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Dear HERC Friends, Happy New Year!

We have lots of news to share, and look forward to seeing you this coming year. Extraordinary new programs will make their debut in 2015.

The first will feature author Edwin Black who will speak about his book, IBM and the Holocaust on January 21st, at the FSU Alumni Center, at 7:00 pm. An explosive and stunning book. Backed by exhaustive research, Black's case is simple and stunning: that IBM facilitated the identification and roundup of millions of Jews during the 12 years of the Third Reich. Black's evidence may be the most damning to appear yet against a purported corporate accomplice, said Michael Hirsh of Newsweek.

The second new program shows four films from World War ll, and what everyone in Hollywood knew. The Holocaust Education Resource Council is presenting a series of films made in the late 1930's and early 1940's to show how Hollywood presented what was widely covered in the print media. Three of the selections are based on books published in the 1930’s. The other was written and acted out by the master Charlie Chaplin. Were Americans in the 1930's aware of the horrors of the Nazi racial policies? Watch and decide.

The year ended with two gracious donations that help support HERC’s mission and goals. The first was received from the Ruby Diamond Foundation. The second is the continued support from St. John’s Episcopal Church. It is an honor for HERC to get recognized by these organizations for teaching the next generation lessons of history.

With the annual essay and art contest in progress, HERC needs more people to volunteer as a judge for the essay contest. This is a valuable experience that reaches many students across the big bend area. Each judge helps score the submissions on line to recognize the winner at the awards ceremony in April. If you are interested to help, please contact me at [email protected] .

Please join or renew your membership if you have not yet. Every person counts to make a difference with HERC in the community and schools. Thank you for continued support.

Barbara Goldstein, HERC, President [email protected] www.holocaustresources.org

IMPORTANT DATES

January 15th – Book Club at St. John’s Episcopal Church

January 21st – Author Edwin Black presents “IBM and the Holocaust”

January 29th – Film Series at All Saints Cinema, “The Mortal Storm”

February 19th – Book Club at Temple Israel

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

JANUARY 2015

Holocaust Education Resource Council News

Inside this issue:

Edwin Black Flyer and Press Release

2-3

Movie Reviews 4

IDA Film Flyer 5

Interfaith Book Club 6-7

The Holocaust Victim Assistance Program

9

Membership List 10

Membership Letter & Form 11-12

2015 HERC Essay & Art 8

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION RESOURCE COUNCIL NEWS

Will the Holocaust be remembered 50 or 100 years from now? Will it be taught? Will it be believed? "Never Forget"

Holocaust Education

Resource Council Board of Directors

Barbara Goldstein President

Rita Blank Vice President

Robyn Rachin Secretary

Sam Kimelman Treasurer

Monte Finkelstein HERC Education Director

Board Members Linda Davey Eileen Lerner Pete Cowdrey

Shari Gewanter Amy Piotrowski Donna Callaway Dana Edwards


You May Contact HERC online at: www.holocaustresources.org



PRESS RELEASE

NY Times Bestselling Author Explains IBM’s Pivotal Involvement with the Holocaust Newsweek called it “Explosive and Stunning.” The Washington Post called it “Beyond Dispute.” The Milwaukee Journal asserted it was “Impossible to Refute.” Now New York Times bestselling author Edwin Black comes to Tallahassee’s Holocaust Education Resource Council to deliver an electrifying presentation entitled “How IBM Co-Planned and Co-Organized the Holocaust,” based on his global bestseller IBM and the Holocaust. Black’s presentation is scheduled for 7 PM January 21, 2015 at the FSU Alumni Center Grand Ballroom, 1030 W. Tennessee St., Tallahassee, sponsored by the Florida State University College of Law & the Holocaust Education Resource Council. More than 1.2 million copies of IBM and the Holocaust are in print in numerous edi-tions in more than 14 languages in more than 65 countries. The author has lectured around the world explaining how IBM’s punch card technology, a precursor to the mod-ern computer, organized and systemized the Nazi identification and extermination of six million Jews and millions of other Europeans. The custom-made processes for the Third Reich were micromanaged from the company’s New York headquarters and later its overseas offices after America entered WWII. Brad Pitt recently optioned the book for a major Hollywood feature film, according to press reports. Black makes hundreds of appearances around the United States and overseas speaking on his 11 bestselling books, and other topics, and logs frequent programs in Florida. But his HERC/FSU Law School appearance is his first in Tallahassee. Says Black about his revelations, “For IBM, it was never about the antisemitism, never about the National Socialism—it was always about the money.” For further information, call HERC at 850-443-9649.



“I SAW IT IN THE MOVIES” By Linda Davey

The question, “What did Americans know and understand about Nazism in the years before and during WWII?” can be answered by reading the newspapers and popular magazines of the time, which were full of warnings about the Nazi tyranny, and by looking at what was seen in the movie theatres. The movies were the social me-dia of the day and provided a refuge from the miseries of the Depression and the stress of the war years. HERC has chosen to present four movies of the era so that you can make your own determinations about just what Americans knew and understood about Nazi policy. These will be shown at All Saint’s Cinema at RR Square Jan. 29, Feb. 26, March 19, and April 23, at 7:00 PM. There will be no charge for these movies. The first, to be seen January 29, 2015, will be The Mortal Storm. This movie was released by MGM on June 20, 1940, two days before France surrendered to Hitler. The story begins on January 30, 1933, the day Hitler came to power, and follows a family with divided allegiances through the rapid rise of Nazi power. The events of 1933, the laws regarding racial purity and the restriction of speech and opposing ideas are shown as they impact the factions within the family. With James Stewart, Margaret Sullivan and Robert Young in the leading roles, the movie was Life Magazine’s Movie of the Week. The February 26 selection is Charlie Chaplin’s classic, The Great Dictator which was first released by United Art-ists in October 1940. Almost everyone has heard of this slapstick parody of Hitler’s policies, but few have actual-ly seen it. We want to give viewers the experience of Chaplin’s talent, humor, and his rich, yet dark narrative as he plays both the part of the dictator of Tomania and an unnamed Jewish barber. On March 19, Address Unknown will be shown. The story is based on a series of fictional letters written between close friends and business partners, one in Germany, the other, a Jewish man, in San Francisco. Their letters reflect the impact of propaganda and the growing adulation of Hitler in Germany and the reaction of the man in the USA when his “friend” refuses to help his daughter as she flees persecution. It cleverly hints at the restrictive and anti-Jewish measures of pre-war Germany. The book of these “letters” was published in September 1938 and the movie was released by Columbia in April 1944. The April 23 movie will feature Pastor Hall, released by UA in September 1940. This is loosely based on the sto-ry of Rev. Martin Niemoller, who challenged Nazism from his pulpit and was sent to Dachau as an example to other religious resistors. It is based on the play by Ernst Toller, a Prussian Jew whose works were banned in Germany. James Roosevelt and his mother Eleanor Roosevelt endorsed this movie and asserted that what was seen in the movie was actually happening in Germany. For more information contact: Linda Davey at 850-893-3801.



The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal

Very few would dispute that the Holocaust represents human morality at its absolute lowest. The culture of Nazism created an atmosphere in which people who normally would hold no malice were compelled to do heinous things. The Holocaust turned morality upside down. While many were punished for their roles in this crime, the question remains whether or not someone who played a role in the Holocaust can actually repent. Further, if a perpetrator tries to repent, is there a path for them to forgiveness and atonement?

Those are the questions raised by Simon Wiesenthal’s short but very powerful book, “The Sunflower.” On Thursday, January 15, 7 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Holocaust Education Resource Council book club will be discussing “The Sunflower.” Rabbi Jack Romberg will lead the discussion and will bring some Jewish texts on repentance. We will discuss the questions raised by the book and perhaps see that sometimes the victim of a crime can have some great power – the power to forgive or to condemn. He looks forward to seeing you at the discussion.

Subtitled “On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness”, Wiesenthal provides us a biographical account of an incident during his confinement at a Nazi concentration camp. While imprisoned, he is sent on a work detail at a hospital. There, he was randomly and secretly taken to the bedside of a dying SS officer. The dying soldier had asked that a Jew, any Jew, be brought to him so that he could confess to the heinous crimes he committed and seek absolution and forgiveness. Wiesenthal wrestled with his decision the rest of his life. He sought advice from his fellow prisoners, but was unable to determine if he made the right decision. Many questions need to be asked and discussed such as, did he have the authority to forgive the Nazi soldier, what do various religions say about the nature of forgiveness, and are there acts so heinous that they are unforgivable? And, just as important, what would you do?

After the war and liberation, Wiesenthal has a second opportunity to confront his decision when he seeks and meets the dead soldier’s mother. She describes her son as a loving, caring and gentle man. Now he has to decide whether to reveal the “truth” to this woman or allow her to keep her memories intact.

After the narrative, “The Sunflower” presents fifty-three essays by distinguished men and women responding to Wiesenthal’s decision and questions. They include theologians, philosophers, psychiatrists, sociologists, legal scholars, holocaust survivors and victims of other attempted genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia and China and Tibet.



2014-2015 The Interfaith Book Club

Sponsored by Holocaust Education Resource Council

Co-Hosted by St. John’s Episcopal Church and Temple Israel

January 15th---St. John’s The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal

February 19th---Temple Israel

The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Beer

March 19th---St. John’s Address Unknown by Kathrine K Taylor

St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 211 North Monroe Street 850-222-2636 Temple Israel is located at 2215 Mahan Drive 850-877-3517

All discussion group times start at 7:00PM



THE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CONTINUES TO EXPAND EFFORTS TO ASSIST FLORIDA’S HOLOCAUST VICTIMS

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater continues efforts on behalf of Florida Holocaust survivors to assist individuals seeking to recover proceeds from an insurance policy issued to a Holocaust victim, and restitution for Nazi-confiscated bank accounts, art and property. The Department of Financial Services provides education to Holocaust survivors on restitution programs and provides assistance to individuals seeking access to much needed home health care services. The Department of Financial Services partners with seven holocaust assistance entities throughout the state, whose cumulative outreach and education efforts reached more than 10,000 Florida survivors this past year. Over 6,300 claims from Florida residents have been processed through European Settlement Funds since the program launched in 1998. To date, Florida residents have received positive decisions totaling $20,239,934, which includes a total of $3,022,052 this past year alone. In addition, eligible Florida survivors received more than $11.3 million last year for social welfare funding, provided through the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. These funds were used to provide homecare, medicine, food, dental care and emergency assistance. The Florida Department of Financial Services also assists eligible survivors in applying for German social security benefits intended to provide compensation for time involuntarily spent living and working in a World War II ghetto, or city district in which Germans concentrated the municipal and sometimes regional Jewish populations and forced them to live in miserable conditions. The application and claims process can be complicated and difficult for this aging population to navigate. Thus, the assistance provided to the Holocaust survivors to complete these claims is invaluable. Currently, there are 1,080 Florida survivors receiving a total of over $5,000,000 in monthly pension payments from Germany. The Department continues to assist survivors in obtaining wire transfer fee waivers on all European restitution payments. Currently, 23 Florida-regulated financial institutions are participating in the fee waiver program. Survivors were being assessed an international wire transfer fee, ranging from $10 to $40 a transaction. This transfer fee amounted to a 10 percent tax on each payment the survivor receives, which can be a significant financial burden considering the vast majority of the victims rely on these payments. Of the approximately 13,000 Holocaust survivors residing in Florida, studies indicate that more than 30 percent of them live below the poverty level. As the number of survivors declines, their need for financial assistance increases and as these victims continue to age and become more vulnerable, the importance of seeking and receiving assistance to help ease their daily burdens is vital for health, well-being, and dignity. Survivors, their families, or their representatives can call 1-800-388-4069 for more information. By: Lynn Grossman Holocaust Claims Coordinator Florida Department of Financial Services



2015 MEMBERSHIP LIST

St. John’s Episcopal Church Mr. and Mrs. Sol Hirsch Jerry and Susan Sternstein Ann Gabor Rick and Linda Hyson Robyn Rachin Tallahassee Jewish Federation Peter Cowdrey Bill and Shelley Graham Dr. Marshall and Susan Kapp Ron Sachs Bryan Desloge Raymond and Wendy Capelouto Donna Callaway Grant and MD Capelouto Steen and Eileen Metz Honorable Robert and Karen Cohen Stephen and Susan Turner Amy Piotrowski Sheila Costigan Barbara Goldstein Linda Gilleon Rita Blank Ken and Sheri Levine Eileen Lerner Virginia Perkins Dot Hayward Jorge and Betty Piekarewicz Susan Haddix Karen Albert Lecky Spector Linda Davey Eleanore Rosenberg Mimi Bissonnette Elaine Harris and Irwin Kantrowitz Kathy Reeves Steve Friedlander Janice Fleisher Linda and Daniel Fuchs Karen Bickley Sandra Kendall David Pepper Sarah Johnson Craig Whittington Paula Saunders Joanne Sapolsky Jon Lutz Daniela Wellner Morris Fishman David & Mona Markell Bill & Jill Mattox, Jr. Michael & Julie McBride


Dear Prospective Member, We are very glad that you have expressed an interest in the Holocaust Education Resource Council. The lessons learned from the Holocaust of tolerance, courage, and understanding is invaluable in today’s society. Established by children of Holocaust survivors, the Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) in Tallahassee creates learning opportunities in the big bend area to help fulfill the state mandate for Holocaust education. Even though the Holocaust occurred over seventy years ago, these important lessons continue to be relevant in our community. HERC is a member of the Florida Department of Education Commissioner’s Task Force on the Holocaust. Throughout the school year, HERC provides Professional Learning Opportunities about the Holocaust with materials and teaching methods. Furthermore, HERC sponsors a Holocaust interfaith book club. The Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) recognizes you as an important partner in our mission. As we reach out to the community, our services have never been in greater demand. Teachers, principals, and community organizations request our help as they respond to the difficult times in which we find ourselves. Schools are experiencing an increase in bullying and bias. Your membership directly supports HERC and its educational activities. Your gifts and contributions enable the Holocaust Education Resource Council to sustain its many outreach programs. Members receive special invitations to film screenings, lectures, and special programs. Please fill out the membership form on the next page to become a member. Also, feel free to visit the HERC website at www.holocaustresources.org for information on the events listed and for further membership information. HERC is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax-deductible. Contact me at (850) 443-9649 or [email protected] for any additional information about HERC. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,

Barbara Goldstein HERC President



HERC 2015 Membership Form

Name: Address: Home phone: Cell phone: Email: I am interested to help on one or more committees: Book club Holocaust Remembrance Essay and Art contest Community Outreach Teacher Workshop Membership

MEMBERSHIP ENABLES YOU TO:

Attend programs, films, and scholars’ lectures – at reduced rates or no charge

Receive notice of ongoing programs, updates on current genocidal situations, and invitations to special events

Borrow from our extensive collection of books, media, research files and curricula on Holocaust, genocide & human rights issues

Affirm your personal commitment to our mission and help us reach our goal

HERC is making a difference in our community, but we cannot continue to do so without your support. We urge you to join us at whatever membership level is most comfortable for you.

HERC OFFERS VARIOUS LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP: Please select a membership level.

$36 (Chai- Life) This membership level purchases a DVD, book or periodical for our school resources $100 (Shalom- Peace) This membership level provides a scholarship for a student with the annual essay and art contest $250 (B’racha-Blessing) This membership level buys a set of books for a school classroom $500 (Zichron-Remembrance) This membership level helps to sponsor a speaker for annual teacher training workshop

PLEASE SEND CHECKS TO: Holocaust Education Resource Council

P.O. Box 16282 Tallahassee, FL. 32317


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