Photo Credit: Brett Mountain
metro » o n the cover
Powerful
Lessons
New law requires Michigan
schools to teach about the
Holocaust and other genocides.
Robin Schwartz | Contributing Writer
I
t was a moving experience for
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as he
glimpsed history’s darkest chapter
during a private tour of the Holocaust
Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.
“It strikes you in the heart,” Snyder said.
“Things such as the boxcar [used to trans-
port Jews and other Holocaust victims dur-
ing World War II.] When you walk in there
and you understand 100 people crammed
into that space … plus, the symbolism and
the true meaning behind the building’s
architecture. It’s very powerful.”
The governor visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s
Holocaust memorial, in 2013. But, the
June 27 visit was his first trip to Michigan’s
Holocaust museum. And he was there
to make history. Gov. Snyder took part
in the ceremonial signing of House Bill
4493, sponsored by State Rep. Klint Kesto,
R-Commerce Township, which requires
Michigan school districts and public school
academies to provide genocide education,
including lessons about the Holocaust and
the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The legis-
lature recommends a combined total of six
hours of instruction for students in grades
8-12 beginning in the 2016-2017 school
year.
“Our next generation of leaders needs
to have the wherewithal to recognize and
help prevent widespread harm to their fel-
low men and women,” Snyder wrote after
officially signing the bill June 13. “Teaching
the students of Michigan about genocide
is important because we should remember
and learn about these terrible events in our
past while continuing to work toward creat-
ing a more tolerant society.”
The new law makes Michigan one of only
seven states that mandate genocide educa-
tion. Rhode Island’s governor signed a simi-
lar measure last month; Illinois was the first
state to enact such a law in 1990. California,
New Jersey, New York and Florida also
require Holocaust and genocide education.
“Our future will depend on how we teach
the next generation,” said Cheryl Guyer, the
10 July 14 • 2016
State Sen. Phil Pavlov, Farmington Hills Mayor Ken Massey, State Sen. Mike Kowall, Ed Haroutunian, HMC
Chairman of the Board Steven Grant, HMC Interim Director Cheryl Guyer, Gov. Rick Snyder, former State Sen.
Randy Richardville, State Rep. Klint Kesto, State Rep. Christine Greig, Dr. Judith Kovach, State Rep. Jeremy
Moss, Holocaust survivor and HMC docent Edith Maniker
Holocaust center’s interim executive direc-
tor. “The dream of ‘never again’ is honored
through the passage of House Bill 4493. We
are grateful to our Michigan legislators and our
governor. We look forward to teaching 400,000
Michigan high school students a year about
the Holocaust and inspiring them to confront
bullying, hatred and racism to create a more
humane world.”
edly helping to educate tens of thousands
of students from Michigan and other states.
She stood onstage with the governor, sev-
eral lawmakers and others during the event.
“I am hoping [Michigan students] will
learn not only the history, but along with
it some compassion,” Maniker said. “I am
thrilled this bill was signed. I think it’s a
wonderful thing.”
WITNESSING HISTORY
About 120 people were on
hand to witness the ceremo-
nial signing, including several
Holocaust survivors. Edith
Maniker, 85, of Southfield, a
Kindertransport survivor, was
among them. In 1939, her par-
ents put her on a train from
Germany to England, a gut-
wrenching decision that surely
saved her life. (Approximately
10,000 children and infants
were saved through the rescue
operation between 1938-
1940). Edith was just 8 years
old the last time she ever saw
Gov. Rick Snyder with Lori Talsky Zekelman and HMC
her mother and father.
Board member Alan Zekelman
“My sister had gone two
weeks before,” she said. “My
parents told me, ‘You’ll have a
PASSIONATE SUPPORTERS
wonderful vacation together and we’ll see
you in a few weeks.’ When you’re 8 years old Passionate supporters are credited with
helping the new law become a reality.
and your parents tell you that, you believe
In 2013, attorney Lori Talsky Zekelman
it.”
assembled a team of individuals and orga-
Maniker initially lived with distant rela-
nizations within the Jewish community to
tives and was shuffled to and from various
foster homes and a refugee hostel 10 differ- form Genocide and Holocaust Education
Now! The coalition drafted the initial bill
ent times. In 1943, she was reunited with
and promoted the legislation. She and her
her sister; they moved to Detroit together
husband, Alan Zekelman, are major sup-
in 1947.
“If your whole family has been murdered, porters of the Holocaust Memorial Center
you look for family,” she explained. “My sis- Zekelman Family Campus.
“I was inspired and impassioned by
ter and I had an aunt and uncle in Detroit,
the profound sadness and shock I experi-
so we came to Detroit.”
For the last 23 years, Maniker has served ence when pondering recent or ongoing
genocides, incidences of intolerance and
as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial
our apparent inability to eradicate inhu-
Center, sharing her story and singlehand-
mane conduct in a meaningful way,” Talsky
Zekelman says. “This legislation is impor-
tant to me because I believe that through
the right kind of education we can inspire
our children to become empathetic and
tolerant members of society, capable of act-
ing appropriately when faced with moral
dilemmas.”
Talsky Zekelman says she felt an over-
whelming sense of gratitude during the
signing ceremony “for having the opportu-
nity to be a vessel for tikkun olam (world
repair)” and for all of the assistance from
and efforts by others to accomplish this
project.
Now that the bill is signed, she hopes
Snyder will create a commission to steer
genocide education in the direction of
helping children understand and work
toward preventing bullying and intolerance.
The governor is tasked with appointing
a 15-member council on genocide and
Holocaust education. “Members shall be
individuals who have a particular inter-
est or expertise in genocide education or
Holocaust education, or both,” the law
states. The two-year advisory committee is
expected to be assembled within the next
few months.
“The bully of today could be the person
that helps lead or is part of the core group
of people that lead to genocide because
they’re not respecting someone else’s
humanity,” Snyder told the Detroit Jewish
News. “If you look at our country today,
there are far too many angry people. We
spend way too much time fighting and
blaming one another and being angry over
this topic or that topic. That’s not what
made this country great.”
*
details
The Holocaust Memorial Center is
located at 28123 Orchard Lake Road in
Farmington Hills. For more information,
visit www.holocaustcenter.org.