by Ephraim Kaye

In early July, Yad Vashem held its sixth international conference on Holocaust education—the largest ever of its kind in Israel. For more than half the 750 participants, this was their first visit to the country. Close to 400 participants came from Europe alone and, in light of the demographic changes that have taken place across the continent since the end of WWII, a special emphasis was placed on how to teach the Holocaust in a multicultural setting (see p. 4).

The morning sessions at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center centered on three different themes: “Racism and Antisemitism in the 19th and 20th Centuries—the prelude to destruction;” “Teaching the Holocaust in a Multicultural Society—combating the phenomena of racism and prejudice in the classroom;” and “Building a Better World—the legacy of the Holocaust survivors and celebrating Israel in its 60th year.” Panel participants included Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak, who presented a series of paintings he created especially for the conference dealing with the iconic image of the Jewish boy with his hands held high during the May 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Commander of the Israeli Air Force, General Ido Nechustan, talked about the importance of teaching the Holocaust to the IDF officer corps and the “Witnesses in Uniform” army trips to Poland. Nechustan’s presentation ended with a five-minute video clip of the September 2003 flyover of three Israeli F-15s above the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev spoke of the challenges facing educators in an era when Holocaust survivors will no longer be among us, and his vision of Holocaust education for future generations (see p. 5).

After each main morning lecture, Christian, Jewish and Muslim educators from 53 countries worldwide gathered at the International School for Holocaust Studies for more than 160 educational workshops that touched upon multi-disciplinary aspects of the Holocaust. Sa’ad Khaldi, a Muslim educator whose roots go back to British Mandatory Palestine as well as to a Jewish grandmother, gave a moving presentation on teaching the Holocaust in a British multicultural classroom in which the majority of his students are Muslim. Ahmad El Ahmad, a graduate of the 2006 Yad Vashem seminar for Jordanian educators, came to the conference out of a “deep-felt sympathy and recognition of the importance of teaching the Holocaust to Arab students in the Middle East.” And four students from Korea came “in order to learn more about the Jewish people, Israel and the significance of the Holocaust.”

One of the more unusual workshops was a musical presentation based on the project “I Believe,” given by Zane Zallis of Winnipeg, Canada to a group of over fifty educators. The project is based on interviews with Holocaust survivors and Zallis' attempt to communicate their feelings through music. He demonstrated several themes from “I Believe,” and suggested methods for teaching and presenting the material.

The conference also hosted a number of high-ranking officials: Guatemalan Minister of Education Ana Ordoñez de Molina addressed more than 100 Spanish-speaking participants, emphasizing the importance of teaching the Holocaust in South America. Argentinean federal judge and criminal law professor, the Hon. Daniel Rafecas Esq., spoke about his personal journey towards realizing the importance of teaching the Holocaust in order to protect basic human rights and fight antisemitism—a journey resulting from his research into the crimes of torture committed by the last Argentinean dictatorship. Rafecas concluded his lecture by saying: “Over the last ten years I haven’t read anything that isn’t related to the topic, because the emotional and human dimension of the Holocaust has captured my soul.”

The closing session took place in the Family Square, adjacent to the International School for Holocaust Studies. Kovno survivor Prof. Kalman Perk spoke of his experience as a young boy growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust, and the legacy that his father bestowed upon him: to “be a mensch.” Yad Vashem Academic Advisor Prof. Yehuda Bauer gave a lecture in memory of Dr. Israel Asper on the topic of “The Holocaust and the State of Israel.” Calling the idea that the State of Israel was created as a result of the Holocaust “false historical consciousness,” he demonstrated that “nothing is inevitable in history,” and that the Holocaust did not produce the State of Israel but, paradoxically, “almost prevented it from coming into existence.” In the end, however, the Shoah “produced a society that could remember the Holocaust, and without it, Israel would have looked very different.”

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies Natan Sharansky gave the final address. He presented his rejection of the new idea that democracy is more important than national identity. Recalling his personal reconnection to his Jewish roots, Sharansky explained: “If you see yourself as part of a much bigger story… you will have the strength to speak your mind. Real freedom comes only with identity.”

The Sixth International Conference on Holocaust Education was made possible through the generosity of the Adelson Family Foundation and the Asper Foundation, and with the support of the Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation, Charles Lownhaupt, David Sherman, the TLD Corporation and Hilda and Tom Weisz.

The author, the conference director, is Director of International Seminars at the International School for Holocaust Studies.

"What a wealth of information I have taken back with me to use in my classroom. Thank you"

Abbe Snyder, USA

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