Events

2013 Events

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting the talk “‘The Long Trek’ of Ethnic Germans from Soviet Ukraine to Nazi-Occupied Poland between 1943 and 1945” at the spring gathering of the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Shattuck, OK, on April 21, 2013.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be speaking to the Friends of the Alva Public Library on Monday, April 15, 2013, on the classic historical novel "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is presenting on the topic of "Buffalo Soldiers" on Thursday, February 14, at a Rotary Club Luncheon Meeting in Alva, OK.

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz will give a presentation at the Research at the Oklahoma  History Center in Oklahoma City on “Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research.”  His focus will be on family history research of descendants of German-Russian heritage in Oklahoma and the Great Plains states. He will give a brief history of the migration of German-Russians into the region and then highlight some of the key publications, archival records, heritage and professional organizations, Websites, and family history research trends of this group today.

2012 Events

“Under the Glass Dome:  Studying the Past to Understand the Future”:  Guest Speaker Dr. Steven B. Rogers, US Government Investigator of Nazi-Era Crimes, to Speak on Monday, October 8, 2012, 7:00-9:00 PM at Herod Hall Auditorium in Alva

Dr. Steven Rogers speaking in Herod Hall Auditorium for the 2012 Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series.

The NWOSU Social Sciences Department and the Institute for Citizenship Studies are pleased to host Dr. Steven B. Rogers on Monday, October 8, 2012, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Herod Hall Auditorium on the Alva campus as part of its Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series.  Dr. Rogers will discuss his academic background and how it prepared him for a distinguished career in the US federal government in his talk, “Under the Glass Dome:  Studying the Past to Understand the Future.”

Dr. Rogers originates from Chicago and has lived in the Washington, DC area since 1976.  He holds degrees in German, German Literature, and Germanic Studies from Florida Southern College (1974), the University of Arizona (1975), and the University of Maryland (1984).  He also studied at the Pädigogische Hochschule and the Albert-Ludwig-Universität in Freiburg, Germany.

Dr. Rogers’ teaching credentials include courses in German language, literature, and culture at the University of Arizona in Tucson, the University of Maryland at College Park, the University College of Maryland, and the Prince George’s Community College, and for several years he was on the summer faculty at Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont, and at the Human Rights and Holocaust Center of Maine at Bates College, teaching Holocaust-related courses.

In 1978-1979, Dr. Rogers served as a research analyst for the Special Litigation Unit of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, a task force established to investigate allegations that individuals who assisted in Nazi-sponsored persecution had entered the United States illegally after World War II.  In 1979, he was hired as the first historian for the newly created Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice which assumed full jurisdiction for the investigation and prosecution of Nazi persecutors residing in the United States.  During his tenure at OSI, he served as case historian on several proceedings involving Nazi atrocities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.  He also served as acting director for Research and Case Development, and later as Senior Historian for Special Projects.  It was in this latter capacity that he monitored the various US border lookout systems attempting to interdict Nazi persecutors attempting to enter the country.  He served on special task forces investigating the postwar fugitives Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele, Nazi gold and other Holocaust-era assets (for which he received the Deputy Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Special Initiative), and finally he was OSI’s point man on the review of millions of pages of recently declassified records released by federal agencies to the National Archives and Records Administration.  Dr. Rogers retired from the US Department of Justice in March 2010 after almost 32 years of service.  Today he works as a freelance historian and research consultant on a variety of projects.

Dr. Rogers has written and lectured extensively on the investigation of Nazi war crimes and related topics.  His historical essays, literary criticism pieces, poems, translations, and other publications have appeared in several books, journals and magazines.  He is also the editor of A Gradual Twilight:  An Appreciation of John Haines, published by CavanKerry Press in 2003.  He is currently working on a novel whose focus is the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917.

He and his wife Sally Ann divide their time between homes in historic Mount Rainier, Maryland, and New Gloucester, Maine.

 

Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz at the German American Society of Tulsa’s annual commemoration of the National Day of Mourning (Volkstrauertag) for German POWs held at the Fort Reno cemetery on November 13, 2011. Both the Oklahoma Governor’s Color Guard and German armed forces representatives participated in the event. Dr. Schmaltz also served as one of the featured speakers.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting the talk “Germans from Russia in Kansas and Family History Research” to the Wichita Golden Wheat Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Wichita, KS, on Oct. 7, 2012.

Dr. Aaron Mason is the featured speaker on the book American Sphinx:  The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis at “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council at the Alva Public Library in Alva, OK, on Oct. 15, 2012. 

J. W. Platt is the featured speaker on the book Scandalmonger:  A Novel by William Safire concerning the life of Alexander Hamilton at “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council at the Alva Public Library in Alva, OK, on Oct. 29, 2012. 

The Social Sciences Department and the NWOSU-Masonic Institute for Citizenship Studies will host Matthew T. Schaefer, M.A., Senior Archivist at the Hoover Presidential

Library in West Branch, Iowa, on April 2, 2012, as its Presidential Lecture Series guest speaker. The Presidential Lecture is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Graceful Arts Center in downtown Alva. The lecture is open to the public, free of charge. A reception will be held immediately prior to the lecture for the public to meet Mr. Schaefer.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents a talk, “The Voices in Exile Have Returned: Recent Scholarship on Ethnic German Letters from the Soviet Union Published on the Great Plains from 1917 to 1937,” for the Society for German-American Studies Annual Symposium held at the University of Kansas-Lawrence, Lawrence, KS, 12-14 Apr. 2012.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is speaking on the topic of black cowboys in the American West at the 14th Biennial Maple Leaf and Eagle Conference on North American Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, on May 8-11, 2012.  This event explores the definition of “North America as West/The West of North America.”

 

Picture taken during a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Portland, OR, on June 15-17, 2012. Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for a couple of other sessions at the conference.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents “Postcards from Ukraine:  Visiting My Ancestral German Villages in May 2011” to the Northwest Oklahoma Genealogy Society at the Alva Public Library on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at 2 PM.  He considers the villages’ early nineteenth-century historical development and the eventual dissolution of these once vibrant communities under the Soviet and Nazi regimes.  He also highlights some pressing issues facing the region

today.  The presentation utilizes maps and numerous photos from the memorable journey. 

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents his paper, “Carrots and Sticks ... and Demonstrations:  Yuri Andropov’s Failed Autonomy Plan for the Germans of Soviet Kazakhstan, 1976-1980,” at a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Portland, OR, 14-17 June 2012.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is traveling to northern England to present a paper on June 22-23, 2012, at Durham University’s conference on the German Diaspora in Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union.  His presentation is called “‘A People on the Move’:  The Germans from Russia Diaspora as a Transnational Community after the Cold War.”  Scholars from Europe and elsewhere will be attending the event.  The organizers plan to publish some of the conference proceedings.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting “Those Other Germans: Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research” to the Oklahoma Genealogical Society in Oklahoma City, OK, on July 2, 2012.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is speaking on the topic of black college hockey players at a black community academic conference held at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in July 2012.

 

Pictures from the Leviathan Society's visit to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, KS, on Saturday, March 9, 2013. All pictures courtesy of Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz.
Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz during the Workshop on the German Diaspora in Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union sponsored by the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, England, on June 22-23, 2012. Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for another session at this time. Included is a scenic view of the historic Durham Cathedral near the train station.	Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz during a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Portland, OR, on June 15-17, 2012.  Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for a couple of other sessions at the conference.
Pictures taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz and Dr. Aaron Mason during the Secondary School Teachers’ Workshop on the U.S. Civil War hosted by the NWOSU Department of Social Sciences and the Institute for Citizenship Studies in conjunction with the Oklahoma Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities on June 11-14, 2012, in Alva, OK, and Fort Larned, KS.
A night image of the historic Alamo in downtown San Antonio, TX.  Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz.	San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, TX, established in 1738.  The crypt with the supposed remains of Alamo defenders William Travis, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett are kept inside the church’s left-side entranceway. Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz.
Picture from the Leviathan Society's visit to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, KS, on Saturday, March 9, 2013.  Picture courtesy of Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz.

2011 Events

Northwestern’s annual Constitution Day Event will be held on Wednesday, September 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in EC 109. Dr. James V. Calvi, Professor of Political Science at West Texas A&M University will portray the character of Alexander Hamilton and describe his efforts to ratify the US Constitution. The event is open to the public and is free of charge. The event is sponsored by the NWOSU Masonic Institute for Citizenship Studies and the NWOSU Social Sciences Department. For more information, call Dr. Aaron Mason at (580) 327-8522.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is presenting on Saturday, September 24, at 10:30 AM his paper, “Volk auf dem Weg: The Germans from Russia in the Americas,” at the Forty-sixth Annual Northern Great Plains History Conference held at Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is the featured guest speaker on Sunday, October 9, at 3:00 PM at the annual event of the German Society of Tulsa held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His talk will be “German-American Day, 2011: Germans in Oklahoma.”

On Monday, October 24, the Institute will hold its annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series Event. This year’s observance will involve Beverly Kinzie and her new book “Images of America: Early Woods County.” The event will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Education Center (EC) 109 on the Alva Campus. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Aaron Mason at (580) 327-8522.

Dr. Aaron L. Mason, J. W. Platt and Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz are participating in the 2011 Oklahoma Research Day held on Friday, November 4, at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their abstract with poster is “The American Presidency as Seen through Print Journalism.”

Dr. Aaron L. Mason, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz and Dr. Tony E. Wohlers are holding a joint panel presentation called “Water Management and Conflicts in Oklahoma: Regulating and Competing for a Limited Resource” at the Oklahoma Political Science Association Annual Meeting held on Thursday-Friday, November 10-11, at Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is the featured guest speaker at the annual commemoration of the German Society of Tulsa held on Sunday, November 13, at 3:00 PM at Fort Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma. His presentation will be “German POWs in Oklahoma on the National Day of Mourning (Volkstrauertag), 2011.”