites in Europe, we can bring the learning home. 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 2025 trip when we visited Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw and Vilna 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 Mondays from November 2 through November 30, 2026.

Berlin and Sachsenhausen – November 2, 2026 at 12 pm on Zoom

This session will explore Berlin as the German capital during the Nazi period including the experiences of the Berlin Jewish community and the rise of Sachsenhausen – one of the earliest concentration camps.

Jewish Krakow and the Plaszow Camp – November 9, 2026 at 12 pm on Zoom

Explore the history of the Krakow Jewish community including the role of Schindler in saving laborers from the ghetto and the role of the Plaszow Camp in their Holocaust journey.

Jewish Warsaw and the Warsaw Ghetto – November 16, 2026 at 12 pm on Zoom

Explore the rich history of Jewish Warsaw and the experiences of those trapped in the largest ghetto.

Treblinka and Auschwitz – November 23, 2026 at 12 pm on Zoom

This session explores the Treblinka death camp – the primary destination for those Jews deported from Warsaw. As the most efficient of the Operation Reinhard Camps it represented the peak of Nazi efficiency – until Auschwitz became the most deadly camp months later. This session explores these camps and the changes implemented by the Nazis as the murder process expanded outside of Poland.

Vilnius and Ponar – November 30, 2026 at 12 pm on Zoom

Vilnius (Vilna) was called the “Jerusalem of the East” in pre-war Poland – the home of YIVO and many centers of Jewish learning. This session explores that rich history and the tragedy that befell the community as they were ghettoized, killed in mass shooting actions at the nearby Ponar Forest, and later deported to forced labor.