November 19, 2014 Reception and Reading with Award-Winning Children’s Author - 4:30 p.m.-6:30

On Nov. 19, Mercer County Community College  and the Mercer County

Holocaust-Genocide Resource Center hosted a reception with the family and friends of the late

Shelley Zeiger, a longtime champion for business in the city of Trenton. Special guest was Rebecca

Upjohn, author of the award-winning children’s book, “The Secret of the Village Fool,” which tells

 the inspiring story of the Zeiger family’s rescue in Nazi-occupied Poland by an unlikely hero,

Anton Suchinski, during World War II. 

As recounted in the book, the Zeiger famiy lived  in the eastern border town of Zborow, Poland.

All that changed with the rise of the Nazis and the start of World War II. As the Nazis ordered the

 evacuation of the Jews from Zborow, a reclusive local farmer named Anton Suchinski offered

shelter to the Zeigers and two orphaned girls. The six hid in a dug-out space beneath Suchinski’s

 root cellar for many months while the village was under Nazi occupation.

MCCC President Patricia C. Donohue  welcomed the Zeigers and the other guests.

 “The college is so proud of its partnership with the Mercer County Holocaust Center, which has

 provided ongoing opportunities for learning and community connections.”

“The Secret of the Village Fool” is the winner of Canada’s 2014 Silver Birch Express Award and

 has received strong praise for its introduction of the difficult topic of the Holocaust to younger

children. (The book is suggested for ages 8+.)

Subject: Reception, Reading & Book Signing with Noted Children's Author Rebecca Upjohn

Reception, Reading, and Book Signing With Noted Children's Author Rebecca Upjohn

http://www.nj.gov/education/holocaust/programs/111914Upjohn.pdf

NOVEMBER 2014 Movies at NOON

November , 2014

Nov. 4 - "Genocide in the First Half of the Century" (57 minutes) examined the history of genocide

 including the 1921 Tulsa Race riot, the 1923 Rosewood massacre, Stalin's  forced Ukraine Famine,

 the Japanese Rape of Nanking and the Holocaust.

Nov. 11 - "World War II - The Holocaust" (58 minutes)

Nov. 18 - "A Promise to My Father" (56 minutes) followed Holocaust survivor Israel Arbeiter as

he returns to Poland and Germany to look for items buried in 1939 in the basement of his old home.

Israel traveled  to Treblinka death camp where his parents and younger brother

were murdered, as well as other camps.

FIRST SURVIVOR LUNCHEON AT MERCER COUNTY HOLOCAUST and GENOCIDE RESOURCE CENTER

The luncheon was provided on October 28, 2015 by  the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society in collaboration with the Holocaust and  Genocide Resource Center. Holocaust studies students in Professor
Coenen’s Honor classes were  partnered with survivors for an opportunity to hear  their life stories
And to ask questions.  The students were highly engaged in this interaction and acknowledged the
experience was more than they could ever gain from a history book or documentary.
The luncheon, the first of its kind at Mercer County Community College, was especially important
to help students know individuals  who endured the Holocaust as more than simply survivors.
The honored guests were Dr. Charles Rojer; Cantor David Wisnia, Dr. Vera Goodkin, and
Louis Shulman. James McEvoy,  a reporter from the Trenton Times attended the event and reported
 it in the paper.
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/10/holocaustsurvivorssharestoriesmealwithmccc_students.html

Saturday, October 18, 2014 MCCC Open House - 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Holocaust Center participated  in the Open House from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. and provided
two workshops for visitors. The workshops were scheduled for 11:15 a.m. to 12 noon and
 1:15 to 2 p.m. Elizabeth DeGiorgio provided an  introduction of the Holocaust and Genocide
Resource center and information about  resources and scheduled events. Edie Serafine provided
an interactive game that taught participants about the significant elements of the  Holocaust.
Visitors were provided a tour of the center and several exhibits were placed on display. A number
Of free  books and materials were also offered to anyone who was interested.

Holocaust Center Spotlights Role of Latin America as Refuge

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Mercer County Holocaust-Genocide Resource Center
provided information regarding the role Latin America played for European Jews seeking refuge
 from 1933 through 1945. Christina Chavarria, program coordinator at the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington, researched Latin America as a refuge during the Holocaust and
 urged that these less-familiar stories be told alongside more common tales of survivors who fled
 to the United States and Israel. Some 84,000 Jewish refugees escaped the Nazis by immigrating
At the museum,she highlights the importance of using individual stories and specific artifacts to
 make history live for students.