Rahway Teacher Attends Holocaust Seminar
The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) has selected 23 middle and high school teachers and Holocaust center staff from six states to participate in its 2022 Advanced Seminar, an intensive two-day academic program that explores a number topics addressing the history of the Holocaust. The seminar, made possible through a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), took place virtually January 15 and 16, 2022.
Deborah Maller from Rahway High School took part in the seminar.
Other participants hailed from Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas.
The Advanced Seminar is an intensive graduate-level program in which a select group of educators who are already well versed in Holocaust history are given the opportunity to study more focused topics relating to the Holocaust from world renowned lecturers. Speakers included Professor Lawrence R Douglas from Amherst College; Professor Avinoam J. Patt from the University of Connecticut; Professor Edward B. Westermann from Texas A&M University; and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Deputy Director for International Affairs Robert Williams.
The program is open to JFR Alfred Lerner Fellows, middle and high school educators who have already attended the JFR Summer Institute for Teachers which is typically held at Columbia University. Due to the pandemic, recent seminars have been held virtually. Both programs are meant for educators who teach the Holocaust either in classrooms or through Holocaust Centers and have taught at least five years and are at least five years from retirement.
“Each of these educators have already distinguished themselves through their tremendous commitment to teaching the Holocaust in their schools and towards furthering their own education in the environment of antisemitism which led to the Holocaust,” said JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl. “By attending this intensive, graduate level program, they will gain an even greater understanding of the history of the Holocaust, which will increase their effectiveness in the classroom and enable them to mentor other colleagues who teach the subject.”
The JFR continues its work of providing monthly financial assistance to more than 150 aged and needy Righteous Gentiles, living in 14 countries. Since its founding, the JFR has provided more than $42 million to aged and needy rescuers – helping to repay a debt of gratitude on behalf of the Jewish people to these noble men and women. Its Holocaust teacher education program has become a standard for teaching the history of the Holocaust and educating teachers and students about the significance of the Righteous as moral and ethical exemplars. For more information, visit jfr.org.
