Martyrdom & Resistance, March/April 2007

ID Transcript mare3304_01 "____ ISSN 0892-1571 March/April 2007-Adar/Nisan 5767 TEACHING TOLERANCE, UNDERSTANDING, AND UNITY On March 11, 2007 over one hundred educators gathered at the Pratt Mansions in NYC for the American Society for Yad Vashem's Ninth Annual Professional Development Conference. Once again, this program was co-sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Social Studies of the United Federation of Teachers. Remarks on behalf of the resource developed by Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, the Anti- Defamation League, and the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. We were pleased to welcome representatives from all three institutions. We were also very excited about having teachers from eight different From left to right: Shulamit Imber, Director of Pedagogy of the International School for Holocaust Studies of Yad Vashem Jerusalem; Eli Zborowski, Chairman, American Society for Yad Vashem; Carolyn Herbst, past president of ATSS/UFT; Elizabeth Zborowski, Cultural Director of the American Society for Yad Vashem; Caroline Massel, co-chair of the Young Leadership Associates of the American Society for Yad Vashem at the 9th Annual Professional Development Conference. president, Levi Anthony, were delivered by Ms. Carolyn Herbst, past president of ATSS/UFT. Remarks were also given by Caroline Massel, co-chair of the Young Leadership Associates of the American Society for Yad Vashem; as well as Mr. Eli Zborowski, Chairman of The American Society for Yad Vashem. Mr. Zborowski remarked that the American Society for Yad Vashem's Educational Department ""works to put a face on individual Holocaust victims in order to introduce a human element to the story. Transmitting these messages is our hope for the future."" This year, we were once again highlighting the Echoes and Reflections curriculum. This is a valuable education states represented at this year's conference. The educational conference started with remarks from Shulamit Imber, Director of Pedagogy of the International School for Holocaust Studies of Yad Vashem Jerusalem. Her remarks, regarding the education philosophy of Yad Vashem, were found ""insightful, compelling and passionate"" by some conference participants. Other workshops during the day were also led by Dan Tarplin, Project Director of the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, Deborah Batiste, Project Director for Echoes and Reflections, and Stephanie McMahon- Kaye, Coordinator of the Desk for International Seminars in English at Yad Vashem Jerusalem. They led the following workshops: 1) The Final Solution 2) Jewish Resistance 3) Survivors and Liberators 4) Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Bystanders and 5) The Ghettos. The Echoes and Reflections curriculum is a comprehensive ten-lesson program that focuses on the history of the Holocaust within the context of contemporary issues. For example, it deals with cultural diversity, genocide, and intolerance. This year's conference tried to show educators how to utilize this innovative curriculum in their classrooms. The aim of the American Society for Yad Vashem hosting these education conferences is to transmit the lessons of this historical event to present and future generations. Teaching about the Holocaust in an age-appropriate and historically accurate manner will promote greater sensitivity and understanding to reduce the hatred, intolerance and prejudice prevalent in today's society. What also sets this particular curriculum apart from others is its use of testimonies. This is one of the first multi-media curricula to be used in classrooms. Educators can have the voice of those people who lived through the atrocities right in their classrooms by using the DVD or VHS provided with the curriculum. As Shulamit Imber stated, it is so much more than just the words that these survivors use, it is the way their voices sound, they look in their eyes, and the posture of their bodies. Studying the Holocaust is important to students today in a world of growing Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. A curriculum like Echoes and Reflections will enable students to think about the responsibilities they have as individuals, when confronted with prejudice and intolerance. The holocaust provides a context for looking at the dangers of remaining silent in the face of the oppression of others. As Pastor Martin Neimoller said: 'When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I did not speak out; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out."" t: he educators who attended this conference will be able to show their students the importance of social awareness, so that the words ""Never Again"" will ring true. As one participant Conference participants looking over the curriculum at the 9th Annual Professional Development Conference. noted, ""Emphasizing the human element of the Holocaust allows for more thoughtful learning."" Many people can remember their teachers, they can remember the lesson they were taught. It is our hope that the teachers who attend the American Society for Yad Vashem's Educational Conferences will be remembered for the lessons that they are transmitting. It is our hope that they will go on and inspire their students, teaching them tolerance, understanding, and unity. For more information regarding upcoming educational activities, please contact our office at 212-220-4304. IN THIS ISSUE I was a child of Holocaust survivors... 4 Holocaust heroine's survival tale 5 French railroad sued over Holocaust .6 How Belgium sacrificed its Jews to the Nazis 7 The American Society for Yad Vashem Annual Spring Luncheon 8 A tale of three women - and a lost family. 8-9 Report from Yad Vashem 10 Was Churchill anti-Semitic? 12 Allies may have known of Holocaust plans 14 Jewish artist creates memorial for Kielce pogrom 15 Hilel hosts Yad Vashem's ""No Child's Play"" exhibit in Florida 16 "