December 2017

Dear Friends,

What a wonderful and exciting year it has been for the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University. I appreciate your commitment to Holocaust education, as well as your continual support, as we expand nationally.

Our founders, Sr. Gemma Del Duca, S.C., and Sr. Mary Noël Kernan, S.C., envisioned a Center that would counter antisemitism through education, while also seeking to improve Jewish-Catholic

dialogue. Our Center has remained a model for teaching the Holocaust and for building relations between Jewish and Christian communities.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the past year was the Georgetown and Seton Hill University Holocaust By Bullets Forensics Tour. Fr. Patrick Desbois, a French Catholic priest and noted Holocaust historian, led the excursion to the East European nations of Poland and Belarus. Fr. Desbois has dedicated his life to identifying mass graves in Eastern Europe in an attempt to better understand the murder of millions of Jews during World War II. His research has uncovered thousands of mass graves, containing the remains of over one million Jews. Seton Hill and Georgetown University students had the opportunity to interview eyewitnesses to the mass murder. The Eastern European Forensics Tour was an unforgettable experience for all students and staff who were part of the trip.

The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education also cosponsored a conference in October with Northern Arizona University entitled, “Strangers or Neighbors? Abrahamic Perspectives on Refugees.” The three-day symposium was held in Flagstaff, Arizona and it brought together scholars from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to discuss the most significant refugee crisis since World War II. The conference was excellent and informative, and the presentations were all very good.

I had the privilege of traveling this past year throughout the United States, and I met many friends of the Center. Act 70 legislation strongly encouraged Holocaust education throughout the

National Catholic Center For Holocaust EducationSeton Hill Drive • Greensburg, PA 15601

724.830.1033 • 724.834.7131 (fax) • ncche@setonhill.edusetonhill.edu/ncche

SR. MARY NOËL KERNAN, S.C., AND SR. GEMMA DEL DUCA, S.C.

FR. PATRICK DESBOIS AND DR. CRAIN IN BELARUS

state of Pennsylvania. The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education continued to be very involved in teacher training. If school districts in Pennsylvania had not complied with Act 70, a provision would have then made Holocaust education mandatory in all schools in the state. I am pleased to report that almost all schools across Pennsylvania have now incorporated Holocaust and genocide education into their curriculums. A mandate therefore, that would require Holocaust education, is not necessary. I conducted teacher training programs in Pennsylvania, as well as at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. The Illinois Holocaust Museum is the third largest Holocaust Museum in the world behind Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and the United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Our Center will continue to be involved in teacher training in the upcoming year.

The Catholic Institute for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem will mark its 30th year next summer. The Institute in Jerusalem is designed for educators working in Catholic colleges and universities across the United States. The July seminar offers an intense program regarding the history of antisemitism and the Holocaust. Fr. Russel Murray, OFM, Ph.D., oversees the Seton Hill program at Yad Vashem, and we are anticipating another outstanding year.

Our Kristallnacht commemoration was held last month in Seton Hill’s St. Joseph Chapel. The event was well attended by Seton Hill students, faculty, and staff, as well as Greensburg and Pittsburgh community members. The Seton Hill men’s and women’s basketball teams were also present for the commemoration. A very special thanks to our survivors Shulamit Bastacky (Lithuania), Yolanda Willis (Greece), and our keynote speaker and survivor, Ruth Drescher (Germany). It was night of solemn remembrance and an evening of great support from the University community.

The past year has witnessed more tragic acts of intolerance and bigotry. Yet there also remains tremendous hope. Education can bring about extraordinary transformation. Nelson Mandela believed that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” On behalf of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, I cannot thank you enough for your interest and support. I ask that you continue to be the generous and kind supporters that you have been in the past. Thank you very much and I wish you the best always!

Sincerely,

Tim Crain, Ph.D.Director

SENIOR FITZGERALD ROBERTSON READS DURING THE KRISTALLNACHT REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

KRISTALLNACHT RECEPTION