2024 Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration

Standing at the Threshold: Shaping the Future for Holocaust Education

Almost three-quarters of a century have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of the war against the Jews … and yet we are once again standing at the threshold. Some 245,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive, but many of them were very young children during the Second World War. The few who can speak with the force of first-hand perception will soon be gone.

Danny M. Cohen, Ph.D. to Speak at Holocaust Commemoration

The Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education invites the public to the 26th Annual Yom HaShoah: An Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at Congregation B’nai Emunah, 1719 S. Owasso Ave. This year’s theme is “Standing at the Threshold: Shaping the Future of Holocaust Education.” Featured speaker Danny M. Cohen, Ph.D., a learning scientist, education designer and fiction writer, will address the topic “Talking With Ghosts: The Possible Futures of Holocaust Memory.” The commemoration is free and recommended for ages 12 and older. Registration is required.

A distinguished professor of instruction at Northwestern University in the School of Education and Social Policy and The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, Cohen specializes in Holocaust memory and the design of human rights education. He is the founder of Unsilence and the author of academic articles and works of fiction, including the short story “Dead Ends,” the choose-your-own-pathway mystery “The 19th Window” and the historical novel “Train,” which was selected as the inaugural text of the national Teacher Fellows Program of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Cohen is co-chair of the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission, and was a faculty fellow of the Auschwitz Jewish Center and a member of the editorial advisory board for the academic journal The Holocaust in History and Memory. A London native, Cohen also is a singer-songwriter and a member of the folk-rock band They Won’t Win.

Following the commemoration, Cohen will sign copies of his book “Train,” which will be available for purchase at the event.

“The Holocaust Suite”

The commemoration also will include a string quartet, featuring violinist Maureen O’Boyle, of a musical meditation, “The Holocaust Suite,” composed by former Tulsan Rick McKee.

Now a renowned composer, arranger, songwriter, producer, orchestrator, music director and vocal artist, McKee composed “The Holocaust Suite” 20 years ago while a senior at Jenks High School as his contribution to the 2004 Yom HaShoah Commemoration.

2024 Yom HaShoah Art Contest

In addition, the commemoration will feature an exhibit of entries from the 2024 Yom HaShoah Art Contest created by Oklahoma students of the Holocaust and a candle lighting ceremony featuring the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to symbolize the passing of the torch to the next generation. Also, the Tulsa City-County Library will have Holocaust books and media available for checkout.

The Holocaust Commemoration is presented by the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa in partnership with the Tulsa City-County Library, The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, Congregation B’nai Emunah and Temple Israel. Visit jewishtulsa.org/yomhashoah2024 to register for the commemoration or for more details.