UMD News Releases

DULUTH, MN – November 9–14, Duluth will host an international exhibit entitled, "Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany Under the Third Reich.” The exhibit will be on display at the Federal Courthouse, 515 West First Street, in downtown Duluth. In conjunction with this exhibit, UMD’s Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee will sponsor three events. Each of these events and the exhibit are free and open to the public.

On Sat., Nov. 9 at 7 pm at Temple Israel, 1602 E 2nd Street, Duluth, Deborah Petersen-Perlman, associate professor, UMD Department of Communication, and chair of UMD’s Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee, will give a presentation on Kristallnacht. Unleashed on November 9–10, 1938, Kristallnacht or Night of Broken Glass is widely viewed by historians as launching the Nazi Party’s systematic persecution of the Jewish people and the beginning of the Shoah, also known as the Holocaust. Rabbi David Steinberg will lead a Havdalah service prior to the presentation.

On Sun., Nov. 10 from 1:30–5 pm in Chemistry 200 (Kobilka Lecture Hall) on the UMD campus, the Baeumler Kaplan Holocaust Commemoration Committee will host a screening of the film, "Judgment at Nuremberg.” Public defender Fred Friedman and UMD American Indian Studies Professor Tadd Johnson will serve as co-discussion leaders following the film.

On Tues., Nov. 12 at 4 pm, a reception will be held at the Duluth Federal Courthouse. UMD Theater Professor Tom Isbell will present Justice Robert Jackson's opening remarks when he served as chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. Many acknowledge Judge Jackson's "opening and closing arguments before the Nuremberg court [as]...among the best speeches of the 20th century." Additionally, both Rabbi David Steinberg of Temple Israel Duluth and Mrs. Leonore Baeumler, who was living in Nuremberg during World War II and the Nuremberg trials, will make brief remarks.

About the Exhibit

The exhibit, "Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany Under the Third Reich,” which will appear at various venues throughout Minnesota during the month of November, explores Hitler's systematic and calculated strategy to disable the legal system and the constitutional framework of the Weimar Republic, setting the stage for the commission of unthinkable crimes against humanity.

The lesson to be learned from this assault on the rule of law is its fragility even in a civilized nation and the ease with which a popular ruler can employ fear, intimidation, and raw prejudice to achieve an oppressive, totalitarian state. This theme resonates even today and is a vivid reminder that society must vigilantly guard against any threat to a fair and just legal system and an independent judiciary.