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Combating
Antisemitism
Teaching the Holocaust to Future
Generations
Through Our
Eyes
Recent Highlights at the
International School for Holocaust Studies
From
Crisis to Hope
From Crisis to Hope
by Osnat Dadon
“Why do we need to learn about the
Holocaust?” “How is the Holocuast relevant to me?”
Questions like this were the starting
point when the International School for Holocaust Studies began
planning “From Crisis to Hope”—an educational program for some
3,000 11th grade students who attend learning
institutions sponsored by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Employment. The students, both Jewish and Arab, have social,
scholastic and emotional problems, and often find themselves on
the fringes of society.
Recognizing that these young
individuals comprise an important part of the population, and
believing in their abilities, members of staff designed a five-day
thought-provoking program with both academic and experiential
components. The curriculum includes three days of seminars at Yad
Vashem; one day of creative, hands-on activity using Yad Vashem’s
mobile “Identity Card” program; and a tour of Jerusalem on the
theme of the Holocaust and Courage, led by guides from the Ben Zvi
Center.
The program seeks to foster a
connection between the youth and the subject of the Holocaust,
enabling them to understand its implications for all of humanity,
especially Israel. It also aims to provide the historical
knowledge necessary for them to deal with questions about the
nature of mankind, society, and individual and collective memory.
The personal dilemmas and tragedies experienced by people during
the Holocaust are approached by examining them in light of their
own lives.
At the end of the program one pupil
said, “Although I will never be able to understand this tragedy,
or find answers to all of my questions, after all of these
encounters it is clear to me that the Holocaust cannot be
forsaken. We must learn its lessons for the future in order to
prevent this from happening again, either to us or to anyone
else.”
The author is Coordinator of the
Informal Training Division at the International School for
Holocaust Studies
Copyright ©2004 Yad Vashem The Holocaust
Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority |
