Apr 19
Close to Home: Commemorating Yom HaShoah with Minnesota Shoah Stories
Sun, April 19, 2026
• 5:00pm
- 6:00pm (1h) • Chapel
The discovery of a forgotten, without context scrapbook in the Center for Genocide and Holocaust Studies led to an exciting new project with the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives. The Center and the Archives, both housed at the University of Minnesota, teamed up for the first time to create Minnesota Shoah Stories, a project aimed at uplifting powerful local survivor histories. We wondered, how did this scrapbook survive and make its way to the Twin Cities? And how can we share this item as a teaching tool for Holocaust history, an item with minimal context, something that raises more questions than it answers?
Oftentimes when dealing with archival research, scholars want to see large or comprehensive collections as they do a deep dive around a topic. But with forced migration, such as with Holocaust survivors, individuals may only have a few key pieces from their past. These small collections of one or two items are often overlooked, but are rife with insight on a survivor’s experience, made further impressive as these minimal items bear the responsibility of imparting and somehow encompassing their entire lived experience to future generations.
Come learn about the Minnesota Shoah Stories project, as well as take a dive into Minnesota Holocaust related archival materials. Collectively we can discover how one item can tell us so much about this powerful history.
About the speaker:
Kate Dietrick has been the Archivist for the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries since 2013. She holds a Masters of Information and Library Science from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, with certificates in both Archives and Museum Libraries, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Women’s Studies from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She is an active member of the Twin Cities Jewish community and a proud St. Paulite.
Co-sponsors:
Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries; Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota
Dinner from Cecil's Deli following the service.
from Chaplain's Office
Event Contact: Michaela Brown