The Jewish Community Board of Akron (JCBA) announces its annual Holocaust Seminar: When Hatred Becomes Law: The Eroding Of Rights In Nazi Germany, 1933-1939 for teachers and other interested adult learners. The seminar is Monday, Sept.19, from 4 -8 pm., on the Schultz Campus for Jewish Life, 750 White Pond Drive in Akron.

Dr. Richard Steigmann-Gall, associate professor of history at Kent State University, will present the keynote on the seminar’s theme. In his talk, Dr. Steigmann-Gall “will explore the incremental ways in which the Nazis sought to exclude Jews from German society before the Holocaust began. And how, in some cases, they encountered a German public who was surprisingly resistant to particular laws— even as the larger course of anti-Semitism was never challenged or questioned.”

The seminar will feature words from survivors, and sessions on historical background, resources, and teaching ideas.  The planning committee is delighted to welcome Adam Motter, learning specialist: physical education and social studies with Akron Public Schools, to lead the session on Teaching the Next Generation.
Registration fees are: $18 with box supper (dietary laws observed); or $12 for seminar alone.  Registration deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 14. Advance registration is available online at jewishakron.org/holocaust2016 or at 330-869-2424.

This is twenty-first Holocaust seminar led by JCBA; The Lippman School has served as co-sponsor since 2013.  The City of Akron and its Holocaust Commemoration Committee have assisted throughout. The seminar theme corresponds with the 2017 City of Akron Holocaust Arts and Writing Contest for students in Akron and Summit County. 

A grant from the Rose & Lawrence Schwartz Holocaust Education Fund with ALEF, the Akron Legacy & Endowment Fund, Jewish Community Board of Akron, Inc. again provides funding support. The seminar committee includes: Esther Cohen Hexter, Holocaust educator; Sam Chestnut, Head of School, The Lippman School; and Barbara White, Neighborhood Services Manager, Akron- Summit County Public Library.