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Daily
Sparks Tribune
July 12, 1998
University
Program Focuses on Making Peace Work
by
Janine Simonoski
Remembrance of the crimes and horrors of the past can
serve as an effective weapon in securing a more peaceful
future. This is what survivors of the Jewish Holocaust
of World War II believed. But to actively create awareness
within a community requires more than a brief lesson
in history.
"I'm
a workaholic," admits Viktoria Hertling, founder
and director of the Center for Holocaust, Genocide,
and Peace Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
"But many people don't realize that peace is not
just the absence of war. It's something we really need
to work for."
Hertling
has worked for five years to create a greater awareness
within the university and local communities on issues
related to peace, genocide and the Holocaust. By organizing
lectures, panel discussions, and other events through
the center, Hertling has helped shed light on both past
violence and levels of attainable peace in the future.
Sparked
by the film, "Schindler's List," the center
organized a two-year-long series of discussions and
exhibits related to the Holocaust that captured the
attention of university students and community members
alike. Empowered by the community's interest, Hertling
scheduled a panel of local people involved in promoting
peace. The "Meet the Peacemakers" panel members
included, among others, an 18-year-old Carson City boy
who developed a television program to help raise self-respect
within the Hispanic community; a Jewish Rabbi who created
a camp to make teens more conscience of common characteristics
between different groups of people; and a construction
worker, originally from Serbia, who collected and sent
a half million dollars worth of donated medical supplies
from local hospitals to the former Yugoslavia.
"This
job has provided me with something I never dreamed I
would have," Hertling said. "I have a job
that gives me the opportunity to engage in a lifelong
learning process and to transmit my delight for life
to my students."
While
teaching Western Traditions and Holocaust, Genocide,
and Peace studies classes at the university, Hertling
writes books, edits the center's newsletter and develops
curriculum ideas. A native of Germany, Hertling has
just finished a German compilation of stories about
the trauma that children experienced in the Holocaust,
while in exile, or while living in a country ruled by
fascism. Hertling said she hopes her book, "Through
the eyes of a child," will give adults a better
understanding of the extreme effect violence has on
the young.
"Unlike
adults, a child does not have established moral standards
to help deal with this kind of trauma," she said.
In
helping to build the moral standards of children and
pre-teens, Hertling is creating a curriculum geared
toward peace education. The "We Can All Get Along"
program incorporates poetry, short stories, songs and
non-competitive games to build children's conflict resolution
skills. Hertling will begin teaching the program as
part of the summer challenge at Sage Ridge Middle Schoql.
"When
kids enter adolescence, they're suddenly in an environment
where they have to make moral decisions," Hertling
said. "Conflict resolution is so basic that we've
forgotten to teach it. We've seen how quickly kids react
rather than thinking about situations. They need these
skills."
Following
some fine-tuning of the program, Hertling hopes to teach
the curriculum at schools, in after-school programs
and at youth detention centers, such as Wittenberg Hall.
Despite
Hertling's passion for her work, she said she treasures
time spent away from working, whether she is shooting
photographs, gardening in her rose bushes, or taking
care of her dog.
"It
creates a nice balance," Hertling said. "When
talking about human trauma for so many hours, that connection
to nature clears my mind and calms my mood."
Hertling
said, that although she gets a break from teaching classes
in the summer, she is currently organizing next semester's
events at the University. Starting this Fall, the center
is planning panel discussions on hate crimes and the
militia movement.
The
Center for Holocaust, Genocide, and Peace Studies
can be reached at 784- 6767, or center@scs.unr.edu
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