Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley will present a three-part series “From Hatred to Catastrophe: Understanding the Holocaust” in April.

“The Holocaust did not begin with the gas chambers,” Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan said. “It began with words, ideas and political choices that slowly normalized hatred and exclusion.”

This interfaith series, which will be taught by the Rabbi, traces the Holocaust as a historical process, helping participants understand how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power, how antisemitism became state policy and how a modern society moved step by step toward genocide.

Kaplan will unfold the Holocaust from its ideological origins through its earliest phases and into its deadliest years. Emphasis will be placed on chronology, context and human decision-making — what was known when, what choices were available and how ordinary institutions and individuals became complicit. 

“The goal of this course is not only remembrance, but understanding how the Holocaust happened, why it matters today and what its lessons demand of us as citizens and moral beings,” Kaplan said.

The series will run 10-11:30 a.m. April 6, 13 and 20 at the Temple, 12202 N. 101st Ave.

Cost is $20 for TBS members and $35 for non-members. A discount is available by purchasing a coupon book of four courses. Registration deadline is noon April 1. To RSVP, call the Temple office at 623-977-3240. For more information, go to tbsaz.org.