Prism 2013 Issue Now Available

The 2013 issue of PRISM - An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators is now available online in PDF.  PRISM, a peer-reviewed journal, launched in 2009 and been a valued resource for Holocaust educators around the world. Each issue explores a specific theme through a variety of scholarly lenses. The 2013 issue is devoted to examining the Kindertransport through historical research, poetry, art history, pedagogy and personal narrative.

Be sure to check the article by Kay Andrew, Institute of Education at the University of London, UK. Kay provides readers with a thoughtful article titled "The British Government and the Kindertransport: Moving Away from the Redemptive Story" pages 54 - 60.

 Kay's article is certain to inspire critical thinking into the complex issues that accompany teaching, and learning about the Kindertransport. CLICK HERE to access PRISM.

Greek Football Player Banned for Fascist Salute

Although it was St. Patrick's Day and most news services were reporting on Celtic celebrations around the world, there was no avoiding the flurry to reporting when Greek footballer Giorgos Katidis received a lifetime ban from Greece's soccer federation, EPO. Katidis gave what appears to be, the Fascist salute in celebrating winning the soccer match.

The Toronto Sun reported that: "Katidis, 20 (photo above), a former captain of Greece's under-19 team, made the alleged salute in celebrating his winning goal in a 2-1 Super League victory over lowly Veria late on Saturday.

"The player's action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi bestiality and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game," EPO said in a statement.

Katidis was heavily criticized by political parties and fans on Twitter and Facebook following the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium."

The actions are particularly deplorable as commemorations have been taking place in Greek cities such as Thessaloniki this week, marking the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Greek Jews to Nazi concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Sun goes on to report that: "Katidis denied he gave a Nazi salute. "I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant," Katidis said on his Twitter account." Given the media attention give to the the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn movement in Greece, it is difficult to believe that Katidis did not know or understand the significance of the gesture.

Click Here to read the entire article from The Sun.

70 Years Ago - Deportation of Greek Jews

News service providers around the world are reporting on the commemorative activities related to the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Greek Jews from Greece's second largest city Thessaloniki to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Global Post has reported that: " Amid worry about the rise of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, Jewish leaders from around the world arrived in the northern city [Thessaloniki] an event that decimated the Jewish populartion of the so-called "Jerusalem of the Balkans."

The news provider goes on to report that "Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to address a commemoration ceremony on Sunday."

It was on March 15, 1943 that the first train deported from Thessaloniki to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Stuttgart Museum Returns Nazi-Looted Painting

Earlier this month, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart returned a Nazi-looted painting to Clarence Epstein, who heads Concordia University's restitution project. The painting is attributed to Master of Flémalle (1375-1444) and is titled 'Virgin and Child." In a press release issued by Concordia University, the university noted that it is "acting on behalf of the executors of the Estate of Max Stern and its three university beneficiaries (Concordia University, McGill University, and Hebrew University.) The piece is an example of the early Northern Renaissance style.

 The press release goes on to tell a little of the incredible story of the original owner of the painting: "The Stuttgart recovery comes on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Galerie Stern in Düsseldorf by Max Stern’s father, Julius. It was once one of the most important commercial galleries in the city, having developed relations with museums across Germany. By the middle of the 1930s, with the rise of Nazism and the expulsion of Jewish members from the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts – a division of Goebbels’ Reich Culture Chamber – the gallery’s fate was imminent. The Virgin and Child painting was one of several works sold to secure an exit permit for Max Stern’s mother, Selma.

During World War II, Max Stern was interned in England and Canada before settling in Montreal in 1941. In the following decade, he began his own art restitution efforts. Canadian government officials provided him with letters of introduction to European diplomats, while members of the Canadian military stationed in Germany helped recover two of his paintings. Stern was to become one of the most important art dealers in Canadian history, building bridges between artists and collectors in Europe and Canada."

Click here to discover more about this incredible story.

Canadian Chair Year - 2013 - IHRA

On March 5, 2013, Canada assumed the Chair of the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) in an official handover ceremony in Berlin, Germany. Canada will hold the position of Chair until March 2014.

In a media release issued by the Canadian government, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney commented: Our government believes it is critically important to be engaged in efforts to teach future generations the lessons of the Holocaust and help prevent future acts of genocide. The Holocaust stands alone in the annals of human evil and has important lesson to all of us - universal lessons that must not be forgotten. To read the entire press release, CLICK HERE.

During the year of the Canadian Chair, Canada will undertake a number of national initiatives including a Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education, an international academic conference that will take place October 6–7, 2013, at the University of Toronto, and participation in an International Poster Contest. 

The theme of the conference is New Scholars, New Research on the Holocaust. It will coincide with meetings of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in Toronto. The conference call for proposals closes on April 30, 2013

Book Launch at German Consulate in Toronto

Looking for something interesting and informative to in Toronto on 14 March 2013?
Well, the German Consulate, Intellect Books and the Canadian Centre for German and European Studies at York University will be hosting a special launch of World Film Locations: Berlin.

Editor, Dr. Susan Ingram along with local contributors to the yet will be in attendance to discuss and sign the book.

And if you cannot attend the launch but order the book, look for my contribution, a film review of Leni Riefenstahl's soft-propaganda classic- Olympia.

The book launch is presented in conjunction with the multi-media exhibit, Museuminsel Berlin, Keeping the Past- Facing the Future.

Date: 14 March 2013

Time: 5:00pm

Venue: German Consulate- Toronto

2 Bloor Street East, 25th Floor

Light refreshments will be served.

IHRA Launches New Website!

New Look, New Feel to International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Website

Earlier this week the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) launched an updated version of their website - which now reflects their recently designed logo that was unveiled in late 2012. As part of their new digital approach to reaching the general public as well as academics and educators, the IHRA has launched a Facebook page and a Twitter Account. Check out these new sites to learn about the work of the IHRA and the work being done regionally by the member countries.

 

IHRA currently has 31 member countries and four observer countries.  Membership is open to all countries, and members must be committed to the Stockholm Declaration and to the implementation of national policies and programs in support of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research.  Member countries are encouraged to develop multilateral partnerships and to share best practices.   

Each member country sends a delegation to IHRA meetings that is composed of both government representatives and national experts.  In addition to the Academic, Education, Memorials and Museums, and Communication Working Groups, specialized committees have been established to address antisemitism and Holocaust denial, the situation of the Roma and the Roma genocide, comparative genocide, and special challenges in Holocaust education.

Today, Canada officially assumes the Chair for the 2013-2014 year. Stay tuned more news about what is happening in Canada in Holocaust Education.