Informative Lectures, Films and Presentations Teach Lessons of the Holocaust During Holocaust Education Week

The legacy of the Holocaust will be considered from cultural, academic and personal perspectives through a series of enlightening film presentations, lectures and community discussions during Holocaust Education Week, January 26-January 30, 2020, at various locations throughout Miami-Dade County.

Holocaust Education Week is a community-wide program of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, a Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

All events are free of charge and open to the public. Due to limited seating, those wishing to attend Holocaust Education Week events are encouraged to make advance reservations by clicking the links below or callling 305.538.1663.

“In memory of our father, Auschwitz survivor Siggi B. Wilzig, and our mother, Naomi Wilzig”
Donated by their children, Ivan, Sherry and Alan

Exhibition:
The Holocaust and “The Anguish of Liberation”
Artwork from the Yad Vashem Collection and the Miami-Dade Public Library System Permanent Art Collection

Miami Beach Regional Library
227 22nd Street, Miami Beach

Exhibition Opening Day
Sunday, January 26
3-6 p.m.

The exhibition will be on display through April 26.

Two sets of pictures are paired — a series of vintage black and white posters originally distributed by B’nai Brith depicting the stark timeline of the Holocaust juxtaposed with 13 art prints created by Holocaust Survivor artists from 1945-1947 revealing the anguish of liberation and their search for solace.

Group Visits: Free tours of the exhibition are available for classroom field trips, synagogues, churches and community groups. Please email dreed@gmjf.org or call 305-538-1663 to make a reservation.

With special thanks to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel and the Miami-Dade Public Library System

Sunday, January 26, 3 p.m. | Click Here to RSVP
Through the Dark Valley: Primo Levi’s Auschwitz Liberation Testimony
Lecture in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz with Professor Nicola Gavioli, Florida International University

Miami Beach Regional Library
227 22nd Street, Miami Beach

Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the testimonial works of Primo Levi occupy a central role in the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust. Against the dangers of oblivion and within the constant stream of superficial information in today’s world, Primo Levi’s writings offer us dense, precise and thoughtful meditations on life, survival and the act of writing. This lecture aims to illuminate key aspects of the works of Primo Levi on the experience of Auschwitz and to celebrate his enduring testimony.

Nicola Gavioli, PhD, teaches in the Department of Modern Languages at Florida International University, Miami (FL). His research interests include witness literature.

Monday, January 27, 9:30 a.m.
Black Box Theatre: Encounter with Holocaust Survivors

Miami Beach Senior High School
2231 Prairie Ave., Miami Beach
(Miami Beach H.S. students in grades 10-12 only)


Students spend the morning with two Holocaust Survivors and volunteers at the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff and Laszlo Selly, who will share their firsthand experiences. Through meaningful conversation with the Survivors, students will get insight into the World War II years and how these Survivors forged new lives in a new country.

Moderator David Reese is a language arts teacher in his 18th year with Miami-Dade Public Schools. Laszlo Selly is a retired professional photographer. Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff is Holocaust Education Specialist for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Roddie’s Code: A Lone Soldier Saves Jewish POWs from the Nazis
With Chris Edmonds, son of WWII veteran/Righteous Among the Nations,
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds




Tuesday, January 28 , 11:15 a.m. | Click Here to RSVP
Miami Dade College – Homestead Campus
Building F, Room F222
500 College Terrace, Homestead

Tuesday, January 28 7:00 p.m. | Click Here to RSVP
Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus
20350 NE 26th Avenue, North Miami Beach

On a cold winter day a month after the Battle of the Bulge, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds ordered all 1200 American POWs to fall out and told the Nazi officer “We are all Jews here,” refusing to back down and saving the lives of the Jewish soldiers under his command. His son, Chris Edmonds, will speak about lessons from his father and how the story was discovered more than 40 years later. Roddie Edmonds was posthumously recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel.

Chris Edmonds is Senior Pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Marville, Tennessee and is the founder of the Roddie’s Code and the Roddie Edmonds Foundation, organizations dedicated to extending the legacy and lessons of his father for generations to come.

Wednesday, January 29, 2:00 p.m. | Click Here to RSVP
Film Screening: Who Will Write Our History
with post-film discussion

Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center
20400 NE 30th Avenue, Aventura


Using the code name Oyneg Shabes, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders in the Warsaw Ghetto led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum decided to fight back, vowing to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda with pen and paper. This documentary mixes the writings of Oyneg Shabes with new interviews, rarely seen footage and stunning dramatizations to tell its story. Written, produced and directed by Roberta Grossman and executive produced by Nancy Spielberg

Thursday, January 30, 7:30 p.m. | Click here to RSVP
On the Run in Nazi Berlin: A True Story of Survival
with author Bev Saltzman Lewyn

Miami Beach Jewish Community Center
4221 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach


This riveting and unusual true Holocaust story plays out like a Hollywood action film. Young Dagobert Lewin survives the entire war on the run in Nazi Berlin. There are breathtaking escapes, romance and a wife and baby Dagobert would forget for decades. Fifty years later, he rediscovers his buried past.

Bev Saltzman Lewyn is the former Coordinator of News Research for CNN’s National Desk. She is the co-founder of the 2000-women strong Jewish Women’s Connection/JWC Atlanta (a JWRP “Birthright for Moms” partner organization).

If you, a family member or friend require special accommodations to attend this event, please let us know. We will do our best to assist you.

For more information, please contact Danny Reed, Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach Education Coordinator, at dreed@gmjf.org or 305.538.1663.

Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach

Sidney Pertnoy
Chair

Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff,
Holocaust Education Committee Chair

Sharon S. Horowitz
Executive Director

Daniel Reed
Education Coordinator

In cooperation with: Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center * Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus * City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council * Florida International University * Miami Beach JCC * Miami-Dade Public Library System * Miami-Dade College Homestead Campus * Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Social Sciences * University of Miami George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies * University of Miami Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies * With special thanks to the Florida Department of Education

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture

Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
1933-1945 Meridian Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139 | 305.538.1663
Holocaustmemorialmiamibeach.org
info@holocaustmemorialmiamibeach