Museum of Natural History Marks Holocaust Education Week
The Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax is commemorating Holocaust Education Week (Oct. 30 to Nov. 9) and the ongoing showing of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission's exhibition Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945, with a series of special events.
"We are pleased to partner with the Atlantic Jewish Council for this series of public events," said Janet Maltby, manager of the museum. "They provide an important contribution by this community to the exhibition and to the themes it presents."
All talks will be held in the museum's auditorium on the lower level and begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, although donations to the Metro Food Bank are accepted.
Scheduled events include:
Wednesday, Nov. 1 Jesus on Trial: The view from Hollywood The first event in the series will analyze how the Holocaust influenced the depiction of the Passion of Christ in film. The discussion will feature Adele Reinhartz, the associate vice-president research and professor in the department of classics and religious studies at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Reinhartz is the author of numerous publications including Scripture on the Silver Screen and the forthcoming Jesus of Hollywood. She is also editor of Jesus, Judaism, and Christian Anti-Judaism: Reading the New Testament After the Holocaust.
Wednesday, Nov. 8 @ 7:30pm The Phoenix from the Ashes Halifax author Heather Laskey will read from and discuss her book Night Voices: Heard in the Shadow of Hitler and Stalin. Night Voices tells the story of young Polish Jewish idealists, survivors of the Holocaust, who chose to support Poland's post-war communist government in the belief that socialism offered the path to a more just society.
Wednesday, Nov. 22 Reflections on March of the Living In 2005, Mark David, a Halifax lawyer and active member of the Jewish community, fulfilled a long-time goal to participate in the March of the Living, a journey to Poland that explores the remnants of the Holocaust. Mr. David will use an interactive presentation to reflect on his trip and how it affected him.
Wednesday, Nov. 29 Postcard from Auschwitz National Film Board director Eric Bednarski's film is based on the diary of Mieczyslaw (Mietek) Bednarski, an officer in the Polish resistance, who spent nine months in Nazi custody, six of them in the concentration camp in Auschwitz.
Wednesday, Dec. 6 Living in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Ilse Thompson Shares Her Story A Halifax resident who grew up in Berlin, Ilse Thompson was fortunate to escape to England in 1939. Her mother, however, stayed behind and perished at Auschwitz. In this personal presentation, Ms. Thompson discusses the effect the Holocaust has had on her life.
Museum staff are encouraging visitors to view the Anne Frank exhibition and museum galleries prior to the presentations.
Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945 is a travelling exhibition that features excerpts from Anne's diary as well as historic photos by her father, Otto, and others. It has also been customized for its Nova Scotia visit to include panels specific to provincial issues of prejudice and discrimination.
The bilingual exhibit was developed by the Anne Frank Foundation in Amsterdam and sponsored in the United States and Canada by the New York-based Anne Frank Center USA, Inc.
It remains at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History until Jan. 28, 2007.
For more information on the exhibit see the website at www.gov.ns.ca/humanrights/annefrank . For information on all museum events see the website at http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/ .