Table of Contents
In This Issue
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Views  From The Road
Survivor Hanna Hamburger at the "Hate in Our Backyard" event at The Temple in Nashville, TN

AEPi Jewish Fraternity members pictured with Survivors Paula Burger and Roman Kent at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN

Survivor Roman Kent speaks at Vanderbilt as part of the 2017 Holocaust Lecture Series in Nashville, TN

Survivors Freida and Sam Weinreich, Paula Burger, and Ted Winestone, along with Allen Exelbierd (son of survivors) and Danielle Kahane-Kaminsky, Executive Director of the TN Holocaust Commission at the Memphis Jewish Historical Society in Memphis, TN
Survivor Inge Auerbacher with Baylor School students in Chattanooga, TN

Survivor Frances Cutler Hahn speaks at the Commemoration of the Nashville Holocaust Memorial in Nashville, TN

Knoxville Conference attendees view the "Living On" exhibit at the Sarah Simpson Center in Knoxville, TN

Luthier, Ashvi Weinstein, shares the history of the Auschwitz Violin at the Violins of Hope preview at the Akiva School in Nashville, TN

Community Members view the Violins of Hope at Akiva School in Nashville, TN

Survivors Paula Burger and Roman Kent speak to students at Vanderbilt Hillel in Nashville, TN

THC Teaching Fellow Becky Hasselle with Paula Burger and students in Memphis, TN

Sylvia Samis, who is the daughter of survivors, shares her parents' story with students at St. Andrew's School in Sewanee, TN

Survivor Trudy Dreyer pictured with Central Magnet School student Xander Hamby in Wartburg, TN

Survivor Sam Weinrich with Paula Burger at the Memphis Jewish Historical Society in Memphis, TN

Terezin Survivor, Inge Auerbacher pictured with L & N Stem Magnet School Students at the East TN Historical Society in Knoxville, TN
Upcoming Events
November 1, 2017
Using Documents from the Holocaust to Teach Students to Read Like a Historian
MTSU College of Education
Murfreesboro, TN

Dr. Jay Geller- Meanings & Implications of the Holocaust Lecture
West End Church of Christ
Nashville, TN

November 2, 2017
Using Documents from the Holocaust to Teach Students to Read Like a Historian
MTSU College of Education
Murfreesboro, TN

November 7, 2017
Hardin County Middle School
Veteran's Day Program
Savannah, TN

November 8, 2017
Frances Cutler Hahn speaks at Margaret Allen Middle Prep
Nashville, TN

Dr. Jay Geller- Meanings & Implications of the Holocaust Lecture
Sherith Israel
Nashville, TN

November 9, 2017
Frances Cutler Hahn speaks at Nashville State Community College
Nashville, TN

Monsier Mayonnaise Premiere
Belcourt Theatre
Nashville, TN

November 11, 2017
I Never Saw Another Butterfly Opening Night
Whitworth Buchanan Middle School
Murfreesboro, TN

November 14, 2017
Eva Kor speaks at 
Central Magnet School
Murfreesboro, TN

November 17th & 18th , 2017
THC Teaching Fellow Retreat
Nashville, TN

November 20, 2017
Trudy Dreyer speaks at 
South Greene High School
Greeneville, TN

November 21, 2017
Metro Nashville Police Recruit Training
Gordon Jewish Community Center
Nashville, TN

December 7, 2017
Rita Goldberg lecture, "Motherland: Growing up with the Holocaust" 
McClung Museum
Knoxville, TN

December 10th, 11th, & 12th, 2017
Teaching the Holocaust through Poetry 
and Art
Tennessee Reading Association
Embassy Suites Hotel
Murfreesboro, TN

TN Survivors & Families Meet to Discuss Hate in Our Backyard
Survivors Menachem and Lea Limor and Buchenwald Concentration Camp Liberator Harry Snodgrass' son, George Snodgrass with his daughter.

On Friday, October 20th, Nashville Holocaust survivors and their families, along with members of the Jewish community, gathered for lunch and healing at the Temple to discuss the recent hate speech and public displays of antisemitism that have occurred in our region of the country. The program was sponsored by t he Tennessee Holocaust Commission, The Temple, and the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee.     Clinical social worker Felice Apolinsky facilitated the program. Hidden Child,  Frances Cutler Hahn, initiated the discussion stating,  "I am very concerned today, as I'm sure you all are, with the increased number of hate crimes and hate groups, such as Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, who feel empowered to spout their despicable lies, as we witnessed so recently in Charlottesville, Va."  Hahn, shared that the ability to gather together as a community helps everyone to feel supported with the resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents. She challenged the group to meet and share more often stating, "Our eyewitness accounts have never been more important!"  The program was held in conjunction with the Anti Defamation League's No Place for Hate Day.  
THC Partners with the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative  at Vanderbilt
Attendees gather at Ruby on the Vanderbilt campus for the launch of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative in Nashville, TN.

The Tennessee Holocaust Commission, along with the Vanderbilt chapter of the STAND Against Genocide student group, were honored to participate in the launch of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative on September 28. This collaborative will bring together students, scholars, public servants and activists over the next three years to work on eradicating racism and all forms of injustice and hatred. Emilie M. Townes, dean of the Divinity School and director of the effort, said, "This is a particularly important moment to birth a collaborative that seeks to be a hub for a national conversation on public theology and racial justice. As a Southern, progressive university-based divinity school, we are situated strategically to lead this project as a collaborative formed by networking with groups locally and across the United States that are working for racial justice." Attendees discussed a range of topics, including current immigration struggles, LGBTQI rights, and racial justice.  


For more information about the Collaborative or to get involved, contact Dr. Teresa Smallwood at
teresa.l.smallwood@vanderbilt.edu.
Nashville Holocaust Memorial Commemorates 10th Anniversary
THC Commissioner Felicia Anchor addresses the audience at the 10th Anniversary Commemoration of the Nashville Holocaust Memorial.

On Sunday, October 8, 2017, 400 members of the Nashville community, including Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and Congressman Jim Cooper, gathered at the Gordon Jewish Community Center to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Nashville Holocaust Memorial.The theme was "Reflection, Remembrance, and Resilience." It is a message that participants said has been an important one. Commissioner Felicia Anchor, who chaired the committee that undertook the challenge for the development of this memorial, stated,  "When hundreds of people come together and hear the message and incorporate the message, we are all the same inside, and what we are like outside doesn't make much difference. It is up to us to create a better world together." 
East TN Conferences feature Childhood Stories of the Holocaust
Commission Chair, Larry Leibowitz pictured with Rogersville Middle School's 8th-grade Beta Club members and Terezin Survivor, Inge Auerbacher and Knoxville survivors Henry Fribourg and Sonja DuBois at the Knoxville Conference.

The Tennessee Holocaust Commission hosted Terezin Survivor, Inge Auerbacher in East Tennessee October 2-6, 2017. During the week, Inge had the opportunity to share her story with over 3,000 educators, students, and community members from the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. The week began by traveling to several schools throughout East Tennessee and culminated on Friday with the Commission's Knoxville Education Conference, including a panel discussion with local survivors Sonja DuBois and Henry Fribourg moderated by Commission Chair Larry Leibowitz.

Sharon Phillips from Rogersville Middle School thanked the Commission stating, "Many thanks to all of you for making it possible for our 8th-grade Beta Club Members to interact with Dr. Inge Auerbacher, Sonja DuBois, and Mr. Fribourg. We appreciate them and Danielle Kahane-Kaminsky for empowering our students with such an inspirational and passionate conference. We look forward to future endeavors! Much love to all of you from Rogersville, Tennessee. May your stories and journey help others in finding their purpose and calling to promote love in a world where many forms of bigotry and prejudice still exists."
 
 
Limor Conference Features Voices of Survivors Roman Kent and Paula Burger
Auschwitz Survivor Roman Kent addresses Nashville area students and educators at the Limor Education Conference. 

This year's Irvin and Elizabeth Limor program featured Holocaust survivors Roman Kent and Paula Burger. 1,066 students and educators attended the conference at the Temple in Nashville. Mr. Kent serves as President of The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Chairman of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, Treasurer of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, as well as a member of their negotiating committee, and a member of the Board of Directors of American Friends of Tel Aviv University.  He spoke about his personal experience during the Holocaust and issues impacting survivors today. The conference also featured Paula Burger, an artist and author of a memoir entitled, "Paula's Window". Paula was a girl of 11 when she, her father and little brother joined the legendary band of resistance fighters, the Bielski Partisans, who outwitted German troops while hiding in the Polish forests. Paula shared her childhood journey through the Holocaust and her triumph over trauma through art and the love of her family.
Partisan Paula Burger Shares Her Memories in West TN 
Commissioner, Allen Exelbierd moderates a panel discussion with local Memphis Survivors. Left to right: Commissioner Allen Exelbierd, Paula Burger, Commissioner Leonid Saharovici, Clark Blatteis, and Ted Winestone.

Paula Burger addressed students and educators at the University of Memphis on October 26th.  Ms. Burger shared stories of her childhood in  Novogrudek, Poland,  and how she, her father, and her brother  evaded the round ups and executions of thousands of Jews by  joining the Bielski Partisans in the Naliboki Forest. 

Dyersburg Middle School students pose with Paula Burger and Memphis survivors Leonid Saharovici, Clark Blatteis, and Ted Winestone.

Opportunities for Educators


Kristallnacht
Apply for Belz-Lipman Award
 


Be recognized for your hard work and efforts in the classroom! Apply for the Belz-Lipman Holocaust Educator of the Year Award and win a $1,500 grant. 
 
T he Ackerman Center invites you to join fellow scholars 
March 3-5, 2018  as we continue the important legacy established by Franklin H. Littell and Hubert G. Locke nearly fifty years ago.  Interested participants are encouraged to visit  www.utdallas.edu/ackerman/asc  for more information or email Cindy Seton-Rogers at  annualscholarsconference@utdallas.edu  with any questions.  This conference offers the opportunity to address the historical significance of the Holocaust through scholarship that is interfaith, international, and interdisciplinary.  The central theme of the 2018 ASC is "Critical Moments in the History and Memory of the Holocaust." 

Please email presentation proposals to: 
Please use "ASC Proposal" as the subject.

The proposal should include the title of the paper with a short abstract of 250-500 words and the presenter's bio or CV. Proposals may be for a panel, round table, or individual paper.

Proposal submission deadline: November 15, 2017.
Notification of Acceptance letters will be emailed no later than November 30, 2017.
Building A More Humane Society
Tennessee Holocaust Commission | (615) 343-2563, 343-1171 | 
Vanderbilt University
P.O. Box 59252
Nashville, TN 37205