Boston-area police officers learn lessons from the Holocaust
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Retired Raleigh Police Capt. Timothy Tomczak leads the "What You Do Matters" course for Boston-area police officials. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
Police officers across Greater Boston spent three hours in a Suffolk University law classroom Monday, studying the steps that led police to enforce the rules of Nazi Germany decades ago.
Why it matters: The training, the first of its kind in Boston, aims to share lessons from the Holocaust about how bigotry grew virtually unchallenged in hopes of preventing history from repeating itself.
- Jody Kipnis, co-founder of the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, helped bring the training to Boston and said she hopes it makes police and prosecutors more equipped to respond to antisemitism.
The big picture: Antisemitism has been on the rise in recent years, due to increasing white supremacy and the aftermath of the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
- Antisemitic incidents increased 205% in 2023 in New England, per the Anti-Defamation League's estimates.
- Separate research shows antisemitic hate crimes hit record highs in Boston that year.
Driving the news: Boston is the latest city where law enforcement officials are taking these trainings, created in partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Nearly three dozen officials across Greater Boston attended the training.
Zoom in: They learned how police were used to legitimize and enforce the Third Reich's policies, from conducting raids in search of weapons and political literature to reciting oaths pledging obedience to Adolf Hitler.
- But Todd Larson and Timothy Tomczak, who led the training, often reminded attendees that the officers were simply "following orders."
- They also asked attendees why they joined law enforcement — for many, it was to keep their communities safe — and whether they've ever faced orders that seemed to conflict with that.
What they're saying: "The slippery slope is real," Larson told officers. "... There are times when you have to face the ethical dilemmas in your career."
- Suffolk University police patrolman Roberto Terrero said he found the training "shocking," especially learning how Nazi leaders used officers to carry out their agenda.
What's next: Kipnis says she wants to hold similar training sessions for people in other sectors, from government to health care, before the foundation's Holocaust Museum and Educational Center opens in 2026.