3
Holocaust Center will Expand Thanks to a Gran
from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund
Educational outreach will explore the effects of prejudice.
ii
AUGUST 15, 2000
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ana numuiatwn. we must always t ane sides, neutrality tieips tne oppressor, ii t Hf)T)T
never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." II -O
- Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate
By Brent Merrill
Nl
ative Americans understand
pain and suffering. And,
although some Tribes now
enjoy prosperity and peace and joy
they will never forget how they
got there.
Jewish Americans understand
pain and suffering. And, al
though many Jewish commu
nities now enjoy prosperity, peace
and joy they will also never forget
how they got there.
Today, Tribes like the Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Commu
nity of Oregon are not only looking to
help themselves, but they are find
ing ways to help the surrounding com
munity and a variety of deserving or
ganizations. One of the latest orga
nizations to receive a boost from the
Grand Ronde Tribe through its Spirit
Mountain Community Fund is the
Oregon Holocaust Resource Center at
Pacific University in Forest Grove.
The Center recently received a
$50,000 grant from the Spirit Moun
tain Community Fund to expand the
knowledge of Oregon teachers who
educate students on the holocaust.
The Center provides educational
outreach that explores the effects of
prejudice, the meaning of tolerance
and the importance of celebrating
humanity. The grant will allow the
Center to conduct more workshops
and seminars intended to better in
form middle school and high school
teachers.
"It is really important for us to pro
mote diversity and tolerance for all
groups. That is one of the reasons
that I think this was a real interest
ing grant," said Fund Administrator
and Grand Ronde Tribal member
Angie Ellis.
"As an educator, I used to teach for
Head Start. What was really impor
tant to me when I taught Head Start
was to represent people's cultural dif
ferences in an authentic way that
was also not stereotypical," said Ellis.
"When I taught preschool children,
it was real important for me to edu
cate the little kids and start building
those images in their mind and start
erasing some of those stereotypes
that they are so often subjected to
through television and the media.
"That is what I like about this
grant. It is increasing teacher train
ing so they can provide an accurate
portrayal of what happened then,"
said Ellis. "I think it is very impor
tant for people to want the truth
about what happened and not the
perspective of the oppressor.
"Personally, I think this is a really
good example of what this fund is set
up to do which is help organizations
like this to have a long-lasting impact
in the State of Oregon," said Ellis.
The Center's Program Director, Dr.
Geri Senft, has a personal as well as
professional connection to the Holo
caust Center. She has been the pro
gram director since November of last
year, but she started as an unpaid
volunteer. Her reasons go deep.
"Both of my parents went through
and survived concentration camps
during the holocaust," explained
Senft. "I started volunteering for this
organization as a way to give back
and do what I can.
"I know that in our Teacher Edu
cation program we emphasize a lot
v.
Nazi resistance fighter Gus Smoorenburg, who lives in Sheridan, holds two
metal spikes used to blow out the tires of Nazi trucks during World War II.
Smoorenburg, from Holland, led several covert operations against the Nazis
as a young soldier.
of teacher and student educa
tion and community education
through this organization,"
said Senft. "We really want
to emphasize not just teach
ing the holocaust as a histori
cal event that happened, but
to demonstrate the relevance
in today's world. And not
just to the Jewish population,
but to show commonality between
other groups that experienced simi
lar events.
"From a personal standpoint, I'm
what they call a second-generation
holocaust survivor," said Senft of her
family. "From my own perspective, I
know that it gives no greater sense
of satisfaction to my parents, who are
survivors, knowing we are now train
ing future generations. We are
teaching them so that the holocaust
isn't forgotten. The lessons need to
be taken forward and applied and
made relevant to a student's own life."
Senft's mother Alice Kern is part
of the Center's speaker's bureau and
regularly talks to groups of students
about surviving the holocaust. She
seems to make a connection to young
people when she talks about how
normal her life was before the Nazi
invasion into her hometown of
Sighet, Romania.
. "When we talk about how my mom
was just enjoying her life and tak
ing piano lessons and going swim
ming in the public pools and riding
her bike and how those rights were
one-by-one taken away, kids can re
late to that because they ride their
bike," said Senft of her mother's
story. "We try to teach these com
mon shared experiences and how to
recognize when there is a group
that's being discriminated against.
And, to speak out against that."
Alice Kern, 77, survived both
Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland and later Bergen-Belsen con
centration camp in Germany.
"Those people who were interned
in Auschwitz near the end of the war
as the Russian front was approach
ing, the Nazis wanted to eliminate
any evidence of having prisoners
and so those that could still walk,
were forced to leave Auschwitz and
walk on what they called the death
or of 11
This striking photo of holocaust
survivor Alice Kern is on the cover
of her book about surviving two
Nazi death camps. The photo shows
a number tattoo on Kern's arm that
is a constant reminder of her time
in captivity.
Kern's daughter, Dr. Geri Senft,
is the director of the Oregon Holo
caust Resource Center.
The Center recently received a
$50,000 grant from the Grand Ronde
Tribe's Spirit Mountain Community
Fund to expand their Teacher
Education program.
As part of the Tribe's gaming
agreement with the State of Oregon,
six percent of casino profits are
shared with deserving, non-profit
organizations throughout the state.
march," said Senft. "They (the Na
zis) walked them from Poland into
Germany. And then, via cattle cars
again to another concentration camp.
Many of them were taken to Bergen
Belsen in Germany where she was."
Senft's father, who just turned 91,
also survived a Nazi concentration
camp in Germany. Hugo Kern sur
vived Dachau concentration camp by
showing papers he had proving he
had worked outside the country be
fore his internment. Hugo grew up
in an area outside of Vienna, Austria.
"The fear, hate and tolerance for
the injustice that allowed Nazi Ger
many to flourish are the same build
ing blocks that help explain today's
atrocities in Bosnia, Kosovo and
Rwanda, as well as recent bias crimes
in the Pacific Northwest. We want
to help young people understand
how to make moral decisions," said
. Senft of the Center's mission.
( The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center
ul j provides a speaker's bureau of holocaust
( ) u survivors, collects oral histories of survivors
L -jf who have settled in Oregon, offers an
7 extensive library of books, videos, curriculum
,w.l, aids and other materials for teachers.
THE OREGON
HOLOCAUST .
RESOURCE You can reacn tne Center by calling
CENTER (503) 359-2930.