February 2015 "Movies at Noon" related to The Holocaust and Genocides - 12 noon

• Feb. 10 - "The Power of Good," Nicholas Winton and Saving Children During the Holocaust

The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton is a 2002 documentary about Nicholas Winton, the man
who organized the Kindertransport rescue mission of 669 children from German-occupied
Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War.

• Feb. 17 - "Romeo Dallaire: Good Man in Hell" and Brief Discussion of Rwandan Genocide

 In 1994, Canadian General Roméo Dallaire, commander of the UN Mission in Rwanda, warned

 of possible mass murder of the Tutsi minority by Hutus. Unheeded by UN officials, nearly all of his

 troops were withdrawn and his warning became a reality. General Dallaire shared his experience

and reflected on a genocide that he could not stop and cannot forget.Ted Koppel interviewed

 General Romeo Dallaire. The general shared insight and experiences regarding the Rwandan

Genocide and the underwhelming international response. The purpose of this selection was to  

offer an overview of the Rwanda genocide ,create an understanding of the subject of genocide

and helped the viewer understand the genocide through the eyes of Romeo Dallaire.

• Feb. 24 - "Only a Number" introduced by filmmaker Steven H. Besserman

On February 24, Steven Besserman’s film, Only a Number, was shown at noon. Thirty-five

students and three faculty attended the event as well as Mr. Besserman. Mr. Besserman, a

member of the Mercer County Hoocaust and Genocide Resource center , followed the

presentation of the film with a visit to  Professor Craig Coenen’s Holocaust and Genocide

Honors  course to discuss  the documentary and answer questions from the students.

This presentation was held in CM110, West Windsor Campus

November 25, 2014 SECOND SURVIVOR'S LUNCHEON

noon to 1:15 p.m.

The Holocaust studies students and Education majors will be partnered with survivors for an
opportunity to hear life stories and to ask questions.

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