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The Holocaust Learn & Remember

"For the dead and the living, we must bear witness." -- Elie Wiesel

Join the San Antonio Public Library and the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio for the 12th Annual Holocaust Learn and Remember program series in January 2024.

THE 2024 THEME OF UPSTANDERS focuses on individuals who recognized wrongs and took action to make them right. Learn the small things that you can do in your everyday life to make a difference to those around you that are a target of hate.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”

Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel

 

 2024 PROGRAM SCHEDULE 

Upstanders: Stories of the Righteous Among Nations
Robin Long
McCreless Library
Tuesday, January 9
6:30-7:30pm

Righteous Among the Nations is an honor given by Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. In this presentation, you will hear the stories of three rescuers through the voice of those that were saved.

"Jewish Resisters, Though": Why There Has Been Reluctance to Apply the "Upstander" Label to Jews in the Holocaust
Dr. J.E. Wolfson
Igo Library
Friday, January 12
10-11:30am
In a lengthy April 2023 article in The Atlantic, author Dara Horn analyzes the trend in Holocaust education of labeling certain individuals as “upstanders” due to their bravery and heroism, pointedly noting that Jews are typically ignored whenever this classification is applied. A large proportion of museum exhibits and popular films and literature on the Holocaust elect to spotlight and applaud the actions of “Righteous Gentiles” who rescued Jews, but not the actions of Jews themselves. What might explain this longstanding tunnel vision or the fact that so few people have even chosen to question it? This presentation will offer answers to that question and will examine fascinating case studies of Jews who resisted the Nazi assault and continue to complicate popularly accepted notions of heroism and martyrdom. Dr. Wolfson suggests that the tendency to privilege stories of non-Jewish rescue of Jews over Jewish resistance reveals much about how our culture has sought to define and remember the Holocaust. We cannot approach a fuller understanding of Holocaust history without acknowledging the challenges, suffering, courage, and selflessness that helped shape Jewish resistance.

You Jump In and Help: The Irena Sendler Story 
Liz Reichman
Parman Library
Sunday, January 14
3 - 4 pm

Christian social worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Her audacious actions resulted in her capture, imprisonment, and torture, but she was so valuable to the resistance, they paid a bribe to save her on the eve of her scheduled execution. Who was this remarkable young woman? What motivated her to risk her life for others? How is she remembered today?

Upstanders: Stories of the Righteous Among Nations
Robin Long

Central Library, Latino Collection and Resource Center
Wednesday, January 17
11 - 12:30 pm

Righteous Among the Nations is an honor given by Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. In this presentation, you will hear the stories of three rescuers through the voice of those that were saved.

Protest and Resistance in Nazi Germany
Dr. Edward Westermann
Virtual - Register Here
Wednesday, January 17
2 - 3:30 pm
Dr. Westermann's presentation discusses the opportunities and consequences related to acts of protest and resistance within Nazi Germany. It focuses on the role of the churches and private individuals and their acts of opposition to the Nazi regime during the Third Reich.

You Jump In and Help: The Irena Sendler Story 
Liz Reichman
Memorial Library
Thursday, January 18
12-1pm

Christian social worker Irena Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Her audacious actions resulted in her capture, imprisonment, and torture, but she was so valuable to the resistance, they paid a bribe to save her on the eve of her scheduled execution. Who was this remarkable young woman? What motivated her to risk her life for others? How is she remembered today?

 

 CLOSING PROGRAM 

Dramatic Reading of Undesirable Secrets
Sunday, January 21st
2 - 4 pm
Holzman Auditorium at the
Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community
12500 NW Military Hwy, 78231*

 

Free Tickets Encouraged - Click here to register for free tickets
Credit card information is not required to register for free tickets - See below for step by step guide to register for free tickets

 

Join San Antonio Public Library, Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio, and the Anthony C. Acevedo Foundation for the premier dramatized stage reading of Undesirable Secrets.  

In collaboration with the Acevedo Family, Rodolfo Alvarado has captured the story of World War II medic and prisoner of war Anthony Acevedo, who was also the first Mexican American to register as a Holocaust concentration camp survivor. "Undesirable Secrets" is a captivating and emotionally charged theatrical experience that takes the audience on a transformative journey through the life of Anthony C. Acevedo, a resilient survivor haunted by his past. Set against the backdrop of World War II and its aftermath, the story unfolds through a series of poignant encounters, revealing the depth of Anthony's pain, resilience, and the hidden secrets that shaped his existence. 


*Note: the Loop 1604 & I-10 Interchange will be fully closed for construction from Friday, January 19 2024 at 9 pm through Monday, January 22nd at 5 pm. Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community is located roughly 6 miles from this interchange. TX-DOT is advising to avoid the area of this interchange throghout the weekend. Click here for more information from TX-DOT.

 EXHIBIT 
The Righteous Among the Nations

Throughout the month of January, visit library locations to learn the stories of individuals who have been recognized by Yad Vashem, World Holocaust Remembrance Center, as the Righteous Among the Nations.

In a world in which hostility and indifference prevailed, there was a small non-Jewish minority who regarded the Jews as fellow human beings who came within the bounds of their universe of obligation. These individuals mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human values, and to rescue hunted Jews with no expectation of remuneration. These were the Righteous Among the Nations.

Rescue took many forms and the Righteous came from different nations, religions and walks of life. What they had in common was that they protected their Jewish neighbors in a world of total moral collapse.

January 3-12, 2024

Igo Branch Library
13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 78249
&

McCreless Branch Library
1023 Ada St, 78223

 

January 14-31, 2024

Memorial Branch Library
3222  Culebra Rd, 78228

&

Parman Branch Library at Stone Oak
20735 Wilderness Oak, 78258

 

Subjects: History