Trans-Atlantic Webinar Features Educators on the Holocaust

03/31/2021 03:07 PM EDT

Office of the Spokesperson

Teachers and community educators from 32 countries gathered virtually March 18 for the U.S. Department of State’s second in a series of international webinars on Holocaust education. The session, entitled “Trans-Atlantic Dialogues II: Teaching the Holocaust in Challenging Times,” was hosted by U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Cherrie Daniels in cooperation with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).

The recorded webinar with closed captioning is now available for on-demand viewing by the public at https://www.state.gov/trans-atlantic-dialogue-ii-teaching-the-holocaust-in-challenging-times/.

The webinar showcased the practical realities and challenges experienced by educators teaching about the Holocaust, including confronting Holocaust distortion and denial.  Four experienced educators, two from the United States and two from Europe, led the panel discussion and reported on the findings of a March 11 workshop of educators from both sides of the Atlantic hosted by the USHMM.

Panelists also included Dr. Yehuda Bauer, Honorary Chairman of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and Jennifer Ciardelli, Director of the Initiative on the Holocaust and Professional Leadership at USHMM. Dr. Edna Friedberg, Senior Program Curator at the Museum, served as the moderator.

Educators and panelists examined how policy makers and practitioners – international diplomats, teachers, museum curators, educators, administrators and others – can work together to help future generations develop the critical thinking skills needed to teach and learn about the Holocaust in meaningful ways.

Additional information concerning Holocaust restitution, education, remembrance, and research is available on the SEHI web page at https://www.state.gov/about-us-office-of-the-special-envoy-for-holocaust-issues/ and on Twitter at @StateSEHI.

The recording for the first webinar in the Holocaust education series is available at https://www.state.gov/u-s-department-of-state-hosts-trans-atlantic-webinar-on-holocaust-education/.