The Ten Stages of Genocide AND How Antisemitism Became an Effective Tool of the Nazis, presented by Barbara Wahlberg

This 75-minute  presentation will explore the 10 Stages of Genocide, as defined by the organization Genocide Watch, the origin of the term genocide, as coined by Raphael Lemkin, and the history of antisemitism through the centuries and up to the 20th century and Nazi Europe.

• Saturday, April 12, 11:00 AM at Pontiac Free Library Association, 101 Greenwich Ave, Warwick, RI

Who She Left Behind author Victoria Atamian Waterman in conversation with Pauline Getzoyan

Who She Left Behind is a generational story of survival, love, and motherhood in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. Based on the author’s own family history, this historical fiction novel explores the deeply emotional lives of its characters, spanning multiple time periods—from the waning days of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to the Armenian neighborhoods of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1990s. This conversation will shed light on the often-overlooked stories of the brave and resilient women who became the foundation of rebuilt communities after the Armenian Genocide.

• Thursday, April 10, 4:00 PM at Willett Free Library, 45 Ferry Road, Saunderstown, RI

• Wednesday, April 16, 6:30 PM at Cranston Public Library, 140 Sockanosset Cross Rd., Cranston, RI

America and the Holocaust: Jim Crow Laws, Eugenics, and the March Toward Genocide in Nazi-Occupied Europe, presented by Barbara Wahlberg

This 75-minute presentation provides a case study examining Nazi Germany and the United States during the 1930s, at a time when racism and eugenics were enshrined in law and practice. We will examine the national and historical contexts in which racism manifested in the two countries, and explore how the pseudoscience of eugenics as well as concerns about "racial purity" found its way into the laws of the United States and Nazi Germany.

• Monday, April 21, 6 PM at Maury Loontjens Memorial Library,
  25 Pier Market Pl, Narragansett, RI 02882

• Wednesday, April 30, 6 p.m.: Westerly Library, 44 Broad St, Westerly, RI 02891

A Journey from Despair to Hope: The Armenian Genocide and the Story of the Armenian Americans of RI, presented by Pauline Getzoyan

Under the cover of World War I, Armenians of the Ottoman Empire became the victims of the first modern genocide. The Armenian Genocide, carried out by the Ottoman Turks, has been denied by the perpetrators to this day. The video, “A Journey from Despair to Hope: The Story of the Armenian Americans of Rhode Island,” traces the story of Margaret Garabedian DerManuelian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, and her arrival in Rhode Island. The film, which will be a focal point of this 75-minute presentation, also introduces the history of the Armenian Genocide and illuminates the impact of genocide denial on future generations, as well as the impact of genocide on identity.

• Monday, April 21, 6 PM at Coventry Public Library, 1672 Flat River Rd., Coventry, RI

Bearing Witness: Who Will Tell Their Stories, presented by Len Newman

As the son of Holocaust Survivors, Newman feels a keen responsibility to bear witness to the lives of the six million Jewish men, women and children who were killed in the Holocaust. For the past 25 years, he has been telling his parents’ stories in schools and libraries throughout the United States and abroad. He tells their stories to encourage people  to stand for social justice. Len has been a Commissioner on the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission since its inception. His work on the Commission has been keenly focused on developing ways to support educators in teaching this area of study. He will discuss the work of the Commission and its history as part of his presentation.

• Thursday, April 24, 4 PM at Willett Free Library, 45 Ferry Rd, Saunderstown, RI 02874

• Sunday, April 27, 1 PM at Jamestown Philomenian Library, 26 North Rd, Jamestown, RI 02835