Martyrdom and Resistance, March/April 2014

ID Transcript mare4004_01 "AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL SOCIETIES FOR YAD VASHEM Vol. 40-No. 4 ISSN 0892-1571 March/April 2014 -Adar/Nissan 5774 THE CHANGING IMAGE OF HOLOCAUST VICTIMS THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR YAD VASHEM AND ITS YOUNG LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATES HELD ITS SIXTEENTH PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION MARCH 9, 2014. This program is a collaborative effort with the Association of Teachers of Social Studies of the United Federation of Teachers, the Educators' Chapter of the UFT Jewish Heritage Committee, and the School of Education of Manhattanville College. Participants in this year's conference, which included educators from six states, received in-service credit for attending the program. This conference, organized by Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, Director of Education of the American Society for Yad Vashem, has proven to be an important educational resource for educators interested in enriching their knowledge and educational tools about this subject. The mission of the American Society — Holocaust remembrance and commemoration through education — is presented and promoted through this program. This conference was created in 1999 by Caroline Massel, Founding Chair of the Young Leadership Associates. Through the workshops offered this year, participants were encouraged to learn more about the importance of using survivor testimonies in the classroom, the experience of growing up as a member of the ""Second Generation"" and the valuable educational resources developed by the International School for Holocaust Studies of Yad Vashem. Dr. Yahalom presented a workshop introducing these resources and a second workshop introducing participants to the dangers and challenges of Holocaust denial and the need to include this topic in Holocaust lesson plans and curricula. Barry Levine, co-chair with Abbi Halpern of the Young Leadership Associates, gave the opening greetings of the program. He spoke about his family's connection to the Holocaust and their experiences during the war years, and how this impacted his own understanding of the importance of documenting Holocaust survivor testimonies to director of the Department of Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem, led an engaging discussion about the significance of the heroes of the Holocaust who helped save Jewish lives despite the grave risk to themselves and their families. His remarks and workshop, which were Carolyn Herbst, Past President/Past Chairperson of the ATSS/UFT; Abbi Halpern, YLA co-chair; Professor Mordecai Paldiel; Barry Levine, YLA co-chair; Peppy Margolis, workshop presenter; Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, ASYV Director of Education; Helene Alalouf, workshop presenter. commemorate the event and honor the memory of the victims. Carolyn Herbst, Past President and Past Chairperson of the Association of Teachers of Social Studies of the United Federation of Teachers, spoke about the relevance of Holocaust education as a vehicle to raise awareness about intolerance and injustice. She also offered insight about the lessons of the Holocaust and their connection with current education legislation. Professor Mordecai Paldiel, former well received, included case studies of non-Jews who were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, and offered recommendations on how to incorporate this topic into the classroom as a tool for teaching students the importance of having the courage to ""do the right thing"" despite overwhelming challenges. Dr. Yahalom spoke about how studying the Holocaust allows us to see a range of behavior: the beauty and the horror, the hope and the despair, the thoughtfulness and the thoughtlessness, and the kindness and the cruelty of which human beings are capable. ""The main point to keep in mind in this regard is the magnitude of the loss to the Jewish people. Specifically, students should be taught about the lives and rich civilization of the Jewish world before 1939. The total loss is examined and appreciated in the context of what was lost rather than of how the destruction was carried out. ""Rather than emphasizing dead bodies and horrific methods of mass murder, we remind students that each victim had a face, a life built around a family, and a community that was destroyed. Each victim was a mother, a father, a daughter, a son, a neighbor and a friend. When we present the facts as a chain of events not limited to death and destruction, our students' comprehension is increased and the learning process can be most fruitful. Students can then evaluate the loss in terms of the dangers of injustice, discrimination, and intolerance so that they can become sensitive to the consequences of extreme behavior."" Dr. Yahalom added that ""our own awareness of Holocaust survivors should include the changing image of Holocaust victims who survived and who perished. For those who perished, we need to consider how they want to be remembered. For those who survived, we should realize how they have been transformed from victims to heroes. They are our eyewitnesses to history, and their resistance efforts are symbols of the strength and of the resilience of the human spirit."" (Continued on page 3) IN THIS ISSUE ASYV conference on Holocaust education 1 Deal with the devil 2 Holocaust documentary raises questions of guilt 3 Two Among the Righteous Few 4 How America saved paintings while letting Jews die 5 Jewish children hidden twice over by the Church 7 ASYV hosts inaugural Florida Tribute Dinner. 8 Photos from the ASYV Young Leadership Associates winter gala 9 ""I know tomorrow will be my last day"" 10 Three children under the swastika 11 "