Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the rich history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans to our shared story nationally, in Maine, and at the Â鶹APP. Established in 2006 through bipartisan congressional resolutions and a presidential proclamation, the observance builds on more than 350 years of Jewish life in the United States and recognizes how deeply Jewish Americans have shaped the nation’s social, cultural, intellectual, and political life.

Across generations, Jewish Americans have contributed as jurists, activists, artists, educators, public servants, and innovators. Figures such as Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, labor leader Rose Schneiderman, and composer Leonard Bernstein helped shape American law, labor history, and the arts. Contemporary leaders including Rabbi Sandra Lawson, journalist Ezra Klein, comedian Sarah Silverman, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders reflect the continuing breadth and diversity of Jewish American life and leadership.

In Maine, Jewish Americans have been part of the state’s history for roughly two centuries and have made lasting contributions to education, the arts, public service, philanthropy, and civic life. Many Jewish Mainers have left especially notable legacies. Hiram Abrams, born in Portland, became an early movie mogul and one of the first presidents of Paramount Pictures, and later served as managing director of United Artists. Judith Magyar Isaacson, a Holocaust survivor, became a respected educator and dean at Bates College and shared her experience with generations of students. Abraham Rudman was the first Jewish justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Louise Nevelson, who grew up in Rockland, became one of the most influential American sculptors of the twentieth century. Harold Alfond made transformative contributions to Maine schools, colleges, health care, and community institutions through his philanthropy.

UMA also has meaningful connections to Jewish life and leadership in Maine. Bennett D. Katz, a World War II veteran, longtime state legislator, and advocate for public higher education, played an important role in the founding of UMA. He later served on the Board of Trustees, received an Honorary Doctorate, and was honored when the university library was named the Bennett D. Katz Library.

Professor Bob Katz, a longtime member of the UMA art faculty, has also enriched the university through his teaching, creative work, and engagement with Jewish thought and culture. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine and created Were the House Still Standing, the center’s signature multimedia installation preserving the voices of Holocaust survivors and liberators who made their lives in Maine.

, housed in the Michael Klahr Center on Â鶹APP Augusta campus, is a vital part of this story. Named for Michael Klahr, a child Holocaust survivor who later made his home in Maine, the center preserves survivor testimonies and offers exhibits and programs that connect the history of the Holocaust with contemporary questions of human rights, justice, and civic responsibility. Its thoughtfully designed space, which includes a theater, classroom, and gallery areas, provides a gathering place for students, educators, and community members to learn, reflect, and engage in dialogue together.

Â鶹APP partnership with the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine reflects an ongoing commitment to education, remembrance, and civic responsibility. Through that partnership, UMA, the HHRC, and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine presented seminars including “What You Do Matters: Lessons from the Holocaust” and “Defining Moments in Policing: Ethical Decision Making during the Holocaust,” led by Dr. Todd Larson, Chief Noel March, and Erica Nadelhaft. These programs brought law enforcement, corrections, and community leaders together to explore ethics, accountability, and the importance of individual choices.

Jewish American Heritage Month invites the entire UMA community to learn more about Jewish experiences in all their diversity and to recognize the many ways Jewish Americans have helped shape our communities and our country. It is also a reminder that learning about one another’s histories strengthens a campus culture grounded in respect, understanding, and belonging. Throughout May, members of the UMA community are encouraged to explore programs, events, and resources that highlight Jewish history and culture, whether by attending a lecture, visiting the Holocaust and Human Rights Center, engaging with Jewish literature and art, or simply taking time to learn something new. As we observe Jewish American Heritage Month, UMA celebrates the enduring contributions of Jewish Americans and reaffirms its commitment to a community where every person is valued and every history has a place.

*A note about the architectural elements of the Klahr Center

The design of the Michael Klahr Center is both beautiful and symbolic. The combination of brick, wood, and glass balances a sense of strength with a reminder of vulnerability, prompting reflection on how fragile human rights can be and how intentionally they must be protected. Its sweeping, curved exterior forms suggest shelter, resilience, and renewal after trauma. The tall glass façade opening to the landscape invites light in and can be read as a metaphor for transparency and remembrance.

The center is named for Michael Klahr, who survived the Holocaust as a Jewish child in wartime Europe and later made his home in Maine. His story, along with those of other survivors who settled in the state, lies at the heart of the center’s mission to educate about the Holocaust, confront antisemitism and other forms of hatred, and promote human rights and ethical responsibility.

Check out local events commemorating Jewish American Heritage Month on Â鶹APP Heritage Month Calendar as well as learning resources concerning the significance of Jewish American Heritage Month in Maine and beyond. You can keep up with more content like this by and submitting events and resources to promote inclusion and belonging in our community.

Kit Thomason Crossman, Executive Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, will speak on March 26 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the ’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

This hybrid presentation will take place in person at the Michael Klahr Center (46 University Drive, Augusta) and on Zoom. The event is free and open to UMA alumni, faculty and staff, students, and the general public. ; please indicate whether you will attend in person or virtually.

As Executive Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission ()—the state agency responsible for enforcing Maine’s anti-discrimination laws and promoting equal opportunity—Crossman will discuss how the Commission investigates complaints, promotes compliance, and provides resources to help prevent bias and foster inclusion.

Participants will gain practical insight into current civil rights trends in Maine and learn how schools, organizations, and individuals can support the Commission’s mission of fairness and equity. The presentation will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

On Tuesday, September 16th we will gather with community to celebrate 40 extraordinary years of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. The experience will include cocktails, awards and recognitions, dinner, dancing, a silent auction, live music, and a master of ceremonies.

It will begin with cocktails on the patio for reconnecting and sharing memories. During a brief program, we will honor a few people who built and sustained the mission and work of the HHRC through decades of challenges and change—and hear from our 2025 Recipient of the Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in Human Rights Education and Leadership Maulian Bryant, Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance. Then dinner, followed by live music and dancing.

Please join us on the evening of September 16th. If you are interested in sponsoring a table for others to attend, becoming an event sponsor, or donating an item to our silent auction, please contact us at: info@hhrcmaine.org.

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The UMA community is warmly invited to join us for a thought-provoking event hosted by the on Tuesday, January 28th, at 4:00 PM in the Michael Klahr Center

Maine legislators will gather in the amphitheater for a presentation by Erica Nadelhaft, exploring how Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power so quickly, dismantled Germany’s democracy, and initiated plans for European conquest and the Holocaust.

Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for questions, conversation, and refreshments.

This enlightening event is organized by Portland Representative Sam Zager, and we encourage members of the UMA community to attend and engage in this important discussion.

We hope to see you there!

Parivash and Nasser Rohani founded a global education and art movement through social media entitled #OurStoryIsOne. The grass-roots, growing movement honors ten Bahá’í women who, after months of torture and imprisonment, were executed one by one in a square in Shiriaz, Iran because of their religious identities. Parivash’s personal experience fueled her desire to organize women around the world to express their anger, solidarity, courage and hope through visual and performing arts. The movement is powerful, the artwork arresting, and the demand for greater human rights in Iran and around the world clear.

Reuse, Repair, Reconsider

Maine Artist Lesia Sochor’s Reuse, Repair, Reconsider exhibit explores the healing power of restoration. Lesia writes, A humble act born of necessity, repair at one time was a common sense, commonplace task among the populace. But due to the ever increasing addiction for more, for newer, fixable goods are discarded, further threatening the environment. I use a needle and thread to investigate mending as an intervention, as metaphor, as a call to action—not only to restore material things, but to mend the fractured parts of ourselves, and the divisiveness, cruelty, and injustices of our ruptured world—one stitch at a time.

Visit the Michael Klahr Center on weekdays between 8:30 and 4:00 to see the exhibits. Learn more at

Tuesday, March 5, 2024
6:30pm – 8:00 pm
Online

Drawing on archival material, sketches the lived experiences of members of the German LGBTQ+ community under Nazi rule. In doing so, he untangles the complex motivations that convinced Nazi leaders that combating homosexuality was vital to the success of the Third Reich. The result was the destruction of the vibrant gay communities that had emerged during the Weimar years, and the targeting, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of gay Germans. And while the Holocaust ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945, gay survivors soon learned that the era of state sanctioned persecution was not over.

Dr. Jake Newsome is an award-winning scholar of German and American LGBTQ+ history whose research and resources educate global audiences. He is the founder and director of the , which honors the memory of the Nazis’ queer victims and carries on their legacy by fighting homophobia and transphobia today through education, advocacy, and empowerment. His book, (Cornell University Press) traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a widespread emblem of LGBTQ+liberation, pride, and community. In addition to serving as a historical advisor for film projects, exhibits, and plays, Newsome has been invited by the French, UK, and US governments to speak about the important lessons that LGBTQ+ history has for all of us today. He works as a museum professional and currently lives with his husband and son in San Diego.

This event is open to anyone who wants to attend (all students, faculty, staff, and the general public). FMI:

Born in a displaced persons camp in Lansberg Germany, Ettie has spent her life hearing, learning about, and researching the details of her family’s Holocaust experiences—from their life in Lithuania to their immigration to America. As a second generation child of Holocaust Survivors, Ettie absorbed stories from childhood as she was raised by parents who survived unspeakable trauma. How did that trauma manifest itself in her parents’ behaviors, world views, idiosyncrasies and parenting? When and how did she learn the details of their past, and how did it impact her life, thoughts, career and behavior? This presentation describes characteristics of survivors, impressions by other second generation interviewees and her own reflections.

Ettie Zilber is a consultant to schools around the world. She offers workshops, seminars and coaching in the international school community to empower educational leaders, parents and students by supporting their deeper understanding of our diverse, multicultural and multilingual world.

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine () has a longstanding and rich collection of artifacts related to the Holocaust and other civil rights issues. Historically, these artifacts have been stored away, taken out on occasion for visitors. Last year we began to archive these valuable objects, assigning them each a number and category. We have determined that obtaining preservation tools and protective display cases will help us use them more frequently in conjunction with our school and community presentations—and we have begun to display them in cases around the Michael Klahr Center for our visitors to observe without fear of causing damage to the artifacts.

We will showcase the displayed items on our website where teachers and students can see images and short descriptions for school projects and classroom learning. This will enable schools across Maine to connect with the archives, even those too far away to visit. We want to take a moment and thank those of you in the HHRC Community who entrusted us with your families’ valuable possessions. These historic treasures help us to tell the stories of your loved ones who survived the Holocaust and the civil unrest that predated many of us here in Maine.

The beautiful Michael Klahr Center is open for rentals. The space offers a large classroom for presentations and meetings, a sun-filled atrium, a 75-seat auditorium, and both rotating and permanent exhibits. We can recommend quality local food service and assist with equipment set-up and tours. This is a wonderful venue for classes, presentations, gatherings, film screenings, or celebrations. If you would like more information or want to reserve the space, email the HHRC.

The 2023 Summer Seminars are filling up fast, so if you would like to attend one of these 2-day professional training seminars, in person at the Michael Klahr Center, .

• Teaching the Holocaust will be held on July 11th and 12th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The seminar will include sessions on antisemitism, the rise of the Nazis, and the Holocaust itself. Limited spots remain.

• Addressing Bias and Hate at School will be held on July 19th and 20th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. After learning about the nature of bias, we’ll reflect on ways to teach this complex subject and create welcoming classrooms and school communities. This seminar is full, but there is a waiting list; if you wish to be on it, please email us.

To help us plan for this workshop, please complete this form by Friday, April 28th to confirm your interest in attending and your preferred attendance mode.

Please also consider filling out this separate anonymous form to help us compile scenarios of bias in higher education to share at the meeting.