Quakers vs. Nazis: What can happen when worldviews collide

Decorah Public Library invites the public to attend a free presentation about the collision of Quaker pacifists and Nazis during World War II by Dr. Michael Luick-Thrams on Saturday, September 6 at 1 PM. The presentation will take place in the library’s mezzanine.

How do ordinary citizens respond to evil? The historically peaceable-but-activist British and North American Quakers of the 1930s and '40s found themselves in a world torn between dictatorship and democracy, war and peace. This lecture focuses on how they responded to the tenor of their times, both philosophically (relying on pacifism and mindfulness in the face of tangible threats) and practically. Learn about the "Kindertransport" that saved 10,000 "non-Aryan" children from the Holocaust in Europe and the Scattergood Hostel in Iowa as a safe haven for 185 European refugees - the US' largest grassroots response to the Holocaust as it was happening.

Descended from Winneshiek County pioneers, Dr. Michael Luick-Thrams grew up on an Iowa farm, only later to earn a Ph.D. in Third Reich history at Humboldt-Universitaet in Berlin. He's lived in Germany for 33 years, where he still teaches and directs the Haus der Spuren museum and cultural center. Learn more about Dr. Luick-Thrams at www.traces.org

For more information, please contact Zach Row-Heyveld at Decorah Public Library – enJvdy1oZXl2ZWxkIHwgZGVjb3JhaGxpYnJhcnkgISBvcmc= or by calling 563.382.3717.

You may also like the following events from Decorah Public Library:

• This Tuesday, 2nd September, 10:00 am, Coffee & Creativity: Paper Doll Collage in Decorah
• This Tuesday, 2nd September, 04:00 pm, Dog Tales in Decorah
• This Tuesday, 2nd September, 05:30 pm, Evening Storytime in Decorah