BY RACHEL LEE GAROFOLO, Office Manager and Marketing Specialist at Jewish Federation of Delaware
In this time of adversity, are you asking yourself how you are engaging our youth and future generations to help them grasp the message behind ‘Never Again?’ Will our children understand the significant impact of unchallenged discrimination, hate, and antisemitism, and their severe consequences? Together, nationally and world-wide, we must have open discussions and engage in honest education.
Mandating Holocaust education in Delaware was a long-term goal of Jewish Federation of Delaware’s Halina Wind Preston Holocaust Education Committee (HEC) from its inception. On January 27, 2020, The Delaware Legislature passed a Co-Concurrent Resolution recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Ann Jaffe was invited to address the House and Senate. As a Holocaust survivor and member of the HEC, she emphasized the importance of teaching the lessons learned from the Holocaust to students. After her speech, Representative Deborah Heffernan agreed to sponsor a Holocaust Education bill. Steve Gonzer, Co-Chair of the HEC, wrote the bill and Representative Heffernan found other Delaware Legislators to support the bill. The bill was passed unanimously by both Houses of the State Legislature and Governor Carney signed it into law, on July 23, 2020. Only 23 states, one of which is Delaware, have mandatory Holocaust education for students in grades six through 12.
The HEC is an interfaith volunteer group of Holocaust survivors, their families, scholars, teachers, clergy, and community advocates. Their mission is to educate the community on the causes and events of the Holocaust so that its lessons may prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Judith Anderson-Bruess, sixth grade Social Studies teacher at ASPIRA Academy in Newark, and Emily Green, a 10th grade Contemporary World History teacher at Polytech High School, were granted the Joel Glazier Holocaust Education Teacher award, which is given to an outstanding Delaware educator, teaching grades six to 12, who has excelled in incorporating Holocaust Education into their curriculum. Joel Glazier was a lifelong learner; a Holocaust educator; and a member of the Halina Wind Preston Holocaust Education Committee, the Delaware Humanities Forum Speakers’ Bureau, the John Lennon Peace Forest in Israel, and Amnesty International.
Both teachers were asked how they included Holocaust Education within their curriculum, what outcomes they expected from their students, and how they instructed their students about the consequences of the Holocaust that affect us today.
Judith engaged her students with an introductory activity called Footprints: Discovering the Holocaust Through Historical Artefacts, created by Dr. Paul Salmons of the Institute of Education, University of London. In this activity, students are presented with a picture of a single child’s shoe and asked to make predictions about the shoe’s significance and what might be reasonably deduced, without it being mentioned that the shoe is from a child who perished in Auschwitz. Following this, the students are introduced to the Holocaust and guided in understanding the scale and implications of Hitler and the Nazi’s policies, of national resentment towards Jews and the eventual erosion of Jewish rights through laws and decrees. From this single, ordinary shoe, the students not only learn facts but also develop a deeper appreciation for the lived experiences of those affected—the victims were people, not numbers.
Emily utilized resources from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, tracing antisemitism over time, so they understood how regular people’s biases, not just Hitler’s, influenced the Holocaust. The students listened to survivor’s testimonies before, during, and after the Holocaust, to ensure that students didn’t lose sight of the human component.
Emily and Judith both hope their students grasp the dangers of unchecked discrimination, prejudice, and hate. They’ve empowered their students to thwart antisemitism and other forms of hatred, to be aware of the power they possess to prevent injustice, promote tolerance and acceptance, and the collective responsibility all humans share to prevent genocides from occurring again.
Educating students about the Holocaust is crucial; it honors the memories of those who suffered and teaches students to build a more just and tolerant society. It is up to every community to ensure that “never gain” retains its meaning.
“The Holocaust is not just a historical event—it’s a warning and a call to action that still resonates today,” Judith says.
To donate to the Halina Wind Preston Holocaust Education committee, visit www.ShalomDelaware.org/impact/holocaust-education-committee.html
