Learning from the Past
Betsy Rosenzweig
helps bring the lessons of the Holocaust to UMD students
(Right: Holocaust survivor Henry
Oertelt and Betsy Rosenzweig)
Betsy Rosenzweig, ’77, has been walking
UMD’s halls and thinking about the Holocaust since she was in
high school. She was intrigued by that part of World War II and in
order to write a paper on the topic, she visited the UMD Library.
She even met Walter Bauemler, the UMD professor for whom a Holocaust
lecture series is named. Now, 20 some years later, she still walks
the halls, turning over thoughts about WWII. Rosenzweig is in her
fourth year as one of the community members on the Baeumler-Kaplan
Holocaust Memorial Lecture Series committee.
This past April, the committee brought Holocaust survivor Henry Oertelt,
from St. Paul, Minnesota, for the annual lecture. “We know the
survivors won’t be around a lot longer so our focus is on bringing
one each year,” Rosenzweig said.
Henry Oertelt wrote the book, An Unbroken Chain, One Man’s Survival.
At UMD, Oertelt told the story of eighteen heart-stopping incidents,
or chains in his life. He recounted his life as a child in Hitler’s
Germany. He told about wartime Berlin and his experience in the concentration
camps. He narrated the account of his eventual liberation, many days
into a death march, when he saw tanks bearing the U.S insignia and
he realized he would be free.
Rosenzweig said that Oertelt chose the motif of a chain with 18 links,
(18 or Chai, which means life in Hebrew), to explain why he was one
of the lucky ones to survive. “The passage of time has made Oertelt’s
message even more pertinent,” she said. “Oertelt is a humble
man and he told his story in such a heartfelt way that everyone in
the crowd could identify with the situation. The students were especially
engaged.”
Engaging students, Jewish and non-Jewish, is important to Rosenzweig.
She was not raised in a Jewish family and that is one of the reasons
she was invited to be on the committee. However, Rosenzweig is married
to a Jewish man, Michael Rosenzweig, and her father-in-law is a Holocaust
survivor. In addition, each year Rosenzweig visits grade school classrooms
to share the story of Hanukkah and its critical message of religious
freedom. Those things, combined with her status as a UMD alumna from
the Communication and Science Disorders program, made her an ideal
candidate. When Shirley Garber, a long-time Duluth activist and UMD
supporter, made the call to invite Rosenzweig to join the group, Rosenzweig
said yes.
College students made up over half of the audience at Oertelt’s
lecture and the film, The White Rose, which was shown later that evening.
The film told the story of a college student group in Nazi Germany
who resisted Hitler and were caught, imprisoned and executed. They
had secretly printed and distributed anti-Nazi pamphlets that revealed
the truth about concentration camps. Rosenzweig believes that college
students today have a lot of that same spirit. “My generation
resisted Vietnam and worked for civil rights,” she said. “Students
today are adamant about recycling, they are in the environmental movement
and they are passionate about peace and justice. They are impatient,
where some of us are complacent. They want to change it now.”
The Holocaust Memorial Lecture brings up some serious issues. “It
makes you think about what one human group does to another group,”
Rosenzweig said. “We can ignore genocide in Rwanda, Afghanistan
and Bosnia. We can let ourselves be lulled into a false sense of peace,
but when we see a film like The White Rose, we are forced to think
about what we would do in that situation.”
With people like Betsy Rosenzweig and the rest of the Baeumler-Kaplan
Holocaust Memorial committee, we aren’t allowed to forget the
sobering facts of the Holocaust. They push us to remember the despair
and challenge us to place hope in the human spirit.
About Baeumler-Kaplan Holocaust Memorial Series: The gifts of the
Baeumler family, Leonore Baeumler, the Northland Jewish Fund and many
others insure the future of the Holocaust Lecture Series, which has
been bringing lectures, films, and discussion groups to UMD with the
support of the Alworth Institute, the College of Liberal Arts and
the Chancellor’s Office. Mrs. Baeumler’s husband, Walter,
was a professor of sociology at UMD for 28 years and frequently taught
courses on the Holocaust. He was born in Germany where his experiences
in the ’30s and during the War made him deeply aware of the human
cost of prejudice and hate. Mortrud Kaplan, also honored in this endowment,
was a lifelong resident of Duluth. His family commemorated him by
supporting endeavors that explored the plight of Jews and Judaism.
For more information about the series view the web site at http://www.d.umn.edu/~dpeters1/.
For endowment information contact Colleen Holwerk at 218-726-7833.
Finding Safety
Luther Christensen comes to UMD
with AIDS prevention education
Luther Hans Christensen, who graduated from UMD May 2000 with a
BAS in Psychology, works in HIV prevention and education for the
AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, a private, nonprofit AIDS service
organization. He has strong opinions about gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender populations.
Christensen feels it is important to reach out to queer youth. He
says that gay and lesbian teens have a challenge entering the gay
community. Too many young people don’t have understanding families
and friends. They don’t know where to turn.
Hopefully, teens find a safe haven like Together For Youth, a teen
group held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Duluth funded by Lutheran
Social Services. Christensen worked with the group for two years
as part of an internship under Paula Pedersen. Luther tells a story
about one of the kids he met. “One night a young man in a jean
jacket and bleached-blond hair, I'll call him Bob, came in and dropped
down on the worn couch.” Luther said the boy was quiet, but,
“After an hour of listening to the other kids, he spoke for
the first time. Bob stood up and confessed, ‘Do you know how
scary it was to ask for directions to a gay teens meeting in a church?’
He made us laugh and we could feel him open up.” Bob wasn’t
16 yet; he couldn’t drive, so he rode the bus or got rides
from friends. Over the next few months Christensen noticed Bob smile
and talk more. That first night, Christensen said that Bob acted
ashamed, sad, lonely and nervous. “Those are typical emotions
and when they are severe, we worry about suicide.” Studies
on youth suicide consistently find that lesbian and gay youth are
two to six times more likely to attempt suicide than other teens.
Lesbians and gays may account for 30 percent of all completed suicides.
Places for gay and lesbian teens to gather are rare. Youth come
to Together for Youth from the Iron Range, from rural areas, from
the North Shore and from the Twin Ports. Christensen says that a
safe place to meet, even if it is only once a month, is extremely
important, “Everyone needs at least one place where you can
fit in, a place where you can be yourself.” Everywhere else,
these teens have to put up a facade.
Gay and lesbian teens sometimes can’t find safe environments
and then they resort to risky behavior. They can be taken advantage
of by adults, they might visit public sex environments like wayside
rests; and they often attend parties where other illegal and dangerous
activities are taking place.
Christensen encounters at risk youth on a regular basis. “I
give them all the information I can about where to find safe support.”
That is one of the tasks he performs at his job. Christensen works
to confront and alleviate the effects of the HIV disease in Wisconsin.
His organization, ARCW, provides aggressive HIV education and prevention;
comprehensive services for people affected by HIV disease; clinical
research on HIV treatment, and HIV advocacy.
There are only two staff people in his Superior, Wisconsin office
and they each take on a different role. Tim Robinson, case manager,
provides services to between 20 and 30 people living with HIV in
the northern Wisconsin area. Christensen works in HIV education
and prevention. Luther distributes safer sex materials, and he conducts
AIDS prevention education.
Christensen also performs anonymous oral HIV testing. He has valuable
information for college students; he has been asked to return to
UMD on a number of occasions. He can speak candidly about HIV and
AIDS and the way in which it affects different populations. The
information he presents about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
populations is honest and direct. His former advisor, Paula Pedersen,
has invited him to speak in her psychology classes. “I am honored
to be invited back,” Christensen said. He credits Paula Pedersen
for inspiration and another professor, Kate Maurer in the Composition
department, for acting as his mentor. “Kate is a great person.
She does small things that make a big difference. She often would
refer to her boyfriend as a partner. This is a graceful way to level
the gap between queer and straight people.”
Christensen also visits the Queer Student Union, a UMD student group,
and he offers confidential and anonymous AIDS tests for UMD students.
He takes a simple oral sample and gives it a number. He doesn’t
send the laboratory a name. “HIV positive people can actually
be dropped by their insurance companies. The companies may even
drop coverage of a healthy person if they find out someone has been
tested.” Christensen can give tested people their results and
the insurance company will never be able to find out.
“I enjoy coming back to UMD,” he said. “There is
a new student support program, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
Services, and their director, Angela Nichols, is doing an incredible
job. We didn’t have that kind of program when I was in school
and we needed it.” The program provides a service to a vulnerable
population. Christensen said, “So many students are awakened
to their sexuality during their college years and it is a shaky
time. Sometimes parents are so upset, they cut off support.”
Christensen has been assisting Nichols with the program. He said,
“We are always looking for mentors and for internship opportunities
and someday, we hope to establish a scholarship and emergency fund
for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.” The
new UMD program is taking thoughtful and caring steps, and with
the guidance of alumni like Christensen, the program ensures strong
student support.
To reach Angela Nichols at UMD Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
Services call 218-726-7300.
Power Play
Julie Unulock guest directs in
the UMD theatre
When Pat Dennis, the head of the UMD Department of Theatre, called
Julie Unulock and invited her to return to UMD as a guest artist,
Unulock jumped at the chance. It wasn’t just a chance to direct
another play and it wasn’t just the opportunity to work in
the familiar Marshall Performing Arts Center. It was a chance to
collaborate with the playwright, UMD 1992 alumna Jeannine Coulombe.
The two had never met, but they developed a relationship over the
phone and the internet and then in November 2000, while Coulombe’s
play was in rehearsal, Coulombe also came back to UMD. “It
was a rare treat for the cast to meet the playwright,” said
Unulock. “The sessions were rich and rewarding.”
Unulock was drawn to the play’s topic. “I am attracted
to plays about the human condition and plays about women and women’s
lives.” Jeannine Coulombe’s The Vacant Lot is all of that
and more.
This spring Coulombe was recognized for the script at the American
College Theatre Festival. Coulombe earned $2,500 and won the National
AIDS Fund/Council of Fashion Designers of America-Vogue Initiative
Award for Playwrighting.
“The play is about someone who is searching for meaning in
her life,” Unulock said. The main character, an AIDS patient
named Melissa, embarks on a journey to re-discover her life in its
final moments. In the play, an unexpected guide appears to help
her, not only come to terms with the paths she has chosen, but also
to embrace the essence of who she is.
Unulock’s university career was full of meaning. She was onlife,”
Unulock said. The main character, an AIDS patient named Melissa,
embarks on a journey to re-discover her life in its final moments.
In the play, an unexpected guide appears to help her, not only come
to terms with the paths she has chosen, but also to embrace the
essence of who she is.
Unulock’s university career was full of meaning. She was one
of many people who take a break before finishing college. “I
started school in Superior but never finished, so after about 20
years I found myself in school at UMD,” she explained. In 1996
Unulock graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theatre with
a minor inwomen’s studies.
She directed her first play for MPAC’s Stage 2 and, “fell
in love with the whole process and discovered I had a a passion
for finding the projects, doing the research, and directing the
rehearsals. I loved everything about it.”
Then she became the production stage manager for UMD’s summer
program at the Minnesota Repertory Theatre. “I was always intrigued
with directing. When I had the chance to do some stage management
I found that it informed my work as a director.”
After she graduated, Unulock joined Theatre Professor Tom Isbell
and a team of collaborators who wrote the ACTF award-winning play
Dear Finder. The play, which is based on stories of Holocaust survivors,
is taken from diaries and news accounts. Isbell began the research
at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Next the seven collaborators
had to synthesize the accounts of Holocaust survivors into a cohesive
piece of theater. In 1999, Unulock traveled with the UMD Department
of Theatre production of Dear Finder to the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
“It was an undescribable experience. Tom Isbell is one of the
people who has influenced my work,” she said. “UMD women’s
studies professors Tineke Ritmeester and Linda Krug also influenced
me to look at my world and the world I live in with a more attentive
focus.”
Since graduation Unulock has directed at the College of St. Scholastica,
Duluth’s Dark Horse Theatre and the Duluth Playhouse. This
summer she returned to UMD to stage manage the musical Man of LaMancha
for Minnesota Repertory Theatre.
She said that directing is a challenging, inspirational and spiritual
part of her life. “I love the learning process associated with
directing a play. There is something special about a live production
as the actors interact with the audience. It is invigorating!!” There
are a lot of plays to come in Unulock’s future and here at
UMD, we are waiting to see them.
by Cheryl Reitan
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