We are delighted that our centre’s events with Mr Nobuki Sugihara, son of the Japanese diplomat who saved many Jewish lives, and his family’s heroic story during WWII are profiled in an in-depth article in the Post Magazine this weekend.
The 4-page feature story, which can be accessed here, is published in the 13 November 2016 edition of the Sunday Morning Post.
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The HKHTC have had wonderful press coverage for the visit of Nobuki Sugihara, son of Righteous Among the Nations Chiune Sugihara. During his week-long visit in Hong Kong, Mr Sugihara toured 8 high schools and universities and addressed over 2000 students.
The Sunday edition of Ming Pao, a well-respected and widely-circulated Chinese daily, covered Mr Sugihara’s meeting with students from the Harrow International School Hong Kong at the venue of our centre’s “Asian Righteous Among the Nations” Exhibition on the University of Hong Kong campus. Please click here to read the Sunday Ming Pao feature article in Chinese.
HKHTC is proud to announce the following student winners:
In the Visual Arts Category: Patrick Hawkey – Discovery College, for his sculpture illustrating Holocaust survivor Dan Pagis’ iconic poem, “Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway Car”.
In the Performing Arts Category: Martha Chow and Wind Yuen – Sha Tin College, for their shadow dance commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
In the Writing Category: Juliet Leung – Heep Yunn School, for her creative short story on the Rwandan genocide.
We congratulate them as well as over 100 students from across 14 secondary schools in Hong Kong and Mainland China who participated in the 2015 Contest.
As our recent guest in Hong Kong, Khamboly Dy toured several schools and spoke to Year 9-13 students on the history of the Cambodian genocide. At each session, students had the opportunity to ask questions (addressing elements of the genocide, the ideology of the Khmer Rouge, post-genocide reconciliation, among others).
Dr Khamboly Dy has worked for the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) where he coordinated the Genocide Education Project. He is the author of the first book for high school students in Cambodia about the Cambodian genocide entitled A History of Democratic Kampuchea. His work on this book was acknowledged by both national and international media, including the National Public Radio (NPR). Dr Dy recently received his PhD from the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers, Newark.
On March 26, 2015, HKHTC’s Director of Education, Simon Goldberg delivered a lecture to some 50 undergraduates at China’s Sun Yat-sen University, entitled “Foreshadowing the Holocaust: Antisemitism in European History”. The lecture traced the origins and evolution of religious antisemitism in the Middle Ages, through the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. Simon also discussed the emergence of political anti-Semitism, and later, racial anti-Semitism in Europe.
A Q&A session with students followed, which focused mainly on the legacy of the Holocaust and issues around reconciliation.
In a recent article for their school newspaper, HKIS students reflected on the visit of Sergeant Rick Carrier, liberator of Buchenwald and veteran of the Second World War, during which he addressed an estimated 800 students.
From their powerful words, it appears Sergeant Carrier’s account sensitized them not only to the power and importance of first-hand testimony, but also to the complexity of that time in history. We hope the students will continue on their quest to learn more about the events and processes of the Second World War and the Holocaust.
On Wednesday, January 28, HKHTC Director of Education, Simon Goldberg, delivered a talk at the “Talking Genocides” forum organized by the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Hong Kong University to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. 50 doctoral students and academics were in attendance.
Simon’s talk dealt with the scholary discourse on Holocaust representation and issues within the field of comparative genocide studies. Fellow panelist and moderator, Dr Roland Vogt of HKU’s Department of European Studies, addressed the role of the Holocaust in European political imagination and culture. Finally, Dr Facil Tesfaye of HKU’s African Studies Department discussed the role of census data/statistics in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and its legacy for African politics and peacekeeping on the continent.
Dr Tesfaye’s new book, Statisques(s) et génocide au Rwanda: La genèse d’un système de catégorisation génocidaire, was also launched on this occasion.
Alongside the United States Consulate in Hong Kong and Macau, the HKHTC arranged for Sergeant Carrier to address the following nine schools across the region: St. Stephens Girls’ College, Elsa High School, Kellett School, Po Leung Kok Laws Foundation College, Hong Kong International School, NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College, Hong Kong University, Discovery College and Sha Tin College.
Sergeant Carrier spoke about his experience as a solider in the Second World War, recounted the liberation of Buchenwald, and shared his advice for fighting bigotry and intolerance today.
In total, 2,500 students (aged 12-22) were present for Sergeant Carrier’s talks.
Sergeant Carrier’s visit to Hong Kong was covered by Apple Daily, CNN, and Phoenix TV.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre will hosted its first-ever half-day teachers’ workshop on themes relevant to the end of the Second World War and liberation.
The three talks included pedagogical methodologies for classroom use. Speakers were Simon Goldberg and Prof. Glenn Timmermans (Faculty of Arts & Humanities, University of Macau) and Miguel Maneros De Lemos (Faculty of Law at University of Macau).
The workshop was attended by 45 secondary school and university educators from Hong Kong and Macao, representing the following faculties: History, English, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.
Following the success of the past two years, we are excited to announce another year’s partnership with the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. This December, we are pleased to offer a wider selection of three films for screening at your school, two of which deal with the Holocaust specifically and the events of the Second World War more broadly, and one of which treats issues of racism and prejudice. We invite you to view the films’ trailers below by clicking on each title:
1) Run Boy Run (German with English and Chinese subtitles, 102 minutes) tells the extraordinary true story of a Polish boy’s solitary struggle to outlast the Nazi occupation and keep alive his Jewish faith. Suggested age group: Years 8-10 (ages 13-16).
2) Secrets of War (Dutch with English subtitles, 93 minutes) tells the gripping story of two boys whose friendship is tested by the secrets World War II brings to their village in South Limburg. Suggested age group: Years 7-9 (ages 12-15).
3) 24 Days (French with English and Chinese subtitles, 110 minutes) tells the true, harrowing account of the month-long kidnapping of 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, whose case prompted a massive police manhunt and eventually a national outcry against antisemitism in France. Suggested age group: Years 12-13 (ages 17-18).
This year, all three films will be available to screen throughout the month of December—at a time suitable for you. As in the past, we are happy to offer a workshop or post-screening discussion at your school, led by one of our educators.
For more details and to book a screening, contact Simon Goldberg at info@hkhtc.org.
