IHE News and Updates
September 2020
Gearing up for the new school year
We always look forward to the new school year at the IHE, when we can work with our school teachers and educate children about the Holocaust. The start of the 2020 school year looks much different than any year we've experienced. Our face-to-face interactions have been temporarily replaced with virtual touches. We have worked over the past few months to transition our programming to a digital format that will work students regardless of their location. We will continue to work with our teachers and school districts to adapt to the changing environment, and will return to our more traditional programming when appropriate.

We are also using this time to form new relationships and community partnerships. IHE is excited to partner with the Dr. Doyle Stevick at the University of South Carolina and The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Although Coronavirus thwarted our plans to circulate the Anne Frank: A History for Today exhibit throughout Nebraska, our ongoing partnership will allow us to hold onto the exhibit and circulate it in schools next year. We are grateful to USC, the Anne Frank House, Michael Staenbaerg’s Anything Grant, and the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation for this opportunity. In addition, IHE is partnering with the Law School at Creighton University for their Nuremberg to the Hague program. IHE will assist with Holocaust related programming with students who attend the annual summer Nuremberg to Hague program. Law students attending the program will participate in the IHE’s annual Week of Understanding. The partnership is generously being funded by Michael Staenberg and the Staenberg Family Foundation. For more information on the Nuremberg to Hague program, take a look at the August 21 Omaha Jewish Press article by clicking HERE.


As you can imagine, this year is a challenging one with regard to fundraising and budget. If you would like to provide the IHE with a donation to help us with our mission to provide educational resources, workshops, survivor testimony, and integrated arts programming to students, educators, and the public, please contact our Director, Scott Littky, by clicking HERE.
Essay Contest Going Digital
With more than 500 essays collected each spring and an uncertain school calendar this year, we decided to do the environment and our teachers' stress levels a favor by switching our essay contest to a paperless format for 2021.

We have been working with our Marketing department to create a section of our website where teachers and students can access tools already familiar to them, like Google docs, to upload and submit essays. Our plan is to make the site user friendly so that it may be accessed whether students are working in the classroom or remotely.

We also plan to use the digital format for our three stages of judging in the spring. Judges will be able to access the Google documents, either remotely or in person, depending on social distancing guidelines at the time. We are excited to provide our students and teachers the resources they need regardless of where they are learning this year, and equally excited to free up some space in our file cabinets!
Remembering Lila Lutz
Our local Holocaust survivor and friend, Lila Lutz, passed away in August. Lila spoke for the Institute for Holocaust Education, including at the Omaha Public Library. May her memory be for a blessing.

She recalled seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. “It was like seeing God, you know? I was really happy.” But then she was terrified. She almost wasn’t allowed into America. Lila was born in a small town in Poland. During World War II, she did forced labor in various ghettos. She and her father were liberated in 1944 but had to wait for years in a displaced persons camp before they secured their visas to the U.S. She turned 16 on the trip over. Her father was let into the country, but a misunderstanding landed her on Ellis Island.

“I was so looking forward to be in America, and all of a sudden I’m in jail,” she said. “They said I needed to go back to Europe. I said, ‘Europe? I have no one there. They killed all my relatives.’ ” Her cousin, who had lived in America for years, had to post a $500 bail to get her stateside. She lived in Brooklyn about a year, got married and, in 1950, moved to Omaha.

“It was a really big disappointment moving to Omaha because I lived in big cities,” she said with a laugh. “Omaha at that time was just a little town. It ended at 72nd Street. But I got used to it. And it was alright. I became a citizen in Omaha.”
When We Go Away Update

The IHE, in collaboration with the Circle Theatre and with the generous support from Fred Tichauer, is working on the touring production of When We Go Away. The play, created by playwright J.R. Dawson (pictured above) and directed by Fran Sillau, will premier in 2021, and explores four individuals' stories of surviving the Holocaust. Our hope is that the telling of these courageous and resilient true stories will resonate with Iowa and Nebraska school audiences and inspire them to create positive change in their own communities.

As writer J.R. Dawson explains, "COVID has been a scary time, and a very isolating time. But When We Go Away is a bright spot in the future, knowing that when we all can safely be in a theater again, the community will get to see this project that is really close to my heart. It makes a self-isolating playwright feel less alone, and I hope that on that amazing day where we're all sitting in our seats, you'll be glad you came. It's super important we all stay safe and healthy right now, and to take care of one another. One of the biggest themes of When We Go Away is the courage to hope and the courage to be kind."
Remembering Magda Brown
Over the past two decades, Magda Brown and her daughter, Rochelle Brown-Rainey, traveled across the country and around the world, driven by a mission to share Brown's harrowing story of surviving the Holocaust. Brown embraced every opportunity to reach people, speaking to more than 100,000 people in person - and reaching millions more online. Brown, or "Grandma Magda" as she was known to most, left each audience with three key lessons: Protect your freedom. Think before you hate. Stand up to the deniers. Magda (Perlstein) Brown died July 7, 2020 at her daughter's home in Morton Grove, Ill. She was 93.

Brown spoke at events big and small, in churches, synagogues, mosques, elementary schools, and universities, and met with mayors, governors, and leadership from Congress, the Catholic Church, and the German government. Brown frequently participated on panel discussions about preventing genocide and fighting for the rights of LGBTQ people, immigrants, refugees, and other vulnerable groups. Although it was painful to remember her horrendous experiences, she believed her story and others had to be told to ensure people understand that the Holocaust was a very real and frightening period in the 20th century-and to ensure that we as a society learn from the past. Brown's story was recently featured in Final Transports, an Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center documentary that aired on public television stations across the country this spring.

In October 2018, Brown was about to fly to Pittsburgh to speak at Chatham University when she learned of the tragic shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. Brown didn't hesitate to board the plane, saying: "Now the world needs to hear the message even more. Let's go." 

For Magda's full obituary, click HERE.
Educator Spotlight
Mark Gudgel

In his tenth year of teaching literature and composition, Mark believes that apart from being a good husband and father, there is no higher calling than to work in education; for him, the definition of "education" is an expansive one.

Mark currently teaches at Nebraska Wesleyan University and Southeast Community College, as well as an honors World Religion class and Humanities: Genocide in the Twentieth Century class at Omaha North High School. In addition, he is the co-founder and former Executive Director for the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights.

Mark traveled to Rwanda in 2008 and has since founded the non-profit organization to conduct teacher training in Rwanda as well as other nations affected by genocide and crimes against humanity. He has recently returned from sabbatical in London, where he was researching the use of labels in Holocaust education.

After a long week of teaching, Mark often spends time volunteering with a variety of organizations. He is a current member of the Tri-Faith Initiative Planning Committee; a board member of the “Presenters” Omaha Performing Arts, and a Member, VinNEBRASKA Executive Committee. In addition, this year he was the recipient of the 2020 Nebraska Department of Education "Award of Excellence." If that isn't enough to fill his day, he also recently completed a book on teaching about the Holocaust which is currently under consideration with Teachers College Press. 
Happy New Year!
This September brings the new year in the Jewish calendar. We at the IHE wish everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy and healthy 5781.
Governance Board Member Ari Kohen
Steps in as New Harris Center Director
Congratulations to our IHE Governance Board member, Dr. Ari Kohen, who has taken on the role of the Director of the Harris Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The Harris Center for Judaic Studies promotes and supports scholarship in Jewish Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Next year will mark its 30th year of educating our communities about Jewish civilization and the nature and history of anti-Semitism, as well as promoting understanding between Jews and non-Jews.

Ari is excited to continue the Harris Center’s history of lectures, symposia, and strong relationships with the departments at UNL and to work closely with the students in the Jewish studies minor and the university’s Hillel organization. He would like to see the Jewish studies minor grow in the coming years by ensuring that undergraduates are aware of the courses it offers and by gaining recognition for the research of the faculty.

“We have some world-class scholars who are affiliated with our program,” he said, “and I want to celebrate the attention they bring to Nebraska with every publication.”

Ari also thinks that it is very important for the Harris Center to become “a hub of Jewish life and Jewish culture in Nebraska”, and he will be working with Jewish communities in Omaha and Lincoln to build networks and partner with them for events. He added that it is also important to find ways to make Judaism more visible on the UNL campus.

In addition to serving as the Director of the Harris Center, Ari is also a Schlesinger Associate Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln.
Institute for Holocaust Education