Rape: Weapon of War and Genocide
Workshop. Friday, October 5, 2012, 10:00am
Neuberger Hall, room 407 | 724 SW Harrison

Join Professor Roth for a discussion of his latest co-edited volume, Rape: Weapon of War and Genocide. If you would like a copy of the introduction to this volume, please click on http://bit.ly/Rape-Weapon-of-War-and-Genocide and then click on “Look Inside.” If you have trouble accessing this content, contact us at publichumanities@pdx.edu.

The Politics of Testimony: Aftereffects of Genocide and Other Mass Atrocities

Lecture with Dr. John Roth. Thursday, October 4, 7:00pm
Smith Memorial Student Union, room 338 | 1825 SW Broadway

This event is free and open to the public. It is part of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project Series at the Portland Center for Public Humanities of which the OHRC is a co-sponsor of.

Without testimony spoken and written by and about persons whose lives have been destroyed by genocide and other mass atrocities, awareness would be dimmed, understanding diminished, memory dulled, forgetting facilitated, and accountability betrayed.  Jarring, disruptive, and destabilizing, the presence of such testimony raises ethical and political questions such as, what effect(s) should this testimony have?  What responsibilities, if any, does it confer upon me? Focusing especially but not only on Holocaust-related testimony, this lecture explores important aftereffects of genocide and other mass atrocities by considering the politics of testimony–the fraught but pivotal roles of testimony in Holocaust and genocide studies, in courts that try defendants accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, in post-conflict resentment, and in the prospects for ethics in a world where the slogan “Never again!” seems increasingly problematic, if not banal.

The OHRC is supporting the following event, a unique opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the historical tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics:

“How you Teach about the Holocaust: This Time ?”

As part of our workshop for educators, the OHRC, the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project Series at the Portland Center for Public Humanities, and Lewis & Clark College are delighted to announce a special lecture by Dr John Roth.

This event will take place at Lewis & Clark College, South Campus at 7pm.

John K. Roth is an American-based author, editor, and, for over 30 years, professor of philosophy of religion at Claremont McKenna College In 1988 he was named CASE U.S. National Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Roth is best known for his contributions as a writer and editor on major Holocaust themes. His work began with the 1979 publication of Consuming Fire: Encounters with Elie Wiesel and the Holocaust. In later interviews, Roth acknowledged the depth of the influence of Elie Wiesel on his life as a writer and person. Later volumes include Approaches to Auschwitz: The Holocaust and Its Legacy (with Richard Rubenstein, 1987), Holocaust: Religious and Philosophical Implications (ed. with Michael Berenbaum, 1989) and Memory Offended: The Auschwitz Convent Controversy (ed. with Carol Rittner), 1991.

As he continued work on Holocaust studies, he also became interested in global violence, founding the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights (now the Center for Human Rights Leadership) at Claremont McKenna College.

We are honored to welcome Dr Roth to Portland for this very special lecture, and invite you to join us for what will be a rewarding evening. Funds supporting this event were provided in honor of Holocaust survivor SIME KAMINSKY MESHUL, and the memory of her family who perished at Auschwitz-Birkenau: mother, Bobel;  father, Kopel;  brothers:  Shloime, Meishe, Yudel;  and sister, Roseh. It is presented in collaboration with Holocaust and Genocide Studies Project Series at the Portland Center for Public Humanities.

Join the NW Film Center and the OHRC for the special screening of:

Defiant Requiem

Sunday October 21, 2012
4:30 PM

For tickets please click here:

Whitsell Auditorium
1219 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205

DIRECTOR: DOUG SHULTZ
US/CZECH REPUBLIC, 2012

DEFIANT REQUIEM tells the little-known story of the Nazi concentration camp Terezin in Czechoslovakia. Led by imprisoned conductor Raphael Schächter, the Jewish inmates, including artists from all over central Europe, held on to their humanity by staging plays, composing operas, and using paper and ink to record the horrors around them.

Their creative rebellion reached its peak when Schächter taught a choir of 150 inmates one of the world’s most difficult and powerful choral works, Verdi’s Requiem, re-imagined as a condemnation of the Nazis. The choir would ultimately confront the Nazis face to face … and sing to them what they dare not say. For more than a decade, conductor and educator Murry Sidlin (formerly of the Oregon Symphony) dreamed of bringing the Requiem back to Terezin. Now, through soaring concert footage, powerful survivor recollections, cinematic dramatizations, and evocative animation, DEFIANT REQUIEM brings the incredible story of this artistic uprising to life. (86 mins.)

Lawyers without Rights

October 19 – November 16, 2012
Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Court House – 1000 SW Third Ave, Portland, OR
Presented by Zeitgeist NW in partnership with the Oregon State Bar International Law Section

The Fate of Jewish Lawyers in Germany after 1933

The  exhibit recalls the lawyers who were persecuted by the National Socialists and it addresses the illegal measures they had to endure. The exhibit makes the extent of loss caused by isolation, expulsion and murder painfully clear. Through different biographical portraits it also gives the viewer new insight into both the historical events and the legal realm.

The different stages of exclusion that led, on November 30, 1938, to the general ban from this long-standing profession are illustrated by documents and historical evidence – some quite unique. Extensive photographic material is used to present biographies in a lively form, vividly conveying through personal experiences the impact that these restrictions had on individuals. The life stories of well-known figures are presented alongside those of lesser-known lawyers. All of them lost their profession, most of them lost their country, and a large number lost their lives.

The exhibit deals with the defamed lawyers’ lives and their ultimate fates. Sadly only very few of them found refuge in the U.S. The lives of the small group of German-Jewish lawyers showcased in this exhibit are representative of this professional group at large.

A traveling exhibit of the German Federal Bar and the German Jurists Association

Sponsored by the German Consulate General San Francisco, Oregon Holocaust Resource Center, Oregon Jewish Museum, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Kent & Johnson LLP, Allyson Krueger,  Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf PC,  Miller Nash LLP, Parker, Butte & Lane, P.C. Perkins Coie LLP,  Stoel Rives LLP, Stoll Berne, Ellen Theodorson, Tonkon Torp LLP, Beate Weiss-Krull

Community Connections: A Town Hall Discussion on the future of Holocaust Education in Oregon

Sunday, October 28, 2012
12:30-16:00pm
Portland State University-1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union
Room 296/8

The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center (OHRC) will be hosting a one-day conference examining and discussing the future of Holocaust teaching and research. Organizations collaborating with OHRC in the town hall-style discussion include:

•  The Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at Portland State University

• Portland Center for Humanities

• Jewish Family and Child Services

• The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation

• The Institute for Judaic Studies

• The Oregon Area Jewish Committee

• The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland

The theme of the conference reflects the inevitability of the post-survivor era. The day approaches when survivors, witnesses, and liberators will no longer be available to share their stories. Participants will examine and discuss the future of Holocaust teaching and research in the post-survivor era.

The conference is free of charge, but we kindly request you RSVP using the form below:

Participants in the conference recognize that this is a critical time in the history of Holocaust Education. As survivors pass, those teaching the lessons of the Holocaust must prepare for a time when the voices of survivors will no longer be available to tell their stories. This conference will provide an opportunity to discuss how to move Holocaust teaching and research forward and to help ensure that it remains relevant today and into the future.

The Courage and Compassion To Do the Right Thing
Date: Thursday – November 08, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: at the MJCC

Join us along with partners the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and the Women’s Philanthropy Committee of the JFGP. Come hear an engaging presentation by San Francisco Bay Area author, Marty Brounstein on his book Two Among the Righteous Few: A Story of Courage in the Holocaust. It is a remarkable true story of interfaith compassion, courage, and rescue, involving a Christian couple who saved the lives of at least two dozen Jews during World War II and the Holocaust. Marty will also share why this has a meaningful personal connection to him.

RSVP requested, but not required at www.oregonjcc.org/rsvp

October 6, 2012- Teaching About the Holocaust Workshop

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in partnership with the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center will be offering a free workshop on teaching the Holocaust on Oct. 6th at Clackamas High School. Teachers will get free books and other resources. Lunch is also provided.You can register for this workshop at http://www.cvent.com/d/8cqq5s