Americans and the Holocaust: Events

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Trent Andrews - Keynote Speaker - "Echoes from Auschwitz: the Story of Eva Mozes Kor"

3/27/2025 - 11:00am - 12:00pm - Red Skelton Performing Arts Center

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://vinu-edu.zoom.us/j/95113409583

Meeting ID: 951 1340 9583

 

Trent Andrews serves as the Museum Director of CANDLES Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute, IN, bringing over a decade of experience in Holocaust education. Throughout his career, Trent has had the privilege of meeting many remarkable survivors and visiting numerous historical Holocaust sites, enriching his deep understanding and commitment to preserving this crucial history.

In this presentation, Trent will share the compelling story of Eva Mozes Kor, a twin survivor of the Holocaust and the horrific medical experiments at Auschwitz. We will trace Eva's incredible journey, beginning as a 10-year-old girl from Romania, enduring unimaginable hardships in a Nazi death camp, and ultimately establishing Indiana's only Holocaust Museum. Join us to learn about Eva's extraordinary resilience and her unwavering dedication to education and forgiveness.

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Michael Brown - Indiana Jewish Historical Society Director - "After Survival, The Story of Joe Levine in Post-War Bavaria." 

4/22/2025 - 11:00am - 12:00pm - Zoom Only

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://vinu-edu.zoom.us/j/95233560423

Meeting ID: 952 3356 0423

 

Joe Levine was one of the first social workers to arrive in Europe right after the end of World War II. He took a leave of absence from his job as executive director of Fort Wayne Jewish Federation to look after the welfare of thousands of Jewish displaced refugees who were still reeling from the unfathomable scope of tragedy and horror that was the Holocaust. He would one day tell his story as the first Executive Director of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society.

Michael Brown serves as the Executive Director of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society. He is also a historian and hosts the podcast series "IN-Jewish History." Prior to this role, he worked as a business developer for tech start-ups, served as the Hillel Director of Southern Illinois, and was a medic in the US Army National Guard and Army Reserve.

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Kyle Forehand - “Butterflies:  A Recital: Confronting Our Past, Insuring Our Future”

TBD

 

A search for reconciliation and justice through the music of the Holocaust, by song and lecture, told through the voice of a Nazi’s great-grandson.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette hails Arkansas-native Kyle Forehand, baritone, as “a baritone of stock, a voice you will hear again.” Currently a graduate student at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Kyle was a graduate of the University of Arkansas. 

While previously studying in New York, Kyle made his Carnegie Hall debut as the baritone soloist in Gabriel Faure’s Requiem. A few examples of his masterworks performances include the bass solos of Giacomo Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and the bass solos of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Kyle made his international debut at the age of 22, performing the role of Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore (Donizetti), with the Brancaleoni International Music Festival and Company of Piobicco, Italy. 

At the University of Arkansas, Kyle was under the tutelage of former Metropolitan Opera baritone and first American winner of the Cardiff Singer of the Word Competition, David Malis. He currently studies under Metropolitan Opera soprano Heidi Grant-Murphy.

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Panel Discussion - Local and State Historians - "Effects of World War II on Vincennes and Surrounding Areas"

TBD

 

• Christopher Fischer currently serves as an Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana State University; he is also an Associate Professor in the Department of History. He came to ISU via a Phd in European History from UNC-Chapel Hill and a two year stint at Loyola University in Maryland. He has a range of teaching interests including courses on World War I and II, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, modern urban history, the histories of modern Germany and France, world history, as well as graduate research seminars. His earlier research interests lie in the realm of German and French regionalism, and most of his publications, including his first book, Alsace to the Alsatians, look at  the political and cultural history of Alsatian regional in the 1871-1939 period. While that interest continued with projects on propaganda during World War I around Alsace, he has moved to pursue new projects including an interest in rationing during the two world wars and the path of survivors of the Holocaust coming to the US after World War II.
   

• Jill Weiss Simins is a historian at the Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB), a division of the Indiana State Library, where she has worked since 2008. She is a founding organizer of the Hoosier Women at Work conference and producer of the award-winning podcast Talking Hoosier History. She writes regularly for the Untold Indiana blog and is especially interested in immigration stories. Jill is a life-long Hoosier and holds a M.A. in History from Indiana University. She has been the recipient of the Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award from the Indiana Historical Society, the Beck-Levy Fellowship from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a Smithsonian Fellowship through Re-Imagining Migration. Jill is also a musician and lives in the Ladywood neighborhood of Indianapolis with her husband Russell Simins and a pint-sized cat named Valentine.

 

• Cynthia Killion Frederick works for the Knox County Public Library and specializes in the local history of Knox County. She is a Digitization Assets Assistant and as a Research Assistant and has worked in the McGrady-Brockman building for eight years and has volunteered for ten years on the Browning Genealogy Obituary Project. Ms. Frederic currently assists patrons with genealogical research, and works on many projects including the current Black History project where historical records are being digitized. Other areas of work include reading early court records, probates, wills and land records. Extensive training includes the genealogical training courses through the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Professional memberships include genealogical societies, the Daughters of the Union, The Daughters of 1812, Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Ms. Frederick has also served on the Francis Vigo Chapter NSDAR board and also on the Indiana State DAR board. 

 

• Gazella Summitt is a well-known figure across the Vincennes community. Beyond her formal education (Indiana State University, M.S.) she is an expert on the local Jewish Community of Knox County. She was employed at Vincennes University for 45 years in several positions such as the Director of Human Resources and the Affirmative Action Officer. Gazella has held numerous leadership roles and committee appointments with organizations such as the United Way and the American Association of Affirmative Action.  She has received a multitude of distinguished awards such as but not limited to the N. Philip Shelton Humanitarian Award and named a Sagamore of the Wabash as well as a Distinguished Hoosier. She also has many organization affiliations throughout the county, state, and nation. Gazella’s commitment to this community is acknowledged through her activities, awards, and leadership throughout her life. Though she has many achievements beyond what is listed here, she is proudest when speaking about her family.

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Jason S. Lantzer - Book Talk - "Dwight Eisenhower and the Holocaust: A History"

TBD

 

A native Hoosier, Jason Lantzer holds a BA, MA, and PhD all from Indiana University. His research and writing interest center on the intersection of religion, politics, and law in American History as well as the impact of the Walt Disney Company on American culture. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including most recently Dwight Eisenhower and the Holocaust (DeGruyter, 2023).  He currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Butler University Honors Program, a position he has held since 2013.