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Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center Records (MS-00733)

Abstract

The Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center Records (1971-2018) mainly consists of correspondence, event planning documents, financial records, subject files, and newspaper clippings created by or related to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center and the Nevada Governor’s Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust. Materials document educational conferences, remembrance events, and student field trips; curriculum planning, involvement with the Clark County School District, and educational materials about the Holocaust and other related historical events; and grant and fundraising activities. The collection also includes photographs and proclamations.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1971 to 2018

Extent

14.84 Cubic Feet (20 boxes, 2 oversized boxes, 1 shared box, and 2 flat files)
23.93 Linear Feet

Scope and Contents Note

The collection mainly consists of correspondence, event planning documents, financial records, subject files, photographs, and newspaper clippings from 1971 to 2018 created by or related to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center and the Nevada Governor’s Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust. Materials document educational conferences, remembrance events, and student field trips; curriculum planning, involvement with the Clark County School District, and educational materials about the Holocaust and other related historical events; and grant and fundraising activities. The collection also includes photographs and proclamations.

The records are mainly related to events and activities held in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the Holocaust Resource Center is located. There is also information about the Shia Szrut Holocaust Research Collection in Washoe County at the Northwest Branch Library and other Holocaust events such as a 1983 Holocaust Conference in Mesquite, Nevada; Southern Utah State College's Jewish Week in Cedar City, Utah in 1984; and the University of Nevada, Reno's Festival for Peace in 1996. Local events documented in the collection are the annual Holocaust Education Conferences held in Las Vegas from 1994 to the early 2000s but also include Yom Hashoah Days of Remembrance; traveling exhibits such as "Anne Frank in the World”" (1988-1989) and "Anne Frank- a History for Today" (2006); and a visit from the Ambassador of Bulgaria, Philip Dimitrov, in 2000. Financial reports, fundraising letters, and Nevada Humanities Committee grant records and correspondence provide information about the Advisory Council's fundraising and disbursement of funds. The collection also contains subject files about Holocaust scholars, Holocaust education, second-generation Holocaust survivors, and historical events such as the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s and Japanese internment in the United States during the 1940s.

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials remain in original order.

Biographical / Historical Note

The Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center of Las Vegas, Nevada is a lending library of books and materials related to the Holocaust, as well as "a hub for Holocaust Education activities and programs in Nevada." Free and open to the public, it was established in 1980 with an endowment from the Lloyd and Edythe Katz family in memory of Edythe's parents, Gertrude and Hyman Sperling. Lillian and Henry Kronberg and Judy and Ron Mack also fund a media center within the library, which contains a collection of Holocaust artifacts. The Holocaust Resource Center provides teacher training workshops about the Holocaust and its outreach program promotes Holocaust awareness and educational opportunities. According to founding chairperson Edythe Katz-Yarchever, the Center's "main purpose is, and always has been, to educate the community through the lessons of the Holocaust, by teaching respect for human dignity and the value of cultural and ethnic differences." The Center's motto is "remembering the past to preserve the future."

Katz-Yarchever was formerly also the chairperson of Nevada Governor's Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust, with which the Center continues to collaborate. Other organizations that the Holocaust Resource Center works with include the Clark County School District, Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada, Northwest Reno Library, Washoe County School District, Nevada State Department of Education, and the Anti-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate" program. The Center was founded under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas but is no longer part of the Federation.

Sources:

"History." Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://lvhresourcecenter.com/about-us/.

Wexler-Margolies, Lynn. "Faces of Hope: A Tribute to Las Vegas' Holocaust Survivors." David Magazine. Accessed May 3, 2022. https://issuu.com/davidmagazine/docs/april_2013.

The Governor's Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust was established by the Nevada Legislature in 1989 under Nevada Revised Statute 233G. The duties of the Council are to develop educational programs for children and adults on issues related to the Holocaust, to create reports, and to advise public and private bodies throughout Nevada on Holocaust education. It is also responsible for its own fundraising, although some money is allocated by the legislature. The Council consists of eleven members appointed by the governor. It works with the Clark County School District, the Holocaust Survivors Group of Southern Nevada, the Anti-Defamation League, and other organizations to develop curriculum and programs for students, hold teacher education workshops, and provide funding for speakers and materials. The Council supports two research collections: the Shia Szrut Holocaust Research Collection in Washoe County at the Northwest Branch Library and the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center Library and Media Center in Las Vegas. Edythe Katz-Yarchever was the first chairperson of both the Council and the Holocaust Resource Center. In 2021, Judith Schumer was chairperson.

Related Collections

The following resource may provide additional information related to the materials in this collection:

Sperling Kronberg and Mack Holocaust Resource Center Round Table, Interview, 2014 September 04. OH-02460. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Preferred Citation

Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center Records, 1971-2018. MS-00733. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated in 2015 and 2017 by Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center and in 2019 and 2021 by Barbara Tabach; accession numbers 2015-065, 2017-018, 2021-056, and 2022-012.

Processing Note

In 2015, Emily Lapworth processed the collection and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. In 2017, Maggie Bukowski minimally processed the 2017 addition. In 2021, Tammi Kim accessioned the 2021 addition and updated the finding aid. In 2022, Sarah Jones processed the 2022 addition and updated the finding aid.

Resource Type

Records

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NVLN::MS00733

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English