05/03/2023
On Wednesday, April 26 LBCC’s Office of Institutional Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (IEDI) hosted an educational workshop on the Holocaust. Students, staff, and faculty gathered in the Albany campus Fireside room as Amada Coven lead a conversation primarily focused on the years leading up to concentration camps, and even pre WWII. Coven shed light on the obvious and subtle shifts in culture, power, perception, laws, government, propaganda, and narrative concerning the Jewish people and other targeted groups at the time.
Coven explained that most common knowledge about the Holocaust is concerning the genocide within concentration camps, but not as much is understood on how escalation occurred. Coven illuminated the path that lead to the Holocaust bringing to light not only the past horrific genocide, but how a society could follow along.
One key point Coven made was the role a desire to belong in society played, a trait just as prevalent today as in the 1930s and 40s. Coven did an excellent job of taking this dark time in history from a far-off history lesson to the startling revelation on how an entire society could walk a slow path toward the unthinkable as well as the lived experience of those who faced these attacks.
Amanda Coven is the director of education with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) located in Portland, Oregon. Though currently the OJMCHE galleries are closed for an expansion project they still host a wide range of events there at the Center.
On May 4, “Interrupting Contemporary Antisemitism: What Can We Do About It? A Community Conversation” will be held both at Congregation Beth Israel in Portland and online. At this event, the assembled panel will discuss current information on trends and patterns of antisemitism.
The OJMCHE website is a great place to learn more. You can follow them on IG
