From KRAKOW TO KRYPTON

On June 12, award-winning author, graphic novelist, and lecturer Arie Kaplan joined us to share his experience profiling comic legends like Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Art Spiegelman in this gripping multimedia presentation that demonstrates the importance of progressive Jewish values in shaping the Golden Age of Comics during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as the gritty 'independent comics' scene of the 1970s and 1980s.

Five Fun Facts

1. Comic books began as a repackaging of the popular newspaper comic strips into books.

2. Many of the famous Golden Age comic book characters came about because it was cheaper to create original stories using writers and artists who could not get other jobs due to age, inexperience, and quotas: working class people, immigrants, and children of immigrants, many of whom were Jewish.

3. Superman was pitched to, and rejected by, a number of newspapers before making his debut in Action Comics #1.

4. Comic book heroes, like Captain America, were positioned against the Nazis even before the US entered World War II.

5. Superman was the first comic book hero whose secret identity is not the superhero, but the regular person.

Live Briefing from Poland: Supporting Ukrainian Refugees

On April 20, our friends at the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning, based in Warsaw, joined the Workers Circle for a Live Briefing from Poland: Supporting Ukrainian Refugees. The Taube Center shared stories of what is happening on the ground with the refugees and we are grateful for their efforts to support them in such personal and meaningful ways.

FIVE FACTS

1. This briefing raised over $2,400 that was sent directly to Ukrainian refugees.

2. The Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning were able to help over 800 Ukrainian refugees escape to Poland. Over two million refugees are now living in Poland.

3. Once arriving in Poland, the organization delivered food and personal hygiene products to a large refugee center located in Nadarzyn, a small town near Warsaw.

4. Poland has created legal outreach for refugees where they have been provided Visas for up to 18 months and they can receive the same benefits that Polish citizens receive.

5. The Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning continue to provide aid such as fuel, and other supplies to assist volunteers at the border.

We will plan another update from Taube in the coming months to keep our community up-to-date on the latest information coming out of Warsaw on this humanitarian crisis.