Martyrdom and Resistance, March/April 2016

ID Transcript mare4204_01 "AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL SOCIETIES FOR YAD VASHEM Vol. 42 arch/April 2016 - Adar/Nissan 5776 ETHICS AND RESPONSIBILITY: THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF NAZI WAR CRIMINALS IN THE UNITED STATES AND HOW IT RELATES TO OUR CHILDREN BARBARA GUTFREUND ARFA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION The Education Department of the American Society for Yad Vashem and its Young Leadership Associates held its eighteenth annual professional development conference on Holocaust education on March 13, 2016. This year's program was generously supported by the Barbara Gutfreund Arfa Endowment Fund for Holocaust Education. 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 program, which included educators from all five boroughs of New York City and from the tri-state area, received in-service credits for completing the conference. The program also included a display of the educational unit developed by the International School of Holocaust Studies, ""Keeping the Memory Alive: International Poster Competition."" This educational resource, along with our array of traveling exhibitions, is available to schools to enrich their educational programs on the Holocaust. Through teaching we warn about the consequences of extreme and baseless hatred and prejudice. We educate to promote tolerance in the hope that through our efforts, future generations will make sure that the tory, will not repeat itself. This conference, organized by Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, Director of Education of the American Society, has proven to be a strong vehicle to promote the mission of Holocaust remembrance and memory through education over the years. The conference was created by Caroline Massel, founding chair of the Young Leadership Associates of the American Society, in 1999. Caroline Arfa Massel opened the program with very poignant remarks about the creation of this program and the establishment of the Barbara Gutfreund Arfa Endowment Fund for Holocaust Education in memory of her mother, Barbara Gutfreund Arfa, z""l. Ron Meier, executive director of the American Society, gave greetings on behalf of the American Society and spoke about the importance of this program in its efforts to Eli Rosenbaum, the former director of the US Department of Justice Office of Special Investigations, and current Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy, delivering the keynote remarks. IN THIS ISSUE Holocaust, a low chapter in human his- raise Holocaust awareness through education. Carolyn Herbst, past president /past chairperson of the ATSS/UFT, emphasized that this conference is a valuable The miracle babies of Mauthausen, 70 years later 2 resource for increasing awareness Churchill, Jesus and the Holocaust 3 and sensitivity to intolerance and injus- The mystery of the missing Jewish books of Rome 4 tice. Carolyn remarked on the chal- When a piece of paper meant life or death 5 lenge of teaching this topic without Jewish couple survived the Holocaust hidden behind a church organ....6 reducing the topic to numbers and sta- Photo highlights from the ASYV YLA winter gala 8-9 tistics, and emphasizing the human Children's personal albums from the Holocaust 10 elements of the events — victims, res- Romania struggles to confront Holocaust past 12 cuers, perpetrators and bystanders. France's secret links to the Nazi Holocaust 13 She underscored the importance of Voices of Holocaust victims, survivors come to life 15 educators realizing how this topic must be taught and sustained in our educational communities. Eli Rosenbaum, the former director of the US Department of Justice Office of Special Investigations, and the current Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy in the new Department of Justice section, was our keynote speaker this year. He spoke about the importance of ethics and responsibility, and their continuous presence in his work that included bringing Nazi criminals to justice, and currently incorporates these themes in addressing the enforcement of human rights. Shani Lourie, our colleague from the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, spoke about Facing Moral and Ethical Dilemmas in a World of Chaos. Our program and theme, ""Ethics and Responsibility: The Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals in the United States and How It Relates to Our Children,"" offered educators strategies on how to incorporate Holocaust studies into their lesson plans and curricula to enable students to realize the importance of seeking justice for Holocaust victims via the ongoing effort to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. This theme also helped educators focus on how to sustain the need for promoting ethics in students' daily lives and how to offer relevant connections to the Holocaust in this process. The workshop topics complemented the theme of the program: Using Survivor Testimonies in the Classroom; Ripples from the Holocaust — Learning about the Second Generation; Echoes and Reflections; and The Holocaust Liberator Experience through Testimony. Shani Lourie, our colleague from Yad Vashem, presented the workshop on Echoes and Reflections at our program. The American Society for Yad Vashem (Continued on page 3) "