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During the 2016-17 school year alone, the Commission served approximately 100,000 students, educators, and community members across Tennessee through education and diversity seminars.
Give back this #GivingTuesday, 11/28, or any time this holiday season and join us in keeping Tennessee Survivors' voices alive.
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Hardin County Middle School Host Dachau Liberator
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| WWII Veteran Vince Rowell spoke at Hardin County Middle School's first ever Veterans Day program on November 11, 2017 in Savannah, TN |
Hardin County Middle School held the school's first ever Veterans Day program on November 11. The eighth grade Honor Society
provided a delicious lunch and relaxing atmosphere for the teachers, staff, veterans, and community leaders in attendance. The program included patriotic songs, dancing, dramatic readings, and music from several of the school's band members. The school was
privileged to have Mr. Vince Rowell, a World War II veteran and liberator of the Dachau Concentration Camp, speak. Rowell was just 18 years old when he joined the army in 1943 and became a soldier with the 29th Infantry Division. Rowell was 19 years old when he took part in the D-Day invasion off the coast of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, and he was part of the Battle of the Bulge six months later. Hardin County Middle School was deeply honored to have Mr. Rowell and many other veterans from the community participate in this event.
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USS St. Louis Survivor Dr. Clark Blatteis Shares His Story at Kingsbury High
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Dr. Clark Blatteis poses with Kingsbury High School students
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On November 14, 2017, the students at Kingsbury High School were inspired by Dr. Clark Blatteis, a refugee of the USS St. Louis, who offered a wealth of new knowledge to teachers and students regarding the U.S. reaction to refugees during World War II. The KHS orchestra and choir performed, and Dr. Blatteis was received by everyone with a standing ovation.
Mr. Nicholas Tatum, the Kingsbury teacher who planned the event, stated, "This was an excellent way to allow the students of KHS to understand history." Dr. Terry Ross, principal of Kingsbury High School, added, "Providing a living person who can provide a factual background of the Holocaust and WWII was insightful for the scholars of Kingsbury."
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Educators: Apply for Belz-Lipman Grant
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Application Deadline: December 1, 2017
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.
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| Participants listen to Eva Kor speak at Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro on November 14th |
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| Students at the Limor conference in Nashville |
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| Dr. Tese Stephens discusses trauma and resilience with the Teaching Fellows at their annual retreat |
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| Students and teachers at Margaret Allen Middle School in Nashville built a symbolic railroad as part of their memorial garden, known as Eva's Kortyard |
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Sharon School
Sharon, TN
December 7th, 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
December 18th
Henry Fribourg at
Soddy Daisy High School
Soddy Daisy, TN
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Margaret Allen Middle School Students Create A Courtyard in Honor of Survivor
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Margaret Allen Middle School teacher Andy Mizell and his students have been hard at work the past few months creating a memorial garden dedicated to Tennessee Holocaust Survivors. Inspired by Eva Kor's message of hope in her book,
Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz
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students worked to create a space filled with flowers, rocks of remembrance painted with butterflies, and educational materials for their peers. The garden, called Eva's Kortyard, will serve as a space for conflict resolution and learning for years to come.
On November 8th, Mizell's students learned from Tennessee Survivor, Frances Cutler Hahn, and then gave her a tour of Eva's Kortyard.
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| Hidden Child Frances Cutler Hahn speaks to students at Margaret Allen Middle School to kickoff the dedication of their memorial garden, Eva's Kortyard |
On November 15th, Ms. Kor surprised Mr. Mizell's students with a visit to the Eva's Kortyard
. The students were ecstatic to share their work with Ms. Kor, who reiterated her message about the healing power of forgiveness.
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Eva Kor surprised students at Margaret Allen Middle School with an early morning visit on November 15
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Click here to learn more and watch the video about Eva's Kortyard at Margaret Allen Middle School in Nashville.
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Commission Hosts Law Enforcement Seminar for Police Recruit Class #84
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| Police recruits pause for a photo at the Holocaust Memorial at the Gordon Jewish Community Center |
Metro Nashville police recruit training class #84 gathered early on the morning of November 21st at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville to take part in the Commission's Law Enforcement Seminar. The four-hour workshop covered the impact of law enforcement during the Holocaust, including a timeline activity that allowed the recruits to better understand the events that led up to the Holocaust. Recruits shared their reflections throughout the training, recognizing the complicity of the police officers during the Holocaust. One recruit said, "The officers failed and chose not to do their civic duty to protect the people." The recruits ended their training at the Holocaust Memorial, where they reflected on their responsibility in maintaining a democratic society and how they can become active participants in creating a more just world.
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Teaching Fellows Study Resilience and Share Strategies at Annual Retreat
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| Teaching Fellows gathered to share resources at Loew's Vanderbilt |
Tennessee Holocaust Commission Teaching Fellows came together for their annual retreat November 17-18 in Nashville. These Master Holocaust Educators are selected from the three grand divisions of the state. They work together to
broaden their personal understanding of the Holocaust with the goal of impacting students and colleagues throughout the state.
This year, the Fellows
reviewed lessons and activities related to recent hate speech and marches in the region.
Additionally, Dr. Tese Stephens, assistant professor at East Tennessee State University's College of Nursing, gave a presentation titled "Holocaust Whispers: Lessons in Resilience." Dr. Stephens outlined the ways in which Holocaust survivors exhibit resilience, in response to their life's experiences. Typical resilient characteristics include hope, faith, perseverance, flexibility and tenacity. The Fellows ended the retreat by sharing with each other their current plans to continue promoting Holocaust education in their schools and communities across the state of Tennessee.
If you would like to apply to become a Teaching Fellow with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, please
submit an application.
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MTSU Hosts Survivor Eva Kor at Central Magnet School
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Eva Kor invited members of the audience to join her on stage while she shared her story in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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The Commission, in conjunction with Middle Tennessee State University, hosted Auschwitz Survivor Eva Kor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at Central Magnet School on November 14. Approximately 2,000 people attended the event. Kor discussed how she and her identical twin, Miriam, were both subjected to cruel experiments under Josef Mengele, the so-called "Angel of Death," while they were imprisoned in Auschwitz from 1944 - 1945. While the twins survived, their parents and two older sisters died in Auschwitz. Miriam passed away in 1993.
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Eva signed copies of her book after the event
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Ms. Kor founded Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors, or CANDLES, in 1984, and was eventually able to locate 122 other living "Mengele" twins. Kor returned to Auschwitz in 1995 -- 50 years after her liberation from the camp -- to sign a "declaration of amnesty," forgiving all Holocaust perpetrators and Nazi sympathizers. Now living in Indiana, Kor speaks to groups across the country about the power of forgiveness. Her presentation in Murfreesboro was met with a standing ovation and attendees lined up afterwards for a book signing and selfies with Ms. Kor.
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