• Genocide Commemoration Day—April 15, 2025

    For the fifth year, we are hosting an all-District Genocide Commemoration Day.  At DHS, classes will be assigned to one of the keynote sessions, and then students will have options to build out the rest of their individual schedules, following their interests through the Learn, Remember and Take Action components of the programming.

    This annual event is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the District 113 Foundation and a grant from the DHS PTO, as well as the support of the District 113 administration and Board of Education.  Special thanks to the Illinois Holocaust Museum for their guidance and support.

    All-day programming in person and online

    • Lest We Forget—This exhibit includes profiles of victims, survivors, rescuers and upstanders with connections to District 113.  The moving biographies, often told by family members and each with a photograph, will be on display on the windows and on showcases outside the Auditorium.  The collection can be viewed on our Remember page.
    • Bosnia/Srebrenica Genocide 30th Anniversary mini-museum—Visit the front hall during the week of Genocide Commemoration to view striking films, pictures, timelines and other information on the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide in Bosnia.  To preview, we suggest this source: Srebrenica Timeline of a Genocide.
    • Rwanda Genocide mini-museum—This is a display we put up in 2024 and repeat this year to provide context for one of our keynote speakers, Kizito Kalima, who is a Rwanda Genocide Survivor.  Visit the front hall to view striking films and profiles of Survivors Kizito Kalima and Claire Mukundente and upstander Gary Bennett.  
    • Armenian Genocide—2025 marks the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  Visit the front hall to see profiles of victims and survivors and to learn how the tragedy led to the recognition of "genocide" as a crime under international law.  
    • "The Intent To Destroy In Whole Or In Part" This is part of Article II of the Genocide Convention, a key part of the definition of genocide.  We will have a display of documents that reveal the "intent" of perpetrators in various genocides since the 1800s.
    • Wall of Names—This is a tribute to those whose lives were lost to genocide.  These gold-on-black panels have been part of our annual displays for many years now.  They hold representations of victims from various genocides and were inspired by the website and hashtag #TogetherWeRemember.
    • Take Action Options—Our student team is working on compiling a variety of petitions on pending bills and other public policies, and we will have these both at our in-person displays and online; you can access these options under the Take Action webpage and on Instagram.  
    • Upstanders—stories of individuals and groups from right here at DHS to internationally recognized people who have made a difference and how; included is a display of a selection of people designated as Righteous Among the Nations, which connects to our lunchtime session (see details below)
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    Keynote Speaker Session Information

     

    Social Studies teachers will tell their classes which of the two main sessions (periods 3, 7) they are assigned to attend.  In addition, students will be allowed to sign up to attend any of the other sessions, as space permits.  More information to come in your Social Studies classes the week before Spring Break.

    3rd Period - Howard Reich, son of Holocaust Survivors (Performing Arts Center—10:31-11:28 am)

    Reich will tell us about his mother’s story, as depicted in his book and film titled Prisoner of Her Past.  He will also tell us about the planned neo-Nazi march in Skokie in the late 1970s, which galvanized the community of Holocaust Survivors who lived there and led to the founding of the IL Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Special Note: WTTW will have its 15th annual broadcast the film Prisoner of Her Past at 2 p.m. on April 20, in honor of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is also streaming on pbs.org. Read about this film and Mr. Reich's other work at his website.

     

    7th Period - Kizito Kalima, Rwanda Genocide Survivor (Performing Arts Center—1:15-2:12 pm)

    Mr. Kalima will tell us about the traumatic experience he endured during the genocide in 1994 and his journey to healing since that time.  Kalima will also tell us about the Peace Center for Forgiveness & Reconciliation, where he is Founder and Executive Director.  You can read about Mr. Kalima at the IL Holocaust Museum website and at the website of the Peace Center for Forgiveness & Reconciliation.

     

    Smaller Sessions 

    The Journey Back, a VR Experience—You will have the opportunity to use VR Goggles and take a walk through two documentaries that introduce the stories of Holocaust Survivors Fritzie Fritzshall and George Brent (who was our 2022 speaker). Through virtual reality, you will be transported to the places where they grew up and where they experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. Their stories have moments of compassion, of inspiration, and of profound sadness.  With A Promise Kept, journey to the notorious Auschwitz killing center and hear from Survivor Fritzie Fritzshall as she fulfills her promise to the 599 women who helped save her life. Don’t Forget Me bears witness to Survivor George Brent’s will to survive in the face of Nazi tyranny as he guides viewers through Auschwitz, Mauthausen, and Ebensee concentration camps.  The Journey Back, A VR Experience was created by Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in collaboration with East City Films and made possible through the generous support of the Spagat Family.  (Library Yellow Room—all periods except during keynotes 3rd and 7th periods)

    Film Screening: Skokie: Invaded But Not Conquered—a film about a proposed neo-Nazi march in Skokie that galvanized the large community of Holocaust Survivors, including the parents of Howard Reich, our 3rd period speaker (Performing Arts Center)  Here is the detailed description from PBS:  "Skokie: Invaded but not Conquered examines the personalities and issues connected to the attempted neo-Nazi march in Skokie in the late 1970s. The film makes extensive use of archival footage and contemporary interviews to reveal how a debate over First Amendment rights inspired Holocaust survivors to become activists, ultimately leading them to share their collective and individual histories..."  More information from Chicago’s PBS station, WTTW and in a 2013 article by Howard Reich in The Chicago Tribune.  (Homeroom + 2nd Period in the Performing Arts Center)

    “How the Nazis Came to Power”—This will be a small, interactive seminar with Social Studies teachers Mrs. Quagliana and Mr. Schwartz, who will lead students in a review using documents, film clips and discussion. (2nd Period in either G109/111 or E116; space is limited)

    "Righteous Among the Nations"—Get inspired by the many courageous people who risked their lives to save people from the Nazis’ genocidal plans—The Holocaust Education Center will lead this interactive webinar session.  This lesson looks at how “upstanders” across Europe helped save the lives of Jews. Case studies include Denmark’s “rescue by sea” of nearly all Danish Jews, the heroism of Irena Sendler in Warsaw, the diplomatic efforts of leaders like Chiune Sugihara, etc. The presentation ends with a virtual visit to the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem. (E116, 11:40-12:30)