Holocaust Education Month
November 2021
HOLOCAUST EDUCATION WEEK 2021 HAPPENING ONLINE AGAIN THIS YEAR, POWERED BY THE VIRTUAL J!
The Neuberger and the Virtual J are excited to partner once again to bring Holocaust Education Week 2021 to the comfort and safety of your home!
If you do not have an account with the Virtual J, register for free access to HEW 2021 programs on the Virtual J's online platform here. Be sure to select "Holocaust Education Week" on the dropdown menu when registering. You will then have access to all HEW programs at virtualjcc.com/channel/holocaust-education-week-2021.
Holocaust Distortion, Myths and Misinformation
"Just 76 years since liberation, a new challenge threatens the memory of the Holocaust. Spread instantly via social media and normalized through pop culture, the surge of Holocaust distortion, myths, and misinformation has become increasingly common and dangerous.
It is evident in video game culture, the re-writing of Holocaust history by authoritarian leaders, the yellow star used by anti-vaccination protesters, memes with twisted Holocaust-laden imagery, the appearances of youth dressed as victims of the Shoah on TikTok—to name just a few recent examples.
Protecting the facts, countering falsehoods, and safeguarding the memory of the Holocaust are at the core of HEW 2021. Join us on November 1 for the launch of HEW 2021 to dispel the myths and misinformation that fuel antisemitism and hatred. Together, we will secure the legacy of the Holocaust and ensure that our society remains an inclusive and respectful place for all Canadians.
Program highlights include staff writer for the New Yorker Andrew Marantz on social media and the alt-right, an in-depth look at the insidious Holocaust iconography found in video game culture, a Dialogue for Descendants symposium, a film program exploring Holocaust and residential school denial, and a moving Kristallnacht commemoration with a sneak peek at the plans for the new Toronto Holocaust Museum. There will be ongoing Zoom group presentations with Neuberger Survivor Speakers."
Featured Programs: https://www.holocaustcentre.com/hew/featured-programs2021
Month-wide Calendar of Events:
https://cdn.fedweb.org/fed-35/2/HEW2021_calendar_FINAL_NPonly.pdf
From: Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Testimonies of the Holocaust, Inspiring Change Through Legacy
The educational material and the recording of this Teachers’ Workshop are now available on the CHES website under Teachers’ Workshop 2021: https://chesatottawa.ca/teachers-workshops/. Included are ready-made lesson plans which directly address important aspects of the Ontario Curriculum. The journey through the testimonials provide a powerful tool and the interactive and thoughtful exercises, which form part of the curriculum material, were designed to encourage participants to reflect on the importance of the lessons shared by survivors.
“Testimonies of the Holocaust, Inspiring Change Through Legacy: In-depth Exploration of the voices of Holocaust survivors”
From The Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship (CHES):
“Testimonies of the Holocaust, Inspiring Change Through Legacy: In-depth Exploration of the voices of Holocaust survivors”. This exceptional interactive educational program will offer educators with a new approach to explore the important lessons of the Holocaust, examine moral issues, and provide their students with an opportunity to reflect on their learning using their choice of social media.
Holocaust Virtual Museum
On November 4th, 2018 Temple Israel was the scene of a “Pop-Up Museum” with a display of Holocaust artifacts submitted by Holocaust survivors and their family members. Rabbi Morais of Temple Israel was behind the idea for the Pop-Up Museum. 47 items were shown including artifacts, documents, letters, books, movies, short videos, a Tora Scroll, and a Tallit rescued from a synagogue in Berlin.
As a result of the success of the pop-up museum, a Holocaust Virtual Museum was inaugurated on November 15th, 2020.
The collection of artifacts in the Virtual Museum belong to Ottawa-area Holocaust survivors and their families. The objects have a connection to the family’s experience of the Holocaust and speak to survival. In this way, the artifacts allow us to return the humanity to Holocaust victims. They share family stories that provide an opportunity to learn about the history of the Holocaust, the history of those families and, at the same time, to remember them. Some objects in the collection are from before World War II and the Holocaust, some are from the time of the Holocaust, and others are from after the war. The variety of the collection displays the rich diversity of the lives lost – but ensures their continued existence into the future.
There are 48 objects in the collection now, and they are grouped into 9 separate categories
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center’s (FSWC) Educational Workshops
"Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center’s (FSWC) educational workshops usually operate out of the Tom & Anna Koffler Tolerance Training Centre located in the organization’s Toronto office. The Center is a state-of-the-art classroom equipped with interactive multimedia, including Turning Technologies voting tools, to help facilitate student participation. On average, over 10,000 Ontario students visit the Center on an annual basis to take part in FSWC’s workshops, free of charge. FSWC staff are also available to bring these workshops to individual schools, typically to address groups larger than 50 students, for a fee. Because of COIVD-19, all of these programs have been shifted to a one-hour virtual format and are now available FREE OF CHARGE!"
Contact education@fswc.ca to book this unique experience for your students today!
From Facing History: Online Mini-Course for Educators - Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior
Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior
Monday November 8 – December 6, 2021
$50 (Tuition is covered, only pay your registration fee!)
"Are you a busy educator that is interested in continuing your learning with a group of committed like minded educators? This course is built with you in mind!
Our Holocaust and Human Behaviour Mini-Course models approaches and strategies for teaching curricular content through an equity-embedded approach - all within a manageable time commitment.
Studying the Holocaust allows students to wrestle with profound moral questions raised by this history while fostering their skills in ethical and moral reasoning, critical analysis, empathy, and civic engagement—all of which are critical habits of mind for sustaining equity, justice and vibrant democracy."