by Richelle Budd-Caplan

On 28 July, a comprehensive new educational resource for American high school students was launched at the offices of the Shoah Foundation, California. Echoes and Reflections - a multimedia curriculum on the Holocaust—is the result of an unprecedented partnership between the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation (established by Steven Spielberg), and Yad Vashem.

The 10-lesson program includes innovative strategies to foster anti-bias education. Rich with visual history testimony and rare archival materials, it focuses on the origins of anti-Semitism; Nazi Germany in the 1930s; the ghettos; “The Final Solution;” Jewish resistance; non-Jewish resistance; perpetrators, victims and bystanders; and children during the Holocaust. Additional connections are also made with issues of prejudice and modern-day genocide. All lessons in the program have been designed according to US national standards in Social Studies, English/Language Arts and Viewing and Media Literacy.

The curriculum combines the pedagogical experience of all three organizations, incorporating the historical expertise and vast archival holdings of Yad Vashem, the national outreach network of the ADL, and the unmatched visual history resources of the Shoah Foundation. This interdisciplinary multi-part course - already field-tested in four cities - will help students connect history with contemporary issues, and develop skills to become active members of an informed citizenry.

As part of the project, Yad Vashem has developed a resource center for teachers and students, accessible through its wsebsite, www.yadvashem.org.

Businessman and hi-tech entrepreneur Yossie Hollander and his wife Dana are supporting the development of Echoes and Reflections, launched in the presence of Director of the ADL Abe Foxman, President and CEO of the Shoah Foundation Douglas Greenberg, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev, and members of the project development team. The launch also marked the culmination of a preparation seminar for course guides (Trainers)—members of the ADL - developed by staff from all three organizations.

In a videotaped message played at the event, Steven Spielberg said: “It has always been my dream that the Shoah Foundation’s unique archive of testimonies would transform the way history is taught and learned. Today, that dream is becoming a reality. The partnership we celebrate here today ensures that future generations can learn what survivors and other eyewitnesses to the Holocaust can teach: that our very humanity depends on the practice of tolerance and mutual respect.” Senator Barbara Boxer also sent a videotaped message.

The author is Project Manager of Echoes and Reflections and Head of International Relations, The International School of Holocaust Studies.

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