Nearly 20 North Shore law enforcement officials, including Ipswich Police Chief Paul Nikas, recently visited the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington. (Courtesy Lappin Foundation)
IPSWICH — Chief Paul Nikas of the Ipswich Police Department was one of nearly 20 North Shore law enforcement officials to recently visit the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington.
The visit was facilitated by the U.S. Holocaust Museum and funded by the Lappin Foundation, whose stated mission is enhancing Jewish identity across generations, and the Holocaust Legacy Foundation.
“It was a powerful visit,” Chief Nikas said. “To see the suffering, the torture, the ugly acts that took place in Nazi Germany and in concentration camps — it was a powerful experience.”
The museum’s Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust (LEAS) program is presented in cooperation with the Anti-Defamation League. The program has reached more than 150,000 law enforcement officers from the U.S. and 80 other countries, the museum said.
The April 13 trip included 16 police chiefs, Essex Sheriff Kevin Coppinger and Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker.
The North Shore Law Enforcement leaders attended two workshops while at the museum: one on policing in Nazi Germany and how it shaped the Holocaust, and another on policing today.
“Seeing the horrors of the past influences our worldviews, and ultimately our current policies,” said Chief Nikas.
The law enforcement officers also had a two-hour self-guided tour of the museum.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum opened in 1993. Millions of people each year visit the museum and learn about the tragedy that was the Holocaust. Many of the groups touring the U.S. Holocaust Museum include students who may be learning about the Holocaust for the first time.
“It was an experience I won’t forget,” said Chief Nikas. “It’s important that everyone visits the museum once, to see how the Holocaust came to be and to see the untold pain and carnage inflicted on millions of people by the Nazi regime.”