The HHRC is Grateful

Introduction

Giving Tuesday is the week after Thanksgiving. Rather than asking for donations, the HHRC offered gratitude to the people who make up our wonderful community. Posting on Facebook we expressed our deepest thanks to those whose generosity and hard work have helped our organization to prosper, as well as inspirational people working to strengthen human rights in Maine and beyond. Our Thank-a-Thon ran from November 28th to December 21st. To all of you who engage with our work through the educational programs, financial support, visiting the Michael Klahr Center, experiencing an exhibit or event, or staying current by reading the website and e-news: Thank you! #CelebrateGenerosity.

The Founders

We are profoundly grateful to all of the Holocaust survivors who founded the HHRC and have remained loyal members of our community. Those who participated in Were The House Still Standing whose portraits hang in the Michael Klahr Center, remind us of every day of our mission to promote universal respect for human rights through outreach and education. They are: Gerda Haas, Charles Rotmil, Manfred Kelman, Julius Ciembroniewicz, Edith Pagelson, Judith Magyar Isaacson, Cantor Kurt Messerschmidt, Emil Landau, Alan Wainberg, Jerry Slivka, Sonja Messerschmidt, Rochelle Slivka, Rose Magyar, Tama Fineberg, Walter Ziffer, Julia Skalina, and Alfred Kantor. See their portraits here. We are indebted to those who helped build the Michael Klahr Center, who offered their stories for the immersive multimedia exhibit Were The House Still Standing, for their families who have carried on the legacy, supported this organization, donated archival material, set up scholarship and awards programs, served on the board of directors, joined educators to speak in classrooms, spoke out forcefully against prejudice and for justice and human rights. We are moved by so much grace and forgiveness, passion and purpose.

Edith Lucas Pagelson

Today we choose to highlight one Holocaust survivor from among many—because she dedicated her life to furthering human rights and was a beloved member of our community. Edith was an is a source of inspiration and hope. She was often asked to share her life story and spoke at schools, churches, synagogues, community groups, and businesses for many decades. Edith said, “I do so with great humility, honor, and pleasure; and I sincerely hope that my tale of persecution, horror, resilience, survival, rebirth, and transition will serve to educate both young and old alike. There is no greater gift that I could give, particularly to the innocent and inquisitive minds of middle and high school children who are still in the process of forming their attitudes and beliefs about ethical behavior and tolerance.” Edith’s life was one of love, giving, perseverance and service. We are deeply honored, and indebted, to Ruth and her family for their loyalty to the HHRC.

Jack Montgomery

We are grateful to Jack Montgomery, a photographer who has captured people and places through his camera lens for 30 years. He is drawn to group portraits, or series, to tell stories of community and their histories. Among them are Firemen in Lower Manhattan after 9/11, Maine’s Holocaust Survivors, Judges, Fetishists, Old Villagers in Tuscany, Haitian Sugarcane Cutters, Dancers, Circus Performers and Naturists in Russia. We are fortunate that Jack took the stunning portraits of the Holocaust survivors that hang on the walls of the Michael Klahr Center and are featured in “Were the House Still Standing: Maine Survivors and Liberators Remember the Holocaust.” Now Jack is collaborating on a book by and about Maine Holocaust survivors entitled “Soul Survivors.” This project is near completion—a generous donor has funded a free copy for every school in Maine.

Gerda Haas Award

Thank you to this year’s Gerda Haas Award recipient Corey Hinton. A citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Attorney for Drummond Woodsum, Corey leads the firm’s Tribal Nations Practice Group, working on federal Indian law and policy, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, employment matters, economic development, environmental and natural resource issues, and the fee-to-trust process. He also works with non-profits that serve underprivileged communities. Corey’s keynote address on the evening of our Annual Meeting was profound. Personal, global, angry, hopeful, funny and heartrending, it ending in a call to action: “What will you do next week to make a difference?”

Distinguished Lecturers

2023

A heartfelt thank-you to the people who accepted an invitation to join our Distinguished Lecturer Series. In February, Wiola Rebecka spoke about how she was moved to write the book, “Rape: A History of Shame. Diary of the Survivors” after learning of her grandmother’s horrific experiences during the Holocaust. She says, “My book is dedicated to the voices of war rape survivors being heard and embraced, as well as the people working in the field to support war rape survivors.” As a practicing psychoanalyst, Wiola combines cultural anthropology and psychology to study people in the context of their respective cultures.

In March Gia Drew, Executive Director of EqualityMaine, captivated us with her story of growing up as a boy wishing to be a girl, her family’s gradual acceptance, and transitioning as an adult during a job as a high school teacher and coach. Her courage and humor are inspiring. Gia is an outspoken advocate and activist for gender rights. During the 2023 legislative session, she worked hard to educate our elected representatives about a long list of Anti-LGBTQ+ bills that were all ultimately defeated by Maine legislators. We are grateful to Gia, all those who worked alongside her, and our lawmakers who upheld the basic tenants of democracy by protecting teachers and educators from censorship, politicization, and the intrusion of partisan politics into classrooms.

2024

We are looking forward to our 2024 Distinguished Lecture Series. Ettie Zilber is a consultant to schools around the world. She offers workshops, seminars and coaching in the international school community to empower educational leaders, parents and students by supporting their deeper understanding of our diverse, multicultural and multilingual world. Ettie will focus on characteristics of Holocaust survivors in this context.

The second speaker in our 2024 Distinguished Lecture Series will be Dr. Jake Newsome, an award winning scholar of German and American LGBTQ+ history. As a public historian, Jake is dedicated to making scholarship accessible, engaging, and relevant to diverse audiences beyond the classroom. His book, Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust (Cornell University Press) traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a global symbol of pride. By shining light on the LGBTQ+ past, he seeks to develop an ethical sense of compassion and commitment to democratic ideals.

Collaborations

Trio Sefardi

We are grateful for fruitful partnerships with other organizations in Maine. This month we welcomed the fabulous Trio Sefardi for a wonderful concert and presentation at the Michael Klahr Center before they performed in Portland at Mayo Street Arts and the Maine Jewish Museum. Howard Bass, Tina Chancey and Susan Gaeta wove together a beautiful story about their inspiration and close friend Flory Jagoda, who narrowly escaped the Nazis by fleeing numerous times before finally coming to America. They spoke about learning Sefardi music from Flory, showed video of her describing a childhood characterized by bravery and persistence, and played wonderful songs on historic instruments for students from Vassalboro Middle School.

Inclusive Storytime Program

Working closely with the The Telling Room and the Gerald E. Talbot Community School, we developed an after-school program for young children to learn and talk about their own stories, relationships with others, and sense of belonging. Together we explored identity, diversity, and equity while reading and discussing books and then offering time for students to create a personal project about their own lives. We are so grateful to the children and their families who chose to participate—and eager to offer this early-childhood learning again this spring if funded by our generous donors.

Portland Public Schools

We are so grateful to educators who partner with us to bring professional development programs to the teachers and administrators in the school districts. As the Executive Director of People and Equity for Portland Public Schools, Barrett Wilkinson’s areas of expertise include conflict resolution, prevention education, equity, and social and emotional development. We partnered with Barrett to bring an anti-bias professional development program to teachers in the Portland district using a virtual and in-person hybrid format. Barrett spoke at our 2023 Annual Meeting about his passion for giving teacher everything they need to create inclusive and respectful classrooms.

Johnson Hall Theater

The Last Rat of Theresienstadt tells the story of Sofia Brünn, played by acclaimed actress Hilary Chaplain, a Weimar cabaret star from 1930’s Berlin who finds herself transplanted to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. It is a story of prejudice and oppression juxtaposed against survival, joy and love. During the performances last May, Tam spoke to the middle-school audiences about the Holocaust and offered questions for them to consider. Our partnership with Mike Miclon, Executive/Artistic Director at Johnson Hall Theater, made our involvement in this wonderful offering to middle school and high school students possible.

Wabanaki Alliance

We recently joined over 180 organizations, businesses and groups to become a member of the Wabanaki Alliance formed to educate people about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine, an important step in restoring the civil and human rights to the Wabanaki peoples. Because of the 1980 Settlement Act, Maine Tribes have had their sovereignty stripped from them, and are thus treated less fairly than every other federally recognized tribe in America. It has reinforced systemic prejudice, poverty, and lack of basic human rights. The Wabanaki Alliance is not asking for special privileges, but rather fairness by having the same or similar sovereignty as the more than 500 other tribes across America.

University of Maine, Augusta

We are grateful to the University of Maine, Augusta for our many collaborations and friendships. We have benefited immensely from our relationships with so many thoughtful and dedicated people with whom we share a beautiful campus. We are delighted to be joining the Penobscot River Education Partnership in a virtual workshop series “Teaching for Social Justice in Maine Schools.” The three sessions are: Understanding and Confronting Bias, Teaching Wabanaki Studies and Decolonization, and Supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ Students. In addition, We are grateful to Noel March, Justice Studies faculty and Director of the Maine Community Policing Institute at UMA. Noel is passionate about community-oriented policing and works to forge partnerships with communities and organizations engaged in this important work. Noel organized a program entitled, “Defining Moments in Policing: Ethical Moments in Decision Making during the Holocaust.” Led by Sarah Reza, Program Manager of the US Holocaust Museum’s Law and Justice Initiatives. He also offered creative ideas for strengthening these relationships as a speaker at our Annual Meeting.

Senior College

We celebrate our affiliation with the UMA’s Senior College, which provides lifelong opportunities for those over 50 wishing to continue learning while benefiting from friendships and community. Members enjoy a range of opportunities such as academic classes; art, theater and music offerings; forums, book clubs, concerts and film series. The Michael Klahr Center hosts the UMA Senior College film series. During the semester, we greet participants regularly and have forged lasting friendships. When participants in the class noticed that new A/V equipment was needed for the space, they initiated a fundraiser to buy a laptop, DVD player, and projector. This is one example of the many ways the HHRC and Senior College enjoy and help one another.

Maine Artists

Generational Layers

The amazing Generational Layers exhibit by Paula Gerstenblatt filled the gallery room at the Michael Klahr Center throughout the summer. The collage paintings uses photographs, paint, and handwritten text to explore the layers of nationality, race, and religion that comprise Paula’s family history. They weave  individual experiences into a collective narrative of Jewish immigration in the early 1900s—from Czarist Russian Ukraine and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, through the Great Depression, two world wars, Jewish South Beach in the 1950s, the artists coming of age in the 1960s-70s, to the present times as the mother of two adult Black/Jewish children. The works are multilayered—literally and metaphorically.

Artists Response to Ukraine

The inspiring generosity we’ve experienced working with Maine-based artists this year has been a gift. Working with these talented people has brought us joy—and stunning artwork that created our Artists Response to Ukraine exhibit. André Benoit creates incredible wood assemblage out of objects he discovers on his daily walks or gifts from friends. Last year he composed abstract scenes and images of the Russian invasion and ongoing war that are beautiful and poignant. Lesia Sochor makes artwork in several mediums, including painting, fabric, and egg decorating—an ancient ritual of transforming an ordinary egg into Pysanky, a tradition of that dates back to 5,000 B.C. Lesia will offer a Pysanky workshop for a second year on the morning of March 9th. Photographer and artist Nanci Kahn, who is the curator of photography for the Maine Jewish Museum, wanted to create an exhibit of images of everyday life in Ukraine after the invasion. She reached out to a Ukrainian friend, who suggested they solicit photographs through social media, and quickly received images of life in worn-torn Ukraine. These photographs are now on display a the Michael Klahr Center. Image is one of André’s wood assemblages.

29 Mainers

The gorgeous 29 Mainers exhibit was created by Portrait Photographer Erin Moore, owner of Mercy Street Studio. Named Maine’s 2018 Portrait Photographer of the Year, Erin’s photographic style is modern and fun with the goal of capturing the inner spirit and beauty of each person she photographs. Erin is passionate about using her camera to show people how beautiful they are. She is married to Jermaine Moore, founder of The Mars Hill Group that offers DEI trainings and programs to businesses and organizations. Erin says the 29 Mainers project was birthed out of the desire to add Black faces to the world of fine art portraiture

Final Thanks

Summer Seminar Panelists

We are grateful to all of the educators who attended our Summer Seminars, and the guest speakers who generously shared their experience and wisdom. “Teaching the Holocaust” featured Authors Anna Slatzman Eisen and Susan Ross on incorporating literature into lessons about the Holocaust, and a screening of “Voices in the Void,” three animated films created by Humanity in Action. Presenters during the “Addressing Hate & Bias at School” seminar were Halley Phillips of the Restorative Justice Institute and Gabe O’Brien of LeveledUp Learning. An awsome panel discussion was made possible by professionals building communities in so many diverse ways. They included: Saige Purser, Co-Senior Director Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness; Katie Lutts, Program Director at OUT Maine; Jake Kulaw, Director Civil Rights Team Project for the Office of the Attorney General; Gabe O’Brien, Community Impact Manager at Maine Youth Action Network; and Halley Phillips, Co-Director for Training & Consulting at the Restorative Justice Institute. These guests were shining stars of wisdom and optimism.

The Students

We extend heartfelt thanks to the students who participate in our educational programs with curiosity, openness and resolve. This year we visited 68 schools and reached 3,953 students, a 20% increase over last year. We thank all these students for their openness to new ideas and feelings, eagerness to engage in sometimes difficult work through reflection and honest conversations. Our educational programs form the bedrock of our mission: to help young people be open to others, recognize bias, stand up to stereotyping and cruelty, and therein create welcoming, inclusive communities where everybody belongs and is valued for who they are. We couldn’t do our work without the hopeful, curious, engaged and appreciative young people who keep us going each day.

Our Community

We are deeply grateful to our HHRC community—each person who makes up this vibrant, hopeful organization. For 38 years people have embraced this ambitious non-profit by supporting the work and encouraging the vision with creative ideas, sustained involvement, generous time and financial support. We offer all of our programs free of charge because we believe everyone deserves equal access to knowledge and community. Generosity fuels our mission: strengthening human rights for all people. We could not do this important work without our amazing HHRC community. Thank you for helping to create a brighter future for all!

And Staff

On the final day of our #CelebrateGenerosity campaign, we highlight our six staff members who feel fortunate to work with one another on projects and programs that make a difference. Today in our bi-weekly newsletter we each shared some personal reflections on our roles at the HHRC. Here is a quote from each staff member’s section.

Tam: “Each April we honor Yom HaShoah, a day of Holocaust remembrance. During our remembrance, it is customary to sing the Mourner's Prayer and similar style music. I am pleased to announce that this April we will host the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Children's Choir. I am elated for us to collaborate once again with the Portland Symphony Orchestra.”

Erica: “With the passage of time there are fewer and fewer survivors with whom students can speak and interact. While artifacts cannot take the place of that human experience, they can help students to see and connect with the Holocaust in a way that a lecture or textbook cannot.”

Phil: “Our archives help ground the realism of this horrible time in history and prompt discussion and learning for our visitors. Our development and incorporation of these assets into our regular programming will be beneficial for years to come, and provides a great foundation for us to accept and use objects we may receive in the future.”

Piper: “Gathered around tables in the Klahr Center, I was nourished by the two dozen summer seminar participants doing just this. They strive every day to make our schools and communities safer and more welcoming, and I'm so grateful to have learned from them and had my spirit bolstered by their courage and commitment.”

Sara: “l try to explain clearly and honestly who and why we are. This feels important and valuable—articulating the complexity, the requisite patience, the importance of our work. I feel grateful to those who trust me to do this, and those who share the conviction that it matters. Thank you.”

Alexandra: “I am so grateful for the group that participated in this program, as well as the many other wonderful students I got to work with throughout the year. Their curiosity, insight, and determination to make their communities more caring and inclusive places for everyone warms my heart and gives me hope.”

To receive our bi-weekly newsletter, email info@hhrcmaine.org