FBI's Civil and Human Rights Workshop
9:05 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
Coor Hall 120
International Human Rights Unit and Civil Rights Unit
This workshop is open to law enforcement, prosecutors, NGOs and those interested in learning more about the FBI's role in the detection, investigation, and support of criminal prosecutions of individuals who violate federal laws involving civil and human rights offenses. The workshop will include a brief overview of the FBI's Civil Rights Unit and the International Human Rights Unit and provide case studies focusing on hate crimes and human rights violations such as; genocide, war crimes, and torture. A portion of the workshop will be dedicated to best practices for community outreach and collaboration.
The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt
10:10 – 11 a.m.
Memorial Union, Alumni Lounge (Room 202)
Dr. Anna Hajkova,
University of Warwick, UK
Dr. Anna Hájková is an associate professor of modern European continental history at the University of Warwick. She is the author of The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt; the dissertation, on which it is based, was awarded both the Irma Rosenberg as well as the Herbert Steiner Prizes. Hájková is also the guest editor of the Holocaust, Sexuality, Stigma special issue of the journal German History.
Panel: Writing on the Holocaust
11:15 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.
Memorial Union, Alumni Lounge (Room 202) and Online
Panelists
Oskar Knoblaugh
Survivor
My name is Oskar Knoblauch. I was born in Leipzig Germany in 1925. In 2010, I self-published my book, A Boy’s Story A Man’s Memory-Surviving the Holocaust 1933-1945. I am currently an active public speaker and a board member of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association. My campaign urges students, teachers and adults of all ages to proactively teach and promote Holocaust education. I also stress the importance of respect, tolerance and to be an upstander... to stand up and speak out for what is right! Together, I believe we can work in harmony to be the voice of tolerance in our hearts, our communities, our country and the world.
Mirla Raz
Author
Mirla G. Raz is a past president of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors’ Association. She is a board member of the Phoenix Holocaust Association and its education chair. Ms. Raz is an author and retired speech pathologist. She is the author of the popular Help Me Talk Right books. Ms. Raz’ newest publication is The Birds Sang Eulogies: A Memoir. The book recounts the harrowing experiences of her parents during WWII as they struggled to survive the Nazi’s attempted extermination of the Jews and their post-war experiences. It is a multigenerational account given by Ms. Raz, her parents and her daughter.
Adena Astrowsky
Deputy County Attorney
Adena Astrowsky is the grandchild of two Holocaust survivors. Her grandmother often spoke to her about her experiences during the Holocaust, which had a profound impact on her life. She continues to honor her grandmother's life by writing her story in: Living among the Dead, My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength and by speaking about her grandmother’s survival and lessons learned from the Holocaust.
Moderator: Dr. Anna Cichopek-Gajraj
Arizona State University
Anna Cichopek-Gajraj, a native of Kraków, Poland, joined the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in 2011. Her research focuses on Polish-Jewish relations, antisemitism and ethnic violence in Poland and in Polish-Jewish diaspora after the Holocaust. She teaches courses on the Holocaust, modern Jewish history, East European Jewish history, history of antisemitism, Poland in WWII and western civilization, among others. She is the author of two books on postwar Polish-Jewish history: Beyond Violence: Jewish Survivors in Poland and Slovakia in 1944-1948 and Pogrom Żydów w Krakowie 11 sierpnia 1945 r.
Comparative Panel 5: Challenges in Holocaust Education
12:20 – 2 p.m.
Memorial Union, Alumni Lounge (Room 202) and Online
Panelists
Kim Klett
Mesa Public Schools
Kim Klett (MA) has taught English at Dobson High School since 1991, where she developed a semester-long (now year-long) Holocaust Literature course. She is a Museum Teacher Fellow with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, a senior facilitator for Echoes & Reflections, adjunct faculty for Scottsdale Community College and the Deputy Executive Director for the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights. Ms. Klett serves on the board of the Phoenix Holocaust Association and is a Pathways for Peace Fellow and a Defiant Requiem Teacher Ambassador. She has published essays in books about teaching about the Holocaust and genocide and has worked with teachers in Bosnia in her work with EIHR.
Alma Hernandez
Arizona House of Representatives
Alma was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona House of Representatives and the first Mexican Jew elected at the age of 25 she is now serving her 4th term representing Southern Arizona. She holds a bachelor's and master’s in Public Health and another master’s in law and Economics from the University of Arizona. She is a Faculty member at ASU Edson college of nursing. In 2021 she passed mandatory Holocaust education in Arizona. Representative Hernandez serves as the Ranking Democrat on Ethics and is on the Health and Human Services Committee and Government and Elections Committee.
Linda Burrows
Arizona Department of Education
Linda Burrows is the K-12 Social Studies and World Languages Specialist at the Arizona Department of Education for the past 2½ years where she has presented nationally and delivered professional development across the state to K-12 teachers. She sits on the Executive Boards for the Council of State Social Studies Specialists and the Arizona Language Association. Linda is a member of the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and works with the Arizona Council on Economic Education. Prior to her work at ADE, she taught for 20 years in grades 7-12, teaching world and U.S. history, government, and economics along with AP and Dual-Enrollment courses. She has received many awards and a Fulbright-Hays Summer Project Abroad Program.
Moderator: Sheryl Bronkesh
Phoenix Holocaust Association President
Sheryl Bronkesh is president of the Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA). The daughter of two Holocaust survivors, she took on the leadership of PHA after previously heading its descendants’ group. She currently serves on advisory boards of NAU’s Martin-Springer Institute and ASU’s Genocide Awareness Week. Sheryl co-chaired a statewide task force to develop resources for teaching the Holocaust and other genocides. Previously, she headed a national healthcare marketing research company for over 30 years. Her undergraduate degree in communications is from American University and she completed an MBA degree at ASU. She is the co-author of three books on healthcare marketing.