Organizations

American Library Association
Anti-Defamation League
Association of Holocaust Organizations
Facing History and Ourselves
The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
The Union for Reform Judaism
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum



East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2795
Phone: 800-545-2433
Fax: 312-944-2404
Web site: www.ala.org

Work with libraries to plan programs in cooperation with other local organizations listed in this guide.

Public, academic, school, and special libraries are both centers for culture and community and venues for public programming. Many libraries host and develop panel discussions, lecture series, video and book discussion series, and writing workshops in collaboration with community groups. Many of the themes of AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State could form the basis of presentations and community discussions. Among the possible speakers and facilitators for such programs are historians, survivors, clergy, literary scholars, and authors.

In addition to programming, libraries can compile and distribute bibliographies and create displays of books and exhibits of materials drawn from the community.

Plan ahead. Most libraries begin putting together promotional materials for programming eight weeks to three months in advance, so contact your local librarian early and collaborate on your outreach plan and funding.

See also: Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation for a special opportunity to partner with libraries as part of your local outreach for AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State.

823 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-885-7700, 212-490-2525, 212-949-0098
Web site: www.adl.org

For 91 years, the ADL has been combating antisemitism and bigotry of all kinds. Its 1913 charter says, "The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."

The ADL Web site contains an enormous amount of information about its activities and the actions people can take locally to combat hate of all forms. The Education section contains numerous curriculum ideas, including Dimension magazine, which is specifically about the Holocaust and for teachers.

In addition, with the National Catholic Educational Association, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the United States Catholic Conference, the ADL has developed a curriculum called Bearing Witness and has been training teachers nationwide in its use for a number of years. ADL will be distributing project poster guides to all Bearing Witness alumni.

Holocaust Resource Center and Archives
Queensborough Community College
The City University of New York
222-05 56th Avenue
Bayside, NY 11364-1497
Phone: 718-281-5770
Fax: 718-631-6306
Email: hfrcaho@qcc.cuny.edu
Web site: www.ahoinfo.org

The Association of Holocaust Organizations was established in 1985. Its purpose is to serve as a network of organizations and individuals for the advancement of Holocaust programming, awareness, education, and research. Among its functions and services are annual conventions, a winter seminar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, an electronic mailing list for members, and a guide to curriculum evaluation. There are also regional association meetings.

A complete directory of AHO members is published annually and distributed, free of charge, upon request to the email address listed.

Many AHO members offer public programs and teacher training and are excellent resources if you wish to identify local scholars, survivors, and qualified speakers.

See also: The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous for a list of AHO members and organizations that have been selected by JFR as Centers of Excellence.

16 Hurd Road
Brookline, Massachusetts 02445
Phone: 617-735-1609
Fax: 617-232-0281
Web site: www.facing.org

For more than 27 years, Facing History has engaged teachers and students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development of the Holocaust and other examples of collective violence, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives.

Facing History and Ourselves offers teachers and others in the community occasions to study the past, explore new ideas and approaches, and develop practical models for civic engagement that link history to the challenges of an increasingly interconnected world and the choices that young people make daily. Facing History students learn that apathy and indifference stifle hope. They discover how violence destroys families and nations. They seek opportunities to confront the isolation that fuels the misunderstandings, myths, and misinformation they have about the "other." Facing History helps students find answers to their questions. How can we prevent violence and end racism and antisemitism? How do we find the courage to protect human rights so "never again" truly means we have learned something by studying the events that led to one of the most violent times in the twentieth century?

Facing History has nine regional offices nationwide.




305 Seventh Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10001-6008
Phone: 212-727-9955
Fax: 212-727-9956
Email: sstahl@jfr.org
Web site: www.jfr.org

During the Holocaust, thousands of non-Jews refused to be passive in the face of the evil they witnessed, rescuing Jews, often at risk to their own lives and their families. Today, many of these Righteous Gentiles are aged and needy. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous provides monthly financial support to almost 17,000 surviving Righteous Gentiles and educates generations to come about their extraordinary acts of courage.

JFR launched "Teaching the Holocaust: History, Perspectives and Choices," its national Holocaust teacher education program in June 2000. The program is based on an understanding of the diverse nature of education in the United States as well as the expressed needs of teachers and local Holocaust center staff. It centers on three key elements: (1) educational materials, (2) a network of Holocaust centers, and (3) JFR-sponsored educational programs. The cornerstone of the education program is Voices & Views: A History of the Holocaust, introduced and edited by Professor Debórah Dwork, a leading Holocaust historian.

JFR's national Holocaust teacher education program works with and builds on the strengths of selected Holocaust centers throughout the United States. In partnership, the JFR and these centers are working to address local needs while creating a national network of well-trained educators teaching the history of the Holocaust. As a means of introducing and implementing Teaching the Holocaust: History, Perspectives and Choices to educators and local Holocaust center staff, the JFR established the Holocaust Centers of Excellence Program in the spring of 2000.

36 Battery Place, Battery Park City
New York, NY 10280
General Museum Information Phone: 646-437-4200
Ticket Information Phone: 646-437-4202
Web site: www.mjhnyc.org
Museum Hours Sunday-Tuesday, Thursday: 10am to 5:45pm; Wednesday: 10am to 8pm; Friday and the eve of Jewish holidays: 10am to 5pm

The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust honors those who died by celebrating their lives-cherishing the civilization that they built, their achievements and faith, their joys and hopes, and the vibrant Jewish community that is their legacy today.

In the museum's core exhibition, personal objects, photographs, and original films illustrate the story of Jewish heritage in the twentieth century. The museum's unique collection forms the solid foundation of this important archive, a significant educational resource for students, teachers, and scholars. In addition, the collection provides source materials for both permanent and temporary exhibitions and for traveling exhibitions.

The Teach and Learn section of the Museum's Web site describes services and resources available to both teachers and students.

P.O. Box 3168
Los Angeles, CA 90078-3168
Phone: 818-777-7802
Fax: 818-866-2412
Web site: www.vhf.org

The Shoah Foundation's mission is to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry-and the suffering they cause-through the educational use of the foundation's visual history testimonies. Since its establishment ten years ago, the Shoah Foundation has videotaped interviews with nearly 52,000 survivors and witnesses in 56 countries and 32 languages. These interviews were conducted with individuals who lived under the rule of German and/or Axis powers after 1933 and experienced persecution and/or exclusionist policies. Among those people who gave testimonies to the Shoah Foundation archive are homosexual survivors, Jehovah's Witness survivors, Jewish survivors, political prisoners, rescue and aid providers, Gypsy survivors, liberators and liberator witnesses, survivors of eugenics policies, and participants in war crimes trials.

The Shoah Foundation's current emphasis is to make these testimonies as widely available as possible. To that end, the foundation has been working with KCET and the AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State project to identify and share testimonies from survivors currently living in America whose interviews can be used to enhance the final segment of each program.

As a key outreach partner, the Shoah Foundation also can make available testimonies from survivors who are from your area for use as part of your local outreach effort. The Shoah Foundation can provide a local site (such as a public library) with a collection of testimonies conducted in your local region. The collection would be accompanied by a Testimony Catalogue, which provides the basic biographical data (name, place or birth, experience, etc.) associated with each testimony in the collection. The Testimony Catalogue binders assist site staff and site patrons in finding testimonies within the collection that match their area of interest. The collection can be provided in either VHS videotape or DVD-R format. DVD-R discs can be played on computer stations equipped with a DVD drive. The cost of each testimony is $90 to $180 depending on length and format. Contact the Shoah Foundation at the number provided for further information on the availability of testimonies of individuals in your geographical area.

633 Third Avenue
New York NY 10017-6778
Phone: 212-650-4110
Web site: www.urj.org

The Union for Reform Judaism (formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations) represents nine hundred congregations and roughly 1.5 million people. It is the largest of the four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist). URJ's Web site contains a plethora of educational materials and background information.

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW
Washington, D.C. 20024-2126
Phone: 202-488-0456
Fax: 202-314-7888
Web site: www.ushmm.org

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has been a key outreach partner from the very beginning of the AUSCHWITZ: Inside the Nazi State project. In addition to its site in Washington, D.C., the museum's Web site has probably the most extensive collection of resources on this subject available anywhere. These include a photograph archive in which many of the images are in the public domain and therefore can be used for presentations for only the cost of duplication (please leave adequate time to receive these). It also includes an online teacher training workshop in addition to extremely comprehensive background information.

Among its many education activities is the Museum Teacher Fellowship Program, which invites up to 25 master teachers to USHMM for one week each August for an intensive 12-hour-a-day experience. These teachers then return to their home communities to do an outreach project during the year and reconvene the following May to share their experiences. There are now Museum Teacher Fellows nationwide. Those listed here have indicated their willingness to become involved in local station outreach projects. Note that the contact information is their school address.

 

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