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What’s New at the International School for Holocaust Studies?
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1. Echoes and Reflections – A Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust
The ADL, Shoah Foundation and Yad Vashem are
proud to present Echoes and Reflections - A Multimedia Curriculum on
the Holocaust.
Rich with
visual historical testimony integrated into 10 multi-part lessons, this
Holocaust curriculum for high schools focuses on the origins of
antisemitism, 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 to issues of prejudice and modern-day
genocide. The curriculum of this program supports national standards
in Social Studies, English/Language Arts and Viewing and Media
Literacy. A website for students has been created by the
International School for Holocaust Studies which can be viewed here.
To order this comprehensive educational resource, please visit: www.echoesandreflections.org
2. Online Forum for Holocaust Educators
On Sunday, July 3, 2005, Yad Vashem launched a
new “Forum for Holocaust Educators”, providing teachers, experts,
students and all those who take an interest in the field an
opportunity to discuss issues in Holocaust education.
In the coming years we will see the last of
the generation of survivors disappear, further elevating the
significance of teachers in perpetuating the memory of the
Holocaust. In recent years, The International School of Holocaust Studies at Yad
Vashem has developed an extensive array of resources
and tools aimed at aiding teachers. In addition to expanding its
teacher-training divisions, international conferences have been
coordinated and both print and online materials have been published. The
new forum marks the first time that Yad Vashem has facilitated a
platform for discussion for educators. The forum may include topics
such as:
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How do we teach the Holocaust?
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What ages are best suited to begin teaching the subject?
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Questions on content
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References to educational material, bibliography lists, lesson plans, ceremonies, etc.
In addition, we hope that the forum
will become an interesting and challenging educational tool for all
those interested in the field.
Use of the forum is free of charge. Those interested may register and then access the forum here.
For any questions or assistance on
the forum, please email:
Teacher-eng@yadvashem.org.il
3. New Videoconferencing Service
In May 2005, a
videoconference service was inaugurated at the International School
for Holocaust Studies. The direct broadcast will be used as a new
tool for teaching the Holocaust
internationally.
The service began on May 5, Israel’s Holocaust
Remembrance Day, with a videoconference between a school in New
Jersey and Yad Vashem teaching staff in Jerusalem. More recently, on
June 23, an encounter was held between high school students in
Frankfurt, Germany and an Israeli Holocaust survivor at Yad Vashem.
After telling his story, the students chatted with him and asked
questions, with teachers from the International School moderating
the event.
The videoconferencing received
considerable coverage in major Israeli and German newspapers. The
International School is already busy expanding the uses of this tool
- among the options considered are facilitating encounters between
Israeli and German students, teacher training, and conducting short
lessons on particular aspects of the Holocaust, based on teaching
units developed in the School.
If you are interested in conducting such a videoconference for your
classroom, please write to
internet.education@yadvashem.org.il.
Note that there are minimal computer requirements,
available upon request from this email.
4. Upcoming: International Forum
On October 8-11, 2005, the European Department
of the International School for Holocaust Studies will host an
international forum of experts in the fields of Holocaust education
and antisemitism in cooperation with the Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This forum, sponsored by the ICHEIC
Humanitarian Fund and the Asper Foundation, will bring together
fifteen experts from twelve European countries, including a
representative from the European Standing Conference of History
Associations (EUROCLIO), to discuss best practices and practical
strategies on promoting Holocaust education as well as combating
antisemitism. A book and CD-ROM based on the forum proceedings will
be published during 2006.
5. Seminars Conducted by the European Department
Past Seminars:
Seminar for Russian Teachers: March
20-April 2, 2005
This seminar was attended by eighteen
participants from all fields of education, including four professors
who composed textbooks for Russian schools. Some of these have
developed their own unique teaching methods.
The seminar included a meeting with
survivors, a lecture by a Righteous Among the Nations, and other
lectures. Several didactic workshops were held and participants
showed noticeable interest.
The didactic day, in cooperation with Yad
Vashem staff members, sparked much interest, and the feeling is that
the participants benefited greatly from the ability to share
discussion on didactic and pedagogical issue. Of particular interest
were current antisemitism and its historical roots, in Russia and in
Europe.
Lithuanian Seminar: June 13–27, 2005
This seminar was attended by twenty participants, all high school
history or literature teachers. Participants split into two groups,
one that was emotionally and professionally prepared to deal with the issue of
the Holocaust, and the other that still had difficulty in doing so.
The seminar included praiseworthy workshops. In particular, the exclusively prepared workshop on bystanders.
The didactic day, also a success, consisted mostly of meetings
with lecturers.
The new museum evoked positive reactions,
as well as appreciative feedback for organizational professionalism,
the high level of the lectures and overall pedagogic preparation.
Dealing with the Holocaust was a meaningful event for
these participants.
Croatian Teachers’ Seminar: July 17-31, 2005
This seminar was attended by twenty-five
participants, mostly teachers. The group was very dynamic and highly
motivated. Their willingness and openness to genuinely discuss the
subject resulted in many important questions not only raised,
but discussed as well on the various topics of the seminar.
The workshops were successful and gave
participants new ideas and teaching methods, which they will be able to
implement in their own schools.
It’s important to point out that the issue of
Jewish history before the Holocaust was new to most of the
participants. Also, dealing with antisemitism proved complex and
difficult to some of the participants.
Feedback given at the end of the seminar
indicates satisfaction from both the organization
and content of the event.
Belgian Seminar: April 3-9, 2005:
Twenty three teachers, (12 English speakers and
11 Flemish speakers) participated in this seminar..
It’s
important to note that this was the first seminar of its kind
conducted at Yad Vashem. Two main goals were set for the seminar:
One was to open and develop channels of cooperation in the field of
Holocaust education in Belgium; the second, to broaden the
participants’ historical knowledge. For Yad Vashem, it was important
to convey the International School’s pedagogical philosophy, not
only on the theoretical level, but also by exposing participants to
practical lesson plans developed at the School, which could help them.
The makeup of the group was varied, due both to the linguistic and
cultural differences, and the differences in familiarity on the subject.
Most lectures were delivered in English and
simultaneously translated to Flemish and French.
The seminar program consisted of three
categories, the main one being Holocaust education; the second,
pre-war and contemporary antisemitism; and the third – presenting the
current conflict and Israeli reality.
Based on the participants
evaluations, they were pleased with the level of
the lecturers and the organization of the seminar.
Hungarian Seminar – Shaping the Memory: March
19-24, 2005:
This seminar was attended by twenty-six participants, including
council officials, senior representatives of the Hungarian Culture
Ministry, a cleric who is also a member of parliament, and two
renowned historians. Due to the makeup of the group, the seminar
emphasized general historical aspects and methods of commemoration.
Special importance was given to encouraging dialog within the group
on these subjects.
Lectures focused on historical issues, the
prewar Jewish world, Holocaust commemoration and Yad Vashem’s
Pedagogical Philosophy.
British Teachers’ Seminar: May 28 – June 5,
2005:
The first seminar of its kind, held in
cooperation with the Imperial War Museum in London. Sixteen
educators, mostly history teachers, participated. The seminar’s goal
was to assist the teachers in teaching the Holocaust, not only by
enhancing their historical knowledge, but also by giving them
pedagogical tools. The seminar was conducted at three levels: the
academic, the pedagogic and the experimental. The experiment for Yad
Vashem was in examining how we
teach the subject of prewar and postwar Jewish life, while focusing
on the individual.
Another important subject discussed in the
seminar was how to confront the comparison often drawn between
Israel’s actions in the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Nazi’s actions
before and during the Holocaust.
In the pedagogical meetings, the
focus was on
presenting the International School’s Pedagogical Philosophy in
teaching the Holocaust.
Austrian Teachers’ Seminar: August 18-26, 2005
In 1998, on the sixtieth anniversary of “Kristallnacht” (“the night of broken glass), the Education Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia sent a group of teachers to a seminar at Yad Vashem. The initial success of this seminar has led to many more since, and the seminar in August will be the tenth. The group will be comprised of twenty teachers from various fields of education. They will attend lectures and participate in smaller workshops on various subjects together with Yad Vashem teaching staff. For example, subjects will include: Teaching the Holocaust to Young Age Groups or The Holocaust in Films.
The aim of the workshops is to introduce Yad Vashem’s educational approach to the participants and to hear from them about their educational work in their schools.
Future Seminars:
Italian Teachers’ Seminar: September 5-18,
2005
This will be the first seminar of its kind at
Yad Vashem in five years and will be held in cooperation with the
Italian Foreign Ministry. The group will be comprised of thirty
teachers from all over Italy, with the purpose of providing tools
for teaching the Holocaust.
Beyond introducing Yad Vashem’s pedagogical
approach, the seminar will include several workshops and lectures in
Italian, with an emphasis on Jewish life in Italy, the rise of
Fascism and the Holocaust in Italy.
Seminar for Senior Workers of the Russian
Education Ministry Department: September 18 – October 1, 2005
There will be about twenty-five participants
in this seminar, all influential senior workers of the Russian
Education Ministry. The seminar will be held in cooperation with The
Foreign Ministry. The aim of the seminar is to emphasize the
importance of teaching the Holocaust to different population
sectors, especially in view of the rising tide of antisemitism in
modern Russia. In addition, a sizable part of the seminar will focus
on a basic knowledge of The History of the People of Israel and Life
in The State of Israel today.
Hungarian Teachers’ and Educators’ Seminar:
October 26 – November 11, 2005
This will be the first group of its kind from Hungary.
Twenty-five participants have registered for this seminar, most of
them teachers but some are also school principals. One of the aims
of the seminar is to widen and intensify local school activities
involved in teaching the Holocaust. Lectures planned for this
seminar will deal with the following subjects: Jewish Life before
the War, The Development of the Nazi Ideology, Stages of The Final
Solution and Rehabilitation of Survivors’ Lives after the War. In
addition, pedagogical units developed at Yad Vashem will be
presented. The Hungarian teachers will present their own projects in
joint sessions with Yad Vashem’s teaching staff and will exchange
ideas. It is important to note that the graduates of these seminars
continue developing methods of teaching in their respective
countries based on the pedagogical tools that they acquired in these
seminars.
Romanian Teachers’ Seminar: November 22 –
December 4, 2005
Some twenty-five participants will
attend this
seminar, which was initiated by the Romanian Education Ministry. The
seminar will stress the characteristics of the Holocaust in Romania,
and the unique local conditions of teaching the Holocaust in this
country.
Annual Poland Seminar: November 6-20, 2005
This seminar will include twenty-five participants. This is an annual seminar
for workers of the Auschwitz Museum, which will also include several
teachers and educators. The seminar itinerary includes lectures,
workshops, discussion panels and tours throughout the country.
Lectures include such topics as Jewish-Polish
relations, issues in Polish Jewish history, antisemitism
in its various forms, selected issues in the history of the
Holocaust, challenges and goals in Holocaust education for the 21st
century, Holocaust education through the internet and various
aspects of the State of Israel. The teachers will meet with Israeli
teachers to discuss pedagogical issues, and will visit an Israeli
high school.
The seminar also includes a tour of the new
museum, the archives and the library. Staff members at the
International School will introduce the latest innovations in
Holocaust education and the teaching units. Seminar participants
will be given free time for independent use of the archives and the
library.
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