Opening Day Speakers - Thursday 1 July 1999, 10:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. - $7 members; $12 non-members per speaker; $10/$15 both speakers; Marty Glickman and Richard Mandell's books will be available at the Store of Champions and the authors will be available on Thursday, 1 July, to autograph your copy.
Richard Mandell, author of the book The Nazi Olympics, will speak about the Nazification of Sports. He will stress the importance of the Berlin Olympics in the ominous political developments preceding World War II. The Nazis learned many lessons from the methodical and lavish staging of the Garmish and Berlin Gaines, and used these to solidify their control of Germany and eventually of Europe. Mandell will also show how American sport, though influenced by money, has remained relatively free of political ideology and violence.
University of San Diego professor of history, Dr. Steven Schoenherr, will present a program on sports, film and propaganda. Dr. Schoenherr will consider the historical context for the 1936 Olympics by examining the nature and content of the propaganda of the World War II era. Propaganda emerged from World War I pioneered by the British. Joseph Goebbels perfected a propaganda machine in Germany during the 1930s that used a large array of media to create support for the regime of Adolph Hitler. Artists such as Leni Riefenstahl were used to create Nazi propaganda masterpieces. By the war's end propaganda was solidly established as a legitimate and necessary activity in many countries of the world including the United States.
San Diego State University professor, Dr. Lawrence Baron will discuss the effects of the Holocaust on minority groups. Dr. Baron has served as the Nasatir Professor of Modem Jewish History and the Director of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies at San Diego State University since 1988. Dr. Baron will show how Germany toned down its anti-Semitic propaganda during the 1936 Olympics to improve its international image while at the same time continuing to disenfranchise, impoverish, and isolate Jews, escalate the persecution of Gypsies and male homosexuals, and institute a sterilization program to "prevent hereditary and defective offspring," including the racially mixed children of African and German couples.
Holocaust survivor Gussie Zaks will discuss tolerance and her own personal experiences. A native of Poland, Ms. Zaks will discuss the tactics used by the Nazis against the Jewish people in Europe, and her experiences as a concentration camp survivor.
Teachers wishing to use the exhibit as part of the school curriculum are encouraged to register for one of these sessions. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum educators will address content and methods for using this exhibit in the classroom setting. Complimentary teaching materials will be provided.
Teacher Workshop - Thursday, 26 August 1999, 10:00 a.m. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum educators will present a teacher seminar focused on teaching about the Holocaust. Complimentary teaching materials will be provided.