Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Releases Chutz-Pow! Superheroes of the Holocaust Volume 2
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) April 11, 2016 -- The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh announced today that Volume 2 of its educational graphic novel series, "Chutz-Pow! Superheroes of the Holocaust" is now available. In 2014, the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh created the original Chutz-Pow! exhibit and superhero graphic novel Volume 1 to transform the traditional model of Holocaust education into an interactive storytelling experience that honors Holocaust survivors, resistance fighters and liberators.
“Using the familiar look of a comic book, the Chutz-Pow! graphic novel series is a unique way to share and teach about the Holocaust,” said Lauren Bairnsfather, director of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. “The unusual approach was inspired by the fact that the Holocaust Center had previously published vignettes written by survivors, and the staff of the Center includes a comic book enthusiast. It was natural for our team to document survivor stories in this creative format with the help of a Pittsburgh author and several local comic book artists.”
The project includes a full curriculum, an exhibit and Volumes 1 and 2 of the graphic novel series. Chutz-Pow! is available for schools, organizations and institutions to use as an educational resource for teaching about the Holocaust and its heroes.
Chutz-Pow! Volume 1 tells the story of Pittsburgher Les Banos, and his experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. Banos was a Half-Jewish Hungarian double agent whose adventures while infiltrating the Nazi regime saved hundreds of Jews. Stories also include: Malka Baran, who helped protect a hidden child during her imprisonment at a concentration camp, and Moshe Baran, who was a partisan in the forests of Poland; Dora Iwler, who escaped camp after camp by posing as a Christian; and Fritz Ottenheimer, German-born witness to Kristallnacht, who immigrated to America and later joined the U.S. Army to fight against his mother country.
Chutz-Pow! Volume 2 stories include: The Bielski Brothers, Jewish-Polish Farmers who established one of the largest partisan camps of the war; Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, a secret society formed in Munich to protest the Nazi regime through passive resistance; Irena Sendler, a Polish Social worker who made it her mission to rescue thousands of children and orphans from the Warsaw Ghetto; and Raoul Wallenberg, heroic Swedish diplomat who was inspired to take actions which saved over 100,000 Jews.
Both Chutz-Pow! Volume 1 and Volume 2 are educational resources that can be used by teachers to meet the requirements of Act 70 of 2014. The law provides Pennsylvania public schools with support and encourages them to teach students about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations. Act 70 encompasses all grade levels, but it is specifically aimed at middle and high school (grades 6-12). Chutz-Pow! Volume 1 and its corresponding educational materials have been tailored for students in high school, while Volume 2 has been created for a middle school audience. Both volumes help meet the curriculum guidelines written in response to Act 70.
The Chutz-Pow! exhibition is composed of original art from Volume 1 and original art pieces designed by local Pittsburgh artists of the international heroes. It also features all of the heroes from Volume 2, and debuted in Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Arts Festival in 2014. The exhibit is currently on display at the nonprofit organization, Repair The World through May 11, 2016.
Both Chutz-Pow! Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available for purchase at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, at select retail locations in the Pittsburgh area, or by ordering directly from the Center. For more information about "Chutz-Pow! Superheroes of the Holocaust" Volumes 1 and 2 or the exhibit, contact Zachary Zafris - 412.421.1500 or visit http://www.HolocaustCenterPgh.org.
About the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
Established in 1981, the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh (http://holocaustcenterpgh.org) was created by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh as a living memorial and a comprehensive resource center to help people throughout Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, and Northern West Virginia learn about the Holocaust and to help counter intolerance and hate in all its forms. Through education, events and programming, the Center engages with other organizations, individuals and institutions to convey the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust and its lessons. The Center is committed to education about the events of the Holocaust, commemoration of those who suffered and triumphed, and documentation of the stories of survivors, liberators and protectors.
Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HCofPittsburgh
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Jennifer Faines, Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, http://holocaustcenterpgh.org/, 412-559-2860, [email protected]
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