March 26, 2015 Holocaust Survivors' Third Luncheon - 12 noon outside the Holocaust and Genocide Resource Center

March 26, 2015
Holocaust Survivors' Third Luncheon - 12 noon  outside the Holocaust and Genocide Resource Center

Survivors Shared Firsthand Holocaust Lessons with MCCC History Students

Four survivors of the Nazi Holocaust shared their stories with history students on March 26.  This was
 the last of three sessions they have presented this year.  The Mercer CountyHolocaust-Genocide
Resource Center (MCHGRC) welcomed back Dr. Vera Goodkin andDr. Charles Rojer, and
newcomers Henry and Ruth Eisenberg, who were escorted by their son Shelly, of Hamilton. All
shared their harrowing stories of struggle and survival during World War II.

PHOTOGRAPHY and THE HOLOCAUST

A relationship between the photographic image as cultural artifact and the Holocaust as an historical
 event and analyzing photographic images for use in the classroom were the topics explores
at this event which  took place in CM110, West Windsor Campus

The lecture was hosted by MCCC History Professor Craig Coenen who, with  Professor Jack Tabor, led a Study Abroad tour to Poland in 2013 that included visits to the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps, the Treblinka killing center, and the Warsaw Ghetto. During his lecture, Tabor explored the relationship between the photographic image as cultural artifact, and the Holocaust as an historical event. His talk examined the ways photography served the ability to understand, and to some extent bear witness, to the plight of the millions who perished at the hands of the Nazis.

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 troops were withdrawn and his warning became a reality.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