Posts by MadApostate

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

JW-Featured Speaker and Pellechia Attend Arkansas Conference

Barry Brown ( right) of Springdale gets a chance to converse with Holocaust survivor Joseph Kempler after Kempler s keynote address at
The Holocaust Remembered: The Victims conference held recently at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. Kempler, a Polish Jew during the Nazi regime, said he lost faith during those years, but noted that he is now one of Jehovah's Witnesses. He gave experiences ranging from ghettoization to labor and extermination camps.

Holocaust survivor Joseph Kempler and his wife, Virginia, visit with Dr. Mark Cory, director of the European Studies Program at
the University of Arkansas, after Kempler's keynote address at The Holocaust Remembered: The Victims conference held recently at
the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. The conference was sponsored by The Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee.

PHOTOS BY KANDRA SPERLING THE MORNING NEWS

Renee Kaplan, a language arts teacher at Mabry Middle School in Cobb County, Ga. , and a Mandel Fellow of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D. C. , discusses course materials with Francie Bryant-Thompson, Gifted and Talented Education coordinator for Bento ville Public Schools. Kaplan conducted a workshop on using resources from the USHMM to
teach students about the Holocaust.
LEST WE FORGET

Holocaust Remembered at Conference

EDUCATORS, STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT ATROCITIES FROM SURVIVORS, SCHOLARS
THE MORNING NEWS SPRINGDALE

More than 228 educators and students recently attended The Holocaust Remembered: The Victims conference at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The conference, in its eighth year and sponsored by the Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee, featured a keynote address by
Holocaust survivor Joseph Kempler who spoke, Survival at What Cost?

Kempler, who was persecuted because he was a Polish Jew, talked about his experiences in the ghettos and in labor and extermination camps at Melk, Mauthausen and Plaszow. Kempler also spoke in detail of atrocities he witnessed there, including decapitations and cannibalism. Kempler and his wife,
Virginia, traveled from Reno, Nev., to participate in the conference.

Local workshop presenters included Dr. Mark Cory, director of the European Studies Program at the University of Arkansas, and Marlie McGovern, a senior at UA, majoring in European Studies and Anthropology. Cory and McGovern spoke on the topic, The Problematics of Victimhood.

The session concluded with a comparison of two recent examples in the media where questions have arisen about the trivialization of the Holocaust: the movies: Robin
Williams Jakob the Liar, and Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful. Visiting presenters were Nancy Kersell from Northern Kentucky University, Christina
Vasquez from the Holocaust Museum Houston, Gretchen Skidmore from North Carolina School of Science
and Mathematics in Durham, N. C. , James N. Pellechia from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in New York, Holocaust survivor Ruth Troxler from an Antonio, Texas, Renee Kaplan from Mabry Middle School in Cobb County, Ga., 25-year Holocaust educator Ellen Fettner from Ohio, Dr. Nathan Bracher from Texas A& M University and andra Byrd from Lake Charles, La.

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

28th Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches

It was a particular pleasure to attend the 28th Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches at the University of Washington at the beginning of March. This annual event, which has been under the genial guidance of Professor Franklin Littell and his wife Marcie since its beginnings in 1970, brings together both Jewish and Christian scholars to discuss the implications oft he Holocaust for both religious communities. So it was great to meet so many old friends there, and to see how many of them are also subscribers to this Newsletter. This year, special sessions were devoted to the churches during the Nazi era. An excellent plenary session was given over to the policies of Pope Pius XII. John Pawlikowski explored Pius 'development of Catholic social teachings, which sought to overcome the long tradition of opposition to democracy and liberalism, and posed the question as to how far this influenced his attitude towards the Jewish victims of Nazism. He also repeated his call for more opening of archives, which would surely give us a broader picture of the Vatican's stance during these turbulent years. Jacques Kornberg, Toronto, outlined clearly the Holy See's reactions to the earlier genocides of the Armenians, the Ethiopians, and the Catholic Poles after the Nazi onslaught began in 1939. In each case, the Popes were outraged, but their interpretation of Catholic interests led to them to keep silence, lest their authority should be challenged, and possibly weakened. The Vatican's response to the Holocaust followed a similar path. It was only afterwards that expectations were heightened about how Pius XII should have acted, though the advocates of this view have rarely thought through the implications of their desire for a more forceful Papal intervention in political affairs. I was asked to speak on the Pope's political priorities, and sought to outline his overwhelming concern for peace, his preservation of a strict impartiality, and his desire to play the role of mediator to bring the murderous hostilities to an end. To be sure, this policy which had been established already in the first world war under Benedict XV, Pius' mentor, was not successful, and can be criticised for its illusions about the effectiveness of the Holy See's influence. But it was a noble and worthy ideal, even if it was doomed to be thwarted by the power politics of all the combatants. So too, the Vatican's heartfelt efforts to assist the victims of the war were to prove too limited, but should not be dismissed as totally insignificant. Later, we had a splendid session devoted to church policies, when we heard six papers on a variety of topics. Outstanding was the presentation by Jolene Chu, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, on their fate in Ravensbruck concentration camp, as also a paper by Victoria Barnett on the ecumenical movement's efforts to find a consensus on opposing Nazism. Haim Genizi, Israel, read a most interesting paper on a leading figure in the Canadian United Church, describing both his efforts to help Jewish refugees, as well as his subsequent opposition to Zionism after 1945. These were useful contributions to show the variety of Christian responses to the unprecedented challenge of totalitarian ferocity as exhibited during the Nazi era.

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

Pellechia and Chu Participate at Russian Holocaust Conference

Gordon Mork, Purdue University, sends this personal report:

In Russia it is spelled with an X. From May 4-7th the Second International Symposium, "The Lessons of the Holocaust and Contemporary Russia" took place in Moscow, sponsored by the Russian Research and Educational Holocaust Centre and the Marc Bloch Centre of the Russian State University for the Humanities. There were over sixty speakers on the programme. most of whom were from Russia and the former USSR, but also from Israel, France, Poland, and the USA. It was an amazing experience.
The opening session coincided with a Yom Hashoa commemoration, which overflowed the auditorium of the "Central House of the Men of Letters". Russian friends noted the irony of holding the ceremony there; as the seat of the "official" writers' organisation in Soviet times, it had secluded all dissidents (including many Jews) prior to 1989. Participants that evening included survivors of both the Nazi camps and the Soviet gulags, the chief rabbi of Moscow, the ambassador of Israel, a men's chorus, and a very upbeat children's choir. Representatives of Christian rescuers were honoured. We ended by rising to sing the Israeli anthem.

The presentations over the next three days included a combination of scholarly papers, personal recollections, calls of concern about antisemitism today, and models for Holocaust education. The keynote address was by a dynamic woman. A.E.Gerber, the president of the Holocaust Centre in Moscow and a former member of parliament.

Only one of the papers focussed directly on religious issues of special interest to our Association. James N.Pellechia and Jolene Chu, of the Watch Tower Society, presented a well-crafted paper "Teaching Tolerance: A Case Study", which explained the role of Jehovah's Witnesses as "a second witness to the Shoah" in the Nazi camps. Much of the material was drawn from the documentary video entitled "Jehovah's Witnesses Stand Firm against Nazi Assault" (See review in Newsletter no 24, Vol II, no 12 - December 1996), though this video was not shown in Moscow.

Other presentations dealt with themes familiar to scholars of the Holocaust, themes which implied much about the underlying relationships between Christians and Jews. Was the Holocaust "unique"? Was it exclusive to Jews? Did Christians help Jews, or did they support the Holocaust? How and to whom should the Holocaust be taught? It is clear that the opening of archives. and the new freedom to publish documents, monographs, and teaching materials will provide many rich (and often disturbing) sources for historians and educators.

One of the major points made was that there is a continuity of antisemitism in Eastern Europe, rooted in religious and economic prejudice. Antisemitism was officially suppressed during the Soviet period but in reality was still prevalent. It was vigorously and brutally promoted by Nazi propaganda during World War II. Now, in the post-Soviet world, it is becoming manifest again. Some of the same antisemitic authors who wrote for the Nazis are being published again in the 1990s. One of the most interesting exchanges was between a scholar who defended Christian peasants in the Ukraine who sheltered him and his family during the Holocaust. He could not have survived without such help, he emphasized, and he did not want to hear that all Christians in the Ukraine were antisemitic!

A Polish scholar, Dr. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska, spoke on attitudes in Poland about the Holocaust in particular and Jews in general. She touched on the links between Polish nationalism and the Catholic Church, but did not fully analyse them. Other papers implied a relationship between the upsurge of Slavic nationalism (including antisemitism) and Orthodox Christianity, without exploring the issue in depth.

Overall there was a sense of exhilaration that issues, so long suppressed in Russia, were now open for full discussion. Another Symposium is planned, but a date has not yet been set. Inquiries can be sent to Dr Ilya A Altman, of the Russian Holocaust Centre in Moscow. = [email protected]

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

Chu participates at The 1999 Annual Holocaust Conference Program (April 18-19, 1999) at Millersville University

. http://muweb.millersville.edu/~holo-con/prog-99.html

Schedule Excerpt:

------------------------------------------------------

Session 5
Matisse Room

"Religious Responses to the Holocaust"

The Holocaust in Jewish Thought: A Case for the Uniqueness of the SHOAH
David Levy, Ballimore Hebrew University

Political Neutrality and Spiritual Resistance - Jehovah's Witnesses Under the Nazi Regime
Jolene Chu, Researcher, Watch Tower Society

A Loss of Innocence: The Controversy Surrounding the Authenticity of Binjamin Wilkormirski's Fragments
Sonja Hedgepeth, Middle Tennesse State University

Moderator: Steve Paskuly

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

Thanks for the contributions.

What I am really pursuing in this thread is the idea how the WTS is using the Holocaust topic to "be part of and develop friendships with the world".

"Milking the holocaust" via their own publications, seminars, meetings, etc. is one thing. To use this topic to participate in non-JW events with worldly scholars, theologians, etc. is something else.

What is the scriptural precedent for such? These WTS presentations do not appear to be the "preaching the good news of the kingdom"?

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

Remembering for the Future 2000?

What is Remembering for the Future 2000?

RFTF 2000 is a major international scholars' conference on the Holocaust, together with an important series of related meetings and events, and will take place in Oxford and London from 16-23 July 2000. It will open its doors on 16 July with a Survivors' Gathering in London, including survivors and their children, "hidden children", Kinder-transportees, rescuers and liberators.

On 17 July the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University will open the international scholars' conference which will last four days (17-20 July). Some 700 of the best minds in the field from all over the world will join with a significant number of survivors and younger scholars to present and debate the results of their latest research and discuss the implications of the Holocaust for our contemporary world.

The aims and themes of the conference (which follow below) have been most carefully chosen by the academic committee to represent dynamic areas of new findings and topical debate.

The sixth day (21 July) will be held in London and be open to the general public and media. It is expected to attract a public audience of over 2,000 people to hear and then debate the findings of the conference. The message RFTF 2000 will be sending out to the world will be aimed not only at scholars but also at politicians, the press, religious groups, human rights organisations, anti-racist and anti-genocidal movements, and all who choose to listen.

Various exhibitions and a programme of plays, films, music and lectures are also being organised in co-operation with other institutions and run in parallel in both Oxford and London, including a commemoration in music at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford on the evening of Monday July 17th.

Conference Aims

The specific aims of the scholarly conference are to provide a forum for the evaluation of the Holocaust in an age of genocides; to assess the impact of new material and research, particularly in the post-Communist era; to reassess the Jewish-Christian dynamic in the light of the Holocaust and provide a unique opportunity for eye witnesses and scholars to work together; to disseminate new findings using new technologies, especially the Internet. It will seek to assess the legacy of the Holocaust and encourage the development of its study into the next century. "It is the present that asks questions about the past but it is the past that sheds light on the strangeness of the present."

. http://www.rftf2000.org.uk/programme/prog_conf_day3.html

Schedule Excerpt:

---------------------------------------------------

History Seminars 6:

....
....

Jolene Chu & James Pellechia
From Marginalization to Martyrdom: The Nazi Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

....
....

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

Jolene Chu

b. 1957, studied social history at New York University, researcher specializing in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Nazi era, at the international offices of the Watch Tower Society; project coordinator of Holocaust-related education programs and cooperative efforts with the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, Facing History and Ourselves, the Imperial War Museum Holocaust Exhibition, and numerous other Holocaust education and research facilities; serves on the advisory board for the Journal of Genocide Research.

39

WTS MILKS HOLOCAUST FOR $$$ AND P.R.

by MadApostate in

"adultresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with god?

whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of god.

"they are no part of the world, just as i am no part of he world.

MadApostate

The 34TH World Congress of the
International Institute of Sociology

Tel-Aviv
July 11-15, 1999

. http://spirit.tau.ac.il/soc/IIS99/iis5/finalpro.html

Schedule Excerpts:

-------------------------------------------------

The Meanings and Memory of the Holocaust for Non-Jews (I) (201)

Chair: Aliza Kolker (USA)

Jolene Chu (USA): Purple Triangles - Witnesses to the Shoah

Richard Hitchens (Canada): Virtual Nazi Concentration Camps - Using the Internet for Promoting Holocaust Awareness and for Combating Holocaust Denial

Ester Golan (Israel): Who will be the Voice of the Future?

Sharon P. Rivo (USA): Individuals Who Made a Difference: Film Resources