[Jewish] Five College Holocaust Memorial Week

[UMass Hillel]

To Whom It May Concern:

I am very excited to inform you about the programming that is taking place
through Hillel for Holocaust Memorial Week.  "Never Forget:
Memorializing the Holocaust through Music, Theatre, Film, and the Visual
Arts" is a week long program dedicated to educating both students and
community about the Holocaust.  The committee of students and staff
planning the week believe that the Judaic Studies classes are a very
important audience to reach in our advertising efforts.  The students
would really like to visit classes to make announcements, or give you the
information to announce in your classes.  In addition we have a great
poster with the week's events that we would be happy to get to you.

Please be in touch with me to talk about the best way to get advertising
materials to you.

Thank you for your time and support,
Rachel Pinsker

*******************************
Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow
University of Massachusetts/Amherst
413-549-1710
rpinsker at external.umass.edu

The following is a list of the programs that will be taking place.

FILM:
	“Paragraph 175”
	Sunday, April 27 at 7:00 pm
	Campus Center Room 803
Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, this film documents the
persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany.  Seven of the nine living
survivors share their stories.

THEATER:
	“Dear Esther”
	Monday, April 28 at 7:00 pm
	Campus Center Auditorium
“Dear Esther” is a play based on the true story of Esther Terner Raab, a
Holocaust survivor who escaped from Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in
eastern Poland and the site of a rebellion by the death camp workers again
their Nazi captors.  Created by Richard Rashke as a result of extensive
interviews with Esther and incorporating real letters written to Esther by
students who heard her speak.

RITUAL AND MUSIC:
	Memorial Service and “Songs of the Lost Communities” a
musical performance by Laura Wetzler
	Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 pm
	The Massachusetts room in the Mullins Center
A student led memorial service followed by songs from both Sephardic
and Ashkenazi communities celebrating the vitality of prewar Jewish life.

WITNESS:
	Holocaust Survivor Max Michelson
	Wednesday, April 30 at 5:00 pm
	Campus Center Room 101
Local survivor and author of “City of Life, City of Death:  Memories of
Riga” will discuss his life and experiences as a Holocaust victim and
survivor.  One of the few Latvian survivors, Dr. Michelson will share
stories of Jewish family life in Latvia prior to World War II, the Riga
ghetto, and his personal experiences in the Holocaust.  The University
Press of Colorado claims, "Michelson's memoir is an ode to his lost family;
it is the speech of their muted voices and a thank you for their love."
Book signing to follow.

VISUAL ART:
	Flag Planting
	Sunday, April 27 at 12:30pm
	Lawn by the Campus Pond
Join other people in "planting" flags to commemorate the 12 million lives
murdered during the Holocaust.  There are 2,061 flags that need to be
placed in the ground for the week's flag display.
	Flag Display
	Monday, April 28 – Friday, May 2
	Lawn by the Campus Pond
A display of lawn flags in seven different colors, each color symbolizes a
different group that was annihilated during the Holocaust.  Each flag
designates 5,000 people killed, with 2,061 flags representing the 12 million
Jews, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish citizens, Romani and Sinti (Gypsies),
disabled, Jehovah’s Witness, and homosexuals who perished.

READING:
	Litany of Martyrs
	Monday, April 28 – Friday, May 2, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
	Campus Center Concourse
Students, faculty, and staff will be reading the names of Jews and non-
Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust.

All event are free and open to the public.  Holocaust Memorial Week  is
being co-sponsored by UMass Hillel, UMass Jewish Student Union,
UMass Stonewall Center, Smith College Hillel, Amherst College Hillel,
Mount Holyoke Jewish Student Union, Qeshet at Hillel, UMass Office of
Jewish Affairs, and UMass Theater Department.  Additional funding
provided by KOACH, The Five College Lecture Fund, the UMass Arts
Council Mini Grant, and Hillel's Darmstaedter Holocaust Education
Program Grant.
A very special thanks to the Raab family for their generous donation in
honor of Esther Raab, beloved mother and grandmother.