In an effort to remember the importance of the Holocaust and commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Arkansas PBS has upcoming events and a digital series to coincide with our rebroadcast of “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” Read on to learn how you can attend events in Central Arkansas and watch “Arkansas and the Holocaust” segments to dig deeper into how the Holocaust impacted our state.
EVENTS
Philander Smith College and Arkansas PBS are partnering for a screening series called Philander Forward Film Series in which the inaugural event features clips from “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein. The event will feature clips of the three-part documentary and takes place Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Philander Smith College, 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Dr., Little Rock. RSVP for the event here.
The film examines the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States, and race laws in the American south. The series sheds light on what the U.S. government and American people knew and did as the catastrophe unfolded in Europe, becoming one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. 
Arkansas PBS is partnering with Hendrix College to host the Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee’s professional development workshop for Arkansas teachers, Saturday, Jan. 28 from 9 a.m. to noon.
The event will feature a “Holocaust 101” style opening plenary presentation and discussion with teachers and three additional half-hour sessions on different aspects of teaching the Holocaust (with 15-minute breaks in between). A broader range of seminars are envisioned to reach teachers between fifth and ninth grade and high school levels. Ready-to-use lesson plans will be provided with teaching resources and recommended reading lists through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the “Ken Burns in the Classroom” website.
A panel of Hendrix College’s Dr. Dorian Stuber, John Brown University’s Dr. Kevin Simpson, the University of Arkansas Department of Jewish Studies Dr. Jennifer Hoyer and Benton High School teacher Ricky Manes will be featured at this educator event.
The Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee will work with ADE to secure PD credits for participating teachers.
WATCH
"Arkansas and the Holocaust"
Inspired by “The U.S. and the Holocaust” documentary, Arkansas PBS has produced “Arkansas and the Holocaust,” a digital series featuring interviews Arkansas experts on how the Holocaust influenced and was influenced by our local story. The series is available for viewing at youtube.com/arkansaspbs.
- Caree A. Banton, PhD -- A Conversation About "The U.S. and the Holocaust" - Explore how the Holocaust and African American history intersect with University of Arkansas Director of African American Studies Caree Banton, PhD.
"The U.S. and the Holocaust" Arkansas PBS Preview Screening Panel Discussion - How can we learn from the past? Explore this in this discussion from a free public forum focused on the documentary "The U.S. and Holocaust," presented in partnership with University of Arkansas Libraries and Fayetteville Public Library on Oct. 6, 2022.
Arkansas Conversations About "The U.S. and the Holocaust" - Arkansans respond to the issues surrounding "The U.S. and the Holocaust." Interviewees are Caree Banton, Ph.D. (UA Fayetteville, director of African American Studies); Kevin Simpson, Ph.D. (JBU Professor of Psychology, teaches psychology and the Holocaust); Ricky Manes (high school history teacher who wrote the curriculum for the Holocaust studies for Arkansas public schools); and Steve Ronnel (Holocaust education activist and member of the Arkansas Jewish community).
Kevin E. Simpson, PhD -- A Conversation About "The U.S. and the Holocaust" - Dr. Simpson has long been interested in the psychology of history and teaches the psychology and history of the Holocaust at John Brown University. In this segment, he sits down with Arkansas PBS to talk about the difficult history presented in "The U.S. and the Holocaust" film and the importance of keeping this history alive. Simpson is also the author of “Soccer Under the Swastika: The Beautiful Game During the Holocaust,” which details a unique, often untold part of history mixed in with a little psychology. The book illustrates the sport in dangerous times and reminds us that we are also called to remember stories like these and give a voice, once again, to the voiceless who were extinguished by Nazis and their collaborators.
"German Prisoners of War in Arkansas" - produced by the students of The Delta School in Wilson, Arkansas, this short film focuses on German prisoners of war (POWs) detained in Arkansas during World War II. Early POWs included those commanded by Erwin Rommel, a German general who led Axis soldiers during World War II. Rommel's troops were stationed in Africa and, in May of 1942, they surrendered to the British British Allied troops. From 1942-49, these and other German POWs were brought to the United States of America and were stationed at 700 camps across the country. There were nearly 500,000 German POWs in the United States during this era. On any given day, there were about 2,500 POWs stationed, working and recreating throughout Mississippi County, Arkansas."German Prisoners Of War in Arkansas" was submitted to Arkansas PBS Student Selects and was the 2017 Arkansas Historic Places Student Film Contest second-place winner.
Dr. Terrence Roberts -- A Conversation About "The U.S. and the Holocaust" - Dr. Terrence Roberts, one of the members of the Little Rock Nine, sat down with Arkansas PBS to discuss why he decided to join the group of Black students who integrated the racially segregated Central High School. Dr. Roberts' experience as a young person with many questions about the unequal treatment of African Americans led him to explore his father's experience being conscripted into the Navy prior to World War II, the treatment of African American soldiers while serving and the Double V campaign. He also shares his thoughts on Holocaust history, the Nazis' research of the Jim Crow South, Nazi interest in how the United States codified the separation of Black and white citizens, and the Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein documentary film "The U.S. and the Holocaust."Dr. Roberts' interview took place in September 2022 during the 65th anniversary commemoration of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. The views expressed in this interview are the participant's own, not necessarily those of Arkansas PBS. In accordance with Arkansas PBS’s policy of fairness and balance, other viewpoints are welcome.
Broadcast
“The U.S. and the Holocaust” documentary is currently airing in full with the second episode “Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)” airing Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m., and the final episode, “The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942- ),” airing Friday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.
“The U.S. and the Holocaust” is also available on PBS Passport for free, video-on-demand viewing through Feb. 3.
Arkansas PBS will broadcast “Secrets of the Dead: Bombing Auschwitz” at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 27. Join historians, survivors and experts as they consider one of the great moral dilemmas of the 20th century. Should the Allies have risked killing Auschwitz prisoners and bombed the camp to stop future atrocities?
TUNE IN:
Arkansas PBS digital series "Arkansas and the Holocaust"
ATTEND:
RSVP for Philander Forward Film screening of "The U.S. and the Holocaust."