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Time to Act: Addressing Antisemitism in Nebraska
2019 saw a 6% increase in Antisemitic attacks in Nebraska. Compared to the other states in the Great Plains region, Nebraska had the highest number of Antisemitic crimes, along with the largest distribution source of neo-Nazi printed materials coming from this region for many years. Łukasz Niparko aims to educate young Nebraskans about the necessity of Antisemitism prevention.
Nine participants were selected from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), who were then able to participate in a series of workshops conducted over the spring of 2020. The first workshop was entitled “Stereotypes, Prejudices, and Antisemitism,” hosted by Prof. Ari Kohen and Łukasz Niparko and involved brainstorming around what stereotypes and prejudices are; discussions of the societal and legal meaning of discrimination and, especially of Antisemitism.
Another workshop entitled “The Lessons of History Can Change Us,” was organized by Scott Littky, the Executive Director of The Institute for Holocaust Education. During this workshop, participants learned about the Holocaust and instances of Holocaust denial and how Holocaust education can help us understand the need for adherence to human rights and to being upstanders against anti-discrimination.
As well as workshops, a field trip to Illinois was organised, primarily to visit the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (IHMEC). At IHMEC, participants in the programme met a Survivor of the Shanghai Ghetto, Judith Kolb (Daisy Fleischer), with whom they had an exchange on the Shoah and her parents’ journey spanning between Europe, Asia, and North America.
Also in Spring 2022, Time To Act programming partnered with Beth Dotan, a founder and executive director of Nebraska Stories of Humanity—a digital project that portrays and preserves narratives of Holocaust Survivors and World War II Veterans (who liberated former Nazi-camps). Due to this exciting partnership, Time To Act has been able to provide digitization services for the spoken library of Survivors’ stories.