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About

Beginnings & History

From a Sunday night film screening in 2005 to Holocaust Rails and Tolerance Week today — a community dedicated to remembrance and education.

Jerry and Kathy Weiner have been sponsoring the events of Tolerance Week in Sioux City, Iowa since 2005. It began when they saw a film called Paper Clips. We arranged to bring the film to the Sioux City Orpheum Theatre, and Mr. Weiner invited Mr. Phil Gans, an Auschwitz survivor, to come to Sioux City to speak after the film. The film showing was free and open to the public on a Sunday night. About 1,000 attended. On Monday morning, 1,800 8th grade students from Sioux City and nearby towns attended a showing of the film and heard Mr. Gans speak.

Mr. Gans wanted to speak to as many students as possible. We decided to make plans for him to return for a week so that he could give his full presentation to many area students, and Tolerance Week was born.

Since 2007, Tolerance Week has involved a film screening or live performance which is free and open to the public. From 2005-2014, Mr. Gans spoke to more than 50,000 Siouxland students. Tolerance Week has featured award-winning films including Paperclips, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, The Reckoning: Remembering the Dutch Resistance, One Out of Ten, Inside Hanna’s Suitcase, Nicky’s Family, Blessed is the Match and Angel of Ahlem.

Tolerance Week has also featured live musical performances by Sioux City Symphony conductor Ryan Haskins, and original plays and performances centered on Child Holocaust Survivor Inge Auerbacher.

The grand opening of Holocaust Rails was during Tolerance Week in 2023, and 2026 featured world-acclaimed Violins of Hope in partnership with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.

Leadership

Board of Directors

  • David Bernstein
  • Kelli Erickson
  • Janet Flanagan
  • Elizabeth Ford
  • Greg Giles
  • Kimberly Greene
  • Lou Ann Lindblade
  • Bruce Miller

Our Partners

Briar Cliff University logo with small blue and orange name text and a gray tagline.
Sioux City Conservatory of Music logo with chunky orange name text outlined in black.
Gilchrist Foundation logo with black serif name text beside a circular black monogram.
Sioux City Human Rights Commission logo with black name text beneath brown, tan, and red building shapes.
Humanities Iowa logo with black name text and a dotted circle around a lowercase h.
Lewis & Clark logo with a blue, red, and white compass-star mark inside a gray circle above black center text.
Lifelong Learning logo with black script text beneath interlocking red, green, blue, and orange shapes.
Mid-America Museum logo with black name text, a white airplane, and a gray roadway on a blue gradient panel.
Morningside College logo with a black M, narrow red, yellow, and blue stripes, and black name text.
Missouri River Historical Development logo with large blue “MRHD” letters, a white river curve, and a gray name line.
National Endowment for the Humanities logo with a lime-green radiating flower mark and black name text.
National Music Museum logo with a red-and-gray panel, dark red stringed-instrument silhouette, large white name text, and a small black affiliation line.
Orpheum Theatre logo with a centered red ornate “Orpheum” wordmark on white.
Powell Broadcasting logo with bold black name text beside a geometric black arrow mark.
Sioux City Art Center logo with black serif name text and a teal-and-black curved building mark.
Sioux City Public Museum logo with black uppercase name text beneath a red, orange, and pink geometric building mark.
Siouxland Public Media logo with black and orange name text, a blue broadcast tower, and red signal arcs.
Logo stored for South Sioux City Schools with stacked black school-name text, a teal square and white abstract figure, and a gray tagline.
University of South Dakota logo with a red interlocking SD monogram and black uppercase name text.
Western Iowa Tech logo with white “WIT” letters on a green block, a yellow Iowa shape, and black “Community College” text.
Sioux City Symphony Orchestra logo with a black looping S mark and stacked black name text.
Jewish Federation of Sioux City logo with black name text, a menorah, and a rectangular frame.
Siouxland Community Foundation logo with an orange classical column beside black name text.
Cargill logo with a bold black wordmark beneath a sweeping green arch.
Iowa Economic Development logo with teal “IOWA” and name text beside a yellow-and-green landscape circle.
The Kind World Foundation logo with black serif name text beside a black hand-drawn globe mark.
Sioux City Museum logo mark with maroon, orange, and muted pink geometric building shapes and horizontal lines.
Briar Cliff University logo with small blue and orange name text and a gray tagline.
Sioux City Conservatory of Music logo with chunky orange name text outlined in black.
Gilchrist Foundation logo with black serif name text beside a circular black monogram.
Sioux City Human Rights Commission logo with black name text beneath brown, tan, and red building shapes.
Humanities Iowa logo with black name text and a dotted circle around a lowercase h.
Lewis & Clark logo with a blue, red, and white compass-star mark inside a gray circle above black center text.
Lifelong Learning logo with black script text beneath interlocking red, green, blue, and orange shapes.
Mid-America Museum logo with black name text, a white airplane, and a gray roadway on a blue gradient panel.
Morningside College logo with a black M, narrow red, yellow, and blue stripes, and black name text.
Missouri River Historical Development logo with large blue “MRHD” letters, a white river curve, and a gray name line.
National Endowment for the Humanities logo with a lime-green radiating flower mark and black name text.
National Music Museum logo with a red-and-gray panel, dark red stringed-instrument silhouette, large white name text, and a small black affiliation line.
Orpheum Theatre logo with a centered red ornate “Orpheum” wordmark on white.
Powell Broadcasting logo with bold black name text beside a geometric black arrow mark.
Sioux City Art Center logo with black serif name text and a teal-and-black curved building mark.
Sioux City Public Museum logo with black uppercase name text beneath a red, orange, and pink geometric building mark.
Siouxland Public Media logo with black and orange name text, a blue broadcast tower, and red signal arcs.
Logo stored for South Sioux City Schools with stacked black school-name text, a teal square and white abstract figure, and a gray tagline.
University of South Dakota logo with a red interlocking SD monogram and black uppercase name text.
Western Iowa Tech logo with white “WIT” letters on a green block, a yellow Iowa shape, and black “Community College” text.
Sioux City Symphony Orchestra logo with a black looping S mark and stacked black name text.
Jewish Federation of Sioux City logo with black name text, a menorah, and a rectangular frame.
Siouxland Community Foundation logo with an orange classical column beside black name text.
Cargill logo with a bold black wordmark beneath a sweeping green arch.
Iowa Economic Development logo with teal “IOWA” and name text beside a yellow-and-green landscape circle.
The Kind World Foundation logo with black serif name text beside a black hand-drawn globe mark.
Sioux City Museum logo mark with maroon, orange, and muted pink geometric building shapes and horizontal lines.