The room is packed.
will allow elected officials to testify out of turn, then will take testimony in order on the docket
testimony on genocide education
Sen Rodrigues congratulates Lewis on a successful week
on S. 237: "it is incumbent that we all work together" to reduce the trends of not knowing about the Holocaust
"these crimes against humanity...remain strikingly understudied" in K-12 education
bill builds off revision of social studies and civics
"young people learn from adults how to hate"
specifically notes resurgence of white supremacy
Rep. Roy will submit written testimony (on House version of same bill) but wants to highlight a few pieces
his bill originally asked that it be included in K-12 education; "That was done"
"events have occurred in this world and we're seeing a rising tide of hatred"
"get a statewide mandate for genocide education"
Warren Christopher referred to genocide "as the problem from Hell"
"I know we do not like to mandate things from the state, and as a former school committee member, I understand that quite well"
but genocide is a topic that requires it
letter from survivor: "help your students become human"
another: we have genocides that are going on in parts of the world that continue to happen
"this is a bipartisan bill"
Rep. David Muradian, the only Armenian in the Massachusetts legislature
Hilter: "who after all speaks today of the annihilation of Armenians"
Sheriff Koutoujian testifying on same bills
shows a photo of his own grandparents
"in a few short years, they would have to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs"
by the time they fled, the Ottoman Empire was on the third year of the genocide, which killed not only Armenians but others
"and by the way, they became the truest of patriots"
important not only for Armenians and Greeks, but for all of us, to learn not only that they happened but how they happened
Rep Mindy Domb presenting a constituent who has presented across the state on her own experience in the Holocaust
hope that with this bill there would be consistent education across the state
"unwavering support for...my immigrant neighbors"
close watch of what the government is doing; reminder that limits on immigration done during Holocast
"these are signs that our efforts to pass this bill are needed today and not tomorrow"
"an alarm that calls us to action...we have no time to waste"
Ms. Lewen(?): from Lithuania
Jews were all given to mid-August to enter the ghetto after the Nazi invasion
after a year half the ghetto had been murdered
"the people who survived were able-bodied, put to work, and many starved to dealth"
she was smuggled out of the ghetto at the age of three in a suitcase on a truck with belongings
were taking in by friends of her parents for two years
lived under a pseudonym, went to church
"you can imagine the effect it has on a child at that age"
parents survived and retrieved her and her cousin (who lost both parents)
went to a displaced persons camp from Frankfort in Germany
also heard Congresspeople saying they didn't want people coming here as they said they'd take away their jobs
"many Holocaust survivors didn't want to speak about it"
"wanted to make it a chapter of their lives that was bad...and look forward"
"the past few years, I have heard that people don't know about the Holocaust...not just kids, even adults"
call to action was when a swastika appeared on Mount Tom
"I tell them that there were perpetrators and victims...and some of us were lucky survivors...the majority of people I am angry with are the bystanders, people who could have stopped it, but who looked the other way"
puts it in terms of bullying for children; don't be a bystander
"I hope that with your bill you will enable it to happen"
while she speaks on the Holocaust, "certainly, there were other genocides" that people need to learn of
the Jewish value of in saving one life, you save the world
Lewis's own grandfather left Lithuania before the world, but he lost his family
Director of the Anti-Defamation League to speak in support of S.2324 to establish a Hate Crimes grant program
citing statistics in hate crimes and anti-Semitic incidents in Massachusetts in general and in schools
also supports the bills supported above
urge support for the Legislative mandate
Kati Preston, a Holocaust survivor: "I speak anywhere people will listen"
from New Hampshire, "and I think we should work together, because if you pass this bill, it will be harder for them not to"
was five years old in Hungary, father was Jewish, mother was Catholic
was hidden in barn by a peasant; people who were not Nazis came to search for her, trying to kill her
"this is not about me, I am here, I'm a survivor"
"those kids just need information...they do realize the connection, and they want to change the world, and I believe those kids will save the world"
faces of the Nazis marching today "in my America?!"
"I don't want people to destroy anything, I just want them to mend it a little"
"please let them have the tools to do that"
another panel: Eric Cohen highlighting factors in teaching on genocide:
continue to see genocide; necessary and urgent to learn
an urgent issue for national security
studying genocide can be an opportunity to energize for positive civic engagement
"genocide is a process that can be tracked and be interrupted"
"opportune time now to require genocide now" in curriculum
genocide "doesn't just happen; it develops in stages"
Mike Ross, son of survivor of the Holocaust
words fading from memory
white supremacists rising; last year represented the deadliest attack on Jews on U.S. soil
Massachusetts law (ch.69) mandates to create a curriculum that is designed to avoid perpetration of stereotypes
"ask that you help bring an end to the rise of hate in this state by passing this bill"
Professor from Clark: a number of states require genocide education
not only for Armenians, but also for the Americans who worked to save Armenians
"the mandate to teach the Armenian genocide is a" recognition of American history
"we have both a moral and political interest in educating our citizenry"
"we cannot claim democracy as a value only for ourselves" while supporting governments that do not elsewhere
in the national interest as leading to peace in the Middle East
director of Holocaust center at Bristol Community College
center was able to react destruction of Jewish cemeteries with workshops for teachers in the region
"we need an organized method by which students will be able to recognize not only the Holocaust, but other genocides"
I think that was the first mention of Native American genocides
Chair of Armenian-Americans for Human Rights
"question sincerity of this bill" due to the cosponsorship of ADL
Karen Barr Orr: Israeli American, granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, and teen educator
growing up in Israel, know the importance of Holocaust education
in the past year, hundreds of swastikas have appears across the state
students greeted by the Nazi salute
"anti-Semitic behavior has been normalized in our society, and it has to stop"
"I am asking you: don't let our children forget"
senior at Brookline High School, came from Budapest, Hungary
"in the country my family left 13 years ago, the Holocaust is a topic widely avoided"
"the Holocaust is not simply a story" of the millions lost and the few of those who were brave and stood up
"tens of millions who lost their voice when children were crammed into freight lines"
remember June 6th for D-Day, but the same day, nine trains left for Auschwitz
they did not survive
that was stunningly eloquent testimony, incidentally
history teacher at Watertown High: believe educators need to produce good citizens
59 languages spoken, among the largest concentrations of Armenians in the U.S.
families educate their children of the history of their families
"able to celebrate their heritage"and not be in danger because of it
"for many, genocide education is part of the cultural fabric of the town"
less than one page on the Nazi Holocaust and the Armenian genocide in their textbooks
partnerships to bring resources to our classrooms
another Watertown history teacher: created a class for high school students on the genocide: using literature and history teach what went so wrong both in the twentieth century and in the twenty-first
"more than anything we attempt to teach our students empathy and awareness"
student who joined the Peace Corps, another joining the military
"these students have taught me the importance of genocide education, not the other way around"
North Shore Ag Tech teacher: students have been so impactful
speaks of his own grandmother's story
administrator for the genocide education project: created due to lack of teaching about Armenian genocide
students too often see the Holocaust as an isolated event
teaching about WWI is lacking without learning about genocide
perhaps if the Armenian genocide had been taught, Hitler would not have been so emboldened
has sadly become all too clear that we need to teach our children the warning signs of genocide
"both the particular and universal lessons that only genocide can impart"
Facing History and Ourselves: personal and professional experience have led me to a deep belief in the power of education to change the world for the better
teaching about these topics is complex
simulations can traumatize students in the name of history
"requires extensive professional development"
confirm the commitment of all free peoples that it must never happen again
Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts
genocides in Dafur, Rwanda, Holocaust, Armenia
"failure to teach about past genocide allows" leaders to think they can get away with it, "so long as they deny, deny deny"
"because Turkey has been successful in dodging justice" today President Erdogan of Turkey has felt free to violate the Kurds of Turkey
notes last week's harassment of Celtic Enes Kantor outside his mosque
"this is what happens when the world lets" leaders get away with genocide
testimony of the Ukrainian genocide by Stalin and the lack of observance by the world
a priest in the Ukrainian church: those in Ukraine were taught of the USSR as a good place
we were taught"everything was the best in this country...I learned from my grandfather; he spoke quietly, because in those times the walls had ears"
"he heard in church in those times, the west Ukraine belongs to Poland"
"genocide took over 10 million people"
"we ask you that all students...have to learn about that"
testimony from the pastor of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church
"purposely carried out this genocide against the Ukrainian people" by the USSR and Stalin
"every human life is holy, precious, and unrepeatable"
the thought of "the loss of millions of lives" is virtually incomprehensible
"when thousands of people die it is statistics" Stalin
another: we don't have to look to history for survivors, but to our own school systems, where we have survivors of modern genocides
"you can't teach something if you don't know it" citing the importance of professional development of teachers
"starving to death in the bedbasket of Europe is a terribly cruel way to die"
testimony from a Turkish-American that Armenians did not experience a genocide and calling for reconciliation
(most of the Armenians have left)
father arguing that he wants his child educated correctly
"should favor those sections we are supporting"
that would mean, I guess, supporting the ideological position of the current Turkish government?
...alas, I have a school committee to be at...
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