Holocaust survivors to share their stories at inaugural program for Rowan’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Fittingly, the work of the new Rowan University Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies begins with the voices—and stories—of survivors.

“It will be a very powerful evening,” Rowan history instructor and center coordinator Stephen Hague says of the center’s inaugural event, which is slated for Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 5 p.m. in Boyd Recital Hall (Wilson Hall) on the University’s Main Campus in Glassboro.

During the evening, Holocaust survivors Charles Middleberg and Helene Bouton, both New Jersey residents, will share their stories of atrocity, loss, survival and resilience before an intimate gathering.

Additionally, Tim Kaiser, deputy director of the Levine Institute for Holocaust Education at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., will present a talk titled “Now More than Ever: The Need for Accurate, Authentic and Authoritative Holocaust Education.”

The inaugural event is free and open to the public. It coincides with the 77th anniversary this month of Kristallnacht, a massive attack on Jews by the German Reich that marked the first instance of Jews being targeted due to their ethnicity.

About the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

A collaboration between Rowan’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the College of Education, along with the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will serve as the focal point for students, faculty, teachers, and community members to learn the history and lessons of the Holocaust.

Existing as a virtual center at first, with related materials housed in Rowan’s Campbell Library, the center will present “innovative educational programming and study and investigate issues such as the consequences of anti-Semitism, racism, ethnic hatred, other forms of bigotry, as well as human rights,” according to Hague.

The center, which will be the academic home for Holocaust and genocide studies in Gloucester County, is one of 27 centers throughout New Jersey focusing on issues related to the Holocaust. Six million Jews—and five million non-Jews--were murdered in the Holocaust during World War II.

The center also will present programming that examines other instances of genocides, such as those in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and Rwanda.

“Few subjects have as much resonance with students, faculty, staff and the general public as the Holocaust,” says Hague, noting that only 1,500 Holocaust survivors remain in New Jersey today. Five years ago, there were 6,000, he notes.

“The living memory of the Holocaust is fading quickly,” he continues. “It’s a critical time for us to establish the center to ensure that education about—and study of—the Holocaust and other genocides remain at the forefront of our awareness.

“Issues related to genocide and the systemic killing of large groups of people are all too frequent in our modern world. We will be at the center of discussion and education about these critically important human issues.”

The center’s goals include:

- Promoting greater awareness of the Holocaust through symposia, lectures and other programming;
- Presenting workshops and seminars for educators who teach the Holocaust and other past and contemporary genocides;
- Providing materials related to the Holocaust and genocide to students, educators, scholars and the public;
- Fostering academic research and serving as a repository for materials, including oral histories;
- Offering programming designed to develop sensitivity and understanding of issues surrounding the Holocaust and genocide, including programs that address anti-Semitism, racism, hatred and oppression.

Events planned for the center’s first year include the inaugural event; a teacher training workshop in the spring presented by the College of Education; and the development of a web site.

Background on speakers for the inaugural event

Holocaust survivors Charles Middleberg and Helene Bouton

A child survivor of the Holocaust, Middleberg was nine when his parents were deported from Paris to Auschwitz. His mother died in a gas chamber. His father survived three years in the death camp, but died at age 52. Middleberg and his brother, who were never taken to a concentration camp, managed to survive by pretending to be Catholic.

Bouton is a camp survivor who was at both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in Germany, as well as Essen transport camp in Germany. She has recorded oral and visual histories about her experiences and often shares her story with teachers and students in South Jersey.

Tim Kaiser, Levine Institute for Holocaust Education at the United States Holocaust Museum

In 2000, Kaiser joined the Levine Institute, which is responsible for the museum’s entire public education program, including the maintenance and creation of exhibitions, digital and website creation and engagement strategies for the public. He has worked in both the education and exhibition divisions to create interpretive educational and learning experiences for the visiting public and targeted audiences.

Additional speakers will include: Paul Winkler, executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education; Larry Glaser, assistant executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, who will moderate the discussion with Middleberg and Bouton; Hague; and Rowan Provost James Newell.

For information on the center or the inaugural event, contact Hague at hague@rowan.edu.