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ENGAGING EDUCATORS:

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

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WELCOME

About IHE and Education Philosophy
Safely In and Out of Holocaust Learning
Teacher Resources - Hands on
Supplementary Resources and Programs
Teacher Testimony
Q & A

INSERVICE STRUCTURE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID RADLER

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ABOUT IHE

Our goal is to ensure that the tragedy and history of the Holocaust are remembered, that appropriate, fact-based instruction and materials are available to students, educators, and the public to enable them to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and that, as a result, we inspire our community to create a more just and equitable society.

OUR VISION

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EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS RECOMMENDED AND DEVELOPED BY THE IHE ARE DESIGNED TO APPROPRIATELY ENABLE LEARNERS OF ALL AGES TO:

Understand the political, social, and intellectual conditions that led to the Holocaust.
Recognize stereotypes, prejudices, and racism.
Consider the fragile nature of the legal and moral structure of Western society and the vigilance necessary to preserve it.
Evaluate the extent to which governments can either safeguard or violate human rights
Consider potential conflicts between civic obligation and moral beliefs.
Assess the consequences of indifference to the plight of others.
Grapple with moral dilemmas posed by the Holocaust and reflect upon the sanctity of human life as a standard for guiding behavior.

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GUIDANCE FOR BRINGING STUDENTS “SAFELY IN AND SAFELY OUT” OF HOLOCAUST LEARNING

The Holocaust illustrates the depths to which humanity can sink, but it also illustrates the heights to which we can soar. This is an important time to focus on human stories of “light in the darkness” instead of on the darkness alone.

By changing your emphasis, focusing on life instead of death, students will encounter stories of human spirit that can inspire them.

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These questions were asked by Echoes & Reflections' U.S. College Survey and their results indicated that positive outcomes of Holocaust education not only reflect gains in historical knowledge but also manifest in cultivating more empathetic, tolerant, and engaged students more generally. Interestingly, the results also indicate that exposure to Holocaust survivor testimony as an element of respondents’ Holocaust education is strongly associated with numerous positive outcomes in early adulthood.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN TODAY’S HIGH SCHOOLS?

CAN IT HELP PREPARE STUDENTS TO CHALLENGE HATE AND PREJUDICE WHEN THEY SEE IT?

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... report having greater knowledge about the Holocaust than their peers and understand its value.

... report a greater willingness to challenge intolerant behavior in others.

FINDINGS: STUDENTS WITH HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

... have more pluralistic attitudes and are more open to differing viewpoints.

... show higher critical thinking skills and greater sense of social responsibility and civic efficacy if they watched survivor testimony as part of their experience.

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TEACHER RESOURCES

The following links provide information on educational resources that are recommended by the Institute for Holocaust Education.

1. Born in Przytyk, Poland in 1918, Jacob was sent away to Siberia for six years. When he returned to Poland after the war, no one in his family was alive. They had all perished in the gas chambers. He eventually found his way to Israel where he stayed for three years. He arrived in Omaha with his wife and two daughters in 1959. Jacob is a tailor and continues to work with his daughter until today.

2. Bluma, born in Wolanov, Poland in 1930 and is the younger sister of Manya and Rachel. Bluma spent time in numerous camps, including Auschwitz. Joe was born in Suwalki, Poland in 1925. He escaped a train on its way to the Treblinka death camp and joined the Partisans. After the war Joe came to Omaha with $20.00 in his pocket and later married Bluma. Joe owned the successful Ak-sar-ben TV and Appliance Company. “We were able to raise our children well here. We have a lot of joy from them and from our grandchildren. We’re happy we are in this free United States. Omaha has been good to us.”

3. lona was born in Czechoslovakia to a large family. She was interned in six different camps during the Holocaust, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. At one point, she was required to help Dr. Mengele. Ilona was liberated by the Swiss Red Cross with her mother and some of her siblings. She met the Prince of Switzerland to thank the country for saving them, and he encouraged her to work as a seamstress. She and her family stayed in Switzerland for six years before immigrating to the United States. Ilona worked as a talented seamstress in Lincoln for many years. She and her husband have one son, Jim.

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Guideline for Teaching About the Holocaust
PD Training Videos for Educators
The Path to Nazi Genocide (38 minute) film
Timeline Activity - Individual Profile Cards (NIGHT) Worksheet
Encyclopedia
History Unfolded
Holocaust Videos for Classroom Use
The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students

USHMM

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

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Teaching with Holocaust Survivor Testimony

Learning with Survivor Testimony : Analyzing Survivor Testimony Worksheet

Hidden Children of the Holocaust

USHMM

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

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ECHOES & REFLECTIONS

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Digital Student Activities : “Explore the Past, Shape the Future”

Prepare

Echoes & Reflections - Mini Course “Never Shall I Forget”

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ECHOES & REFLECTIONS

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Teach

Worksheet

Barbara Fischman Traub: A Survivor’s March to the Ghetto
Ibolya Grossman: A Survivor’s March to the Ghetto - Bystander Speaks Up

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IWITNESS

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Watch over 1,5000 clips of testimony, curated for classroom use
Activities with subject area, standards addressed, grade level and time to complete.
Educator Resources -

Professional Development Webinars and Workshops
Across the Curriculum- Teaching Film with Testimony
IWitness Tips and Tutorials
Helpful Resources

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FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Memory and Legacy: Preparing to Learn from Descendants of Holocaust Survivors

Worksheet

“… memory is never seamless but always a montage of collected fragments, recomposed by each person and generation.”

James Young, The Texture of Memory

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SALVAGED PAGES:

TEACHING RESOUCES

SALVAGED PAGES TIMELINE LAYER CREATED TO ACCOMPNAY THE USHMM’S TIMELINE ACTIVITY

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I’M STILL HERE : REAL DIARIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE DURING THE HOLOCAUST

(LOGIN REQUIRED)

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KEN BURNS’ PBS DOCUMENTARY: US AND THE HOLOCAUST

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Full Documentary available to stream on PBS Membership required
Can also be accessed on Amazon Prime to stream
DVD copies are also available

For the Classroom

Share to Google Classroom Capabilities
Support Materials for Teachers
Support Materials for Use with Students

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THE NEBRASKA STORIES OF HUMANITY

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Hear from Dr. Beth Dotan about her extensive work on developing an educational web portal that focuses on narratives of Holocaust survivors and Nazi camp liberators who lived or settled in Nebraska. Humanities Nebraska (HN) has selected Dotan to receive the 2023 Sower Award in the Humanities in recognition of her efforts to increase understanding of the Holocaust.

1. Bea was born in Lauterbach, Germany in 1932. Her family was sent to Gurs concentration camp in France. Later Bea’s mother arranged for Bea and her sister to be saved by the Jewish French underground, the Osay. The Nazis tracked these hidden children and therefore Bea was moved 14 times during the war. Her parents were murdered in Auschwitz. The Osay helped Bea and her sister locate relatives in England where they stayed after the war, until she came to the United States in 1947. Bea and her husband raised four girls in Nebraska. “There needs to be less hatred and prejudice in this world. People need to understand they are more alike than they are different.”

2. Lou was born in the Netherlands in 1931. His family was prosperous and Lou enjoyed a carefree childhood. Not long after the family went into hiding in 1942, they were discovered by the Nazis. Lou escaped through a back entrance and was separated from his parents who were captured. Wandering on his own, he was caught by a farmer and later handed over to the Dutch Resistance who cared for him until the end of the war. Lou then lived in an orphanage and finished high school. He moved to Israel and lived on a kibbutz, worked for several companies and studied engineering at the Technion in Haifa. After completing his PhD at Purdue University, Lou worked for NASA, the US Army and in Israel. He joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1975. Even after retirement, Lou worked as a curator in a museum and lectured on the Holocaust until his death in 2015.

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1. Bea was born in Lauterbach, Germany in 1932. Her family was sent to Gurs concentration camp in France. Later Bea’s mother arranged for Bea and her sister to be saved by the Jewish French underground, the Osay. The Nazis tracked these hidden children and therefore Bea was moved 14 times during the war. Her parents were murdered in Auschwitz. The Osay helped Bea and her sister locate relatives in England where they stayed after the war, until she came to the United States in 1947. Bea and her husband raised four girls in Nebraska. “There needs to be less hatred and prejudice in this world. People need to understand they are more alike than they are different.”

2. Lou was born in the Netherlands in 1931. His family was prosperous and Lou enjoyed a carefree childhood. Not long after the family went into hiding in 1942, they were discovered by the Nazis. Lou escaped through a back entrance and was separated from his parents who were captured. Wandering on his own, he was caught by a farmer and later handed over to the Dutch Resistance who cared for him until the end of the war. Lou then lived in an orphanage and finished high school. He moved to Israel and lived on a kibbutz, worked for several companies and studied engineering at the Technion in Haifa. After completing his PhD at Purdue University, Lou worked for NASA, the US Army and in Israel. He joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1975. Even after retirement, Lou worked as a curator in a museum and lectured on the Holocaust until his death in 2015.

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NEBRASKA INDIVIDUAL PROFILE CARDS

Fred was born in Belgium sought safety after his family left Germany when Hitler came to power in the 1930s. In September of 1942, when Fred was only four years old, he and his mother were at a train station in Antwerp waiting to be deported to Malines transit

camp, located between Antwerp and Brussels in Belgium, and then to Auschwitz. His mother told him to walk away and leave the train station. Fred

obeyed his mother and was found wandering the streets of Antwerp by a nun. The nun took him to a home where other Jewish children were being

hidden. Unfortunately, the cover was denounced to the Gestapo in October, and all the children were subsequently taken to Malines. Fred was then

rescued from this camp and taken to an orphanage in Wezembeek Oppem near Brussels, once again escaping deportation to Auschwitz. He remained at

the orphanage for the remainder of the war. Not until he was an adult did Fred discover that his parents, two older brothers, his half-brother and half-

sister were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. While living with extended family in both Brussels and Montreal after the war, Fred decided to attend medical school. He knew that he had survived the

Holocaust being rescued as a child and was determined to spend his life helping children as well. Fred graduated medical school in 1964 as a pediatric

neurologist, married, and had three children. Fred and his family moved to Omaha in 1974, where he became one of the first pediatric neurologists in the area. Fred spent his life speaking to the

children and adults in the surrounding community about the Holocaust and his experiences.

NEBRASKA STORIES OF HUMANITY

Fred Jeruzalski Kader

Born1938 Antwerp, Belgium

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NEBRASKA INDIVIDUAL PROFILE CARDS

NEBRASKA STORIES OF HUMANITY

Staff Sergeant Clarence Williams was a combat medic assigned to the US 122nd Medical Battalion, 42nd Division (the Rainbow Division) during World War II. Williams deployed to France in January 1945 and was present at the liberation of Dachau concentration camp in April of that year. Clarence photographed both the liberation of Dachau and other experiences he had during the war in Europe. Growing up in Crescent and Council Bluffs, Iowa, he eventually settled in Lincoln, Nebraska after the war. A collection of photographs and letters written between he and his wife, Gretchen, detailing his World War II experiences, were made available to the Institute for Holocaust Education in Omaha, Nebraska by Clarence’s son, Dr. Tom Williams.

In a letter to his wife, Clarence wrote about his experience of liberating Dachau, “Had a new experience today that I will never forget as long as I live. I had

read a lot about concentration camps and the brutal treatment given the prisoners but often wondered if it were all true. Now I can vouch for it.”

Not Too Far Distant is a play based on Clarence’s letters home during the war. The play, written by Blixt Arts Lab playwright Becky Boesen, premiered at the

Jewish Community Center in Omaha in 2022. Since then, the play has traveled with performances all over the state.

Clarence Williams

Born1911 Crescent, Iowa

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My dear Flora!

I hope you’re doing well and in good spirits, and thank goodness I can also report the same from me and everyone. Where dear Rosa currently is I do not know. I have an urgent request of you... I beg you to take in our children. For the time being we can wait here. Please also inquire as to where dear Rosa is. If you receive a telegram, everything will be too late. Again, it’s urgent that you accept and take charge of our darling children. I wrote several times to Madame Lowenstein, but received no answer. I haven’t heard any news from Susie.

Write immediately to dear Berthe who can possibly do something to help.

Lots of heartfelt greetings and kisses, Moritz

Inquiry #3: US Refugee Regulations

Letter Excerpt from Moritz Stern to Flora Gottlieb Schmidt, August 30, 1942

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YAD VASHEM

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCES

Abe was born in 1910 in a small town called Slawitcze which was located outside of Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis invaded from the West, Abe’s mother urged Abe and his brother George to flee to Russia. There were also four sisters in his family. He faced many perils in Russia, hiding in forests, being drafted into the Russian army, labor in Siberia and more. At the end of the war, he made his way back to Poland and found all his relatives had been murdered except for his brother, George who had been with the Partisans during the war. They reunited in Berlin and began to renew their lives. Abe came to Omaha in 1951.

2. Lou was born in the Netherlands in 1931. His family was prosperous and Lou enjoyed a carefree childhood. Not long after the family went into hiding in 1942, they were discovered by the Nazis. Lou escaped through a back entrance and was separated from his parents who were captured. Wandering on his own, he was caught by a farmer and later handed over to the Dutch Resistance who cared for him until the end of the war. Lou then lived in an orphanage and finished high school. He moved to Israel and lived on a kibbutz, worked for several companies and studied engineering at the Technion in Haifa. After completing his PhD at Purdue University, Lou worked for NASA, the US Army and in Israel. He joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1975. Even after retirement, Lou worked as a curator in a museum and lectured on the Holocaust until his death in 2015.

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I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS

HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCE

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Curriculum Guide for I Have Lived a Thousand Years

Character Development Scaffolding Worksheet (page 10)

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IHE PROGRAMMING

Our community programming works to educate future generations on how to honor the history of the Holocaust.

ALL IHE PROGRAMS ARE OFFERED AT NO COST

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ART & THE HOLOCAUST

To become familiar with individual people and cultural history in the Holocaust.
Stipends are provided for necessary art supplies
Culminated into an exhibit displayed at the gallery during April at the JCC which represents approximately 10% of the pieces created.
Gallery Night will be April 12th

OVERVIEW

VIEW ALL OF THE FINALISTS’ ARTWORK HERE

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TRIBUTE TO THE RESCUERS ESSAY CONTEST

The contest is open to high school students in Nebraska and parts of Iowa. Top essayists can earn cash prizes. Students are asked to write about an individual or group that demonstrates moral courage.
All submissions are virtual - Essays are due December 4, 2026 and February 24, 2027
Award Ceremony will be April 26th.

OVERVIEW

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SEARCHING FOR HUMANITY

Interactive Holocaust lessons
Tour of current exhibition on display at the Samuel Bak Museum
Lunch break
Survivor or 2G testimony

OVERVIEW

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WEEK OF UNDERSTANDING

An annual educational initiative created by the Institute for Holocaust Education and the Omaha Public Schools.
The program is designed to deliver Holocaust survivor testimony to a maximum number of students in one school week.
During the week of March 22-26th, 2027

OVERVIEW

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ANNE FRANK TRAVELING EXHIBIT

Nebraska and Western Iowa schools can now host the 32-panel traveling exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank for +2 weeks.
The program begins with a 2 day peer training that prepares students to serve as peer guides for their school and community.

OVERVIEW

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Overview

A unique program for primary and secondary educators and students including books, curriculum, and immersive storytelling.

At the center of this program is the story of a young girl, who survived the Holocaust and inspired a generation of her contemporaries.

Nebraska and Western Iowa educators can register for a

free classroom set.

IWitness - Willesden Project

Watch the Performance

Willesden Lane in the Midwest

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“I believe firmly and profoundly that whoever listens to a witness becomes a witness, so those who hear us, those who read us must continue to bear witness for us. Until now, they’re doing it with us. At a certain point in time, they will do it for all of us.”

— Elie Wiesel

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THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

ANY QUESTIONS?

ALSO FEEL FREE TO SEND IN ANY QUESTIONS TO INFO@IHENE.ORG