The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC) recognizes the need for conscientious teachers, equipped with proper knowledge, to develop engaging and pedagogically sound Holocaust curricula. The following organizations offer Holocaust education programs that are recommended by the BHEC for Friedman Scholarship recipients. Other workshops will be considered, but must be approved by the BHEC.
*Advanced Program, may have additional requirements
- Appalachian State University
Martin & Doris Rosen Summer Symposium for Educators - The Breman Museum
Summer Institute on Teaching the Holocaust - Facing History and Ourselves
Holocaust and Human Behavior - Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program*
- Holocaust Educators Network
The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI) for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights* - Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
Summer Institute for Teachers*
Advanced Seminar*
European Study Program* - U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Belfer National Conference for Educators
Museum Teacher Fellowship* - Yad Vashem
International Seminar for Educators, “Teaching the Shoah and Antisemitism”*
The 2020 symposium will focus on “Children in the Holocaust.”
Participating teachers and general audience members will hear from and have the opportunity to converse with Prof. Michael Berenbaum (American Jewish University), Dr. Eva Fogelman (Florida), Prof. Gabriel Finder (UVA), Dr. Racelle Weiman (Florida), and Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff (University of Miami) as well as other accomplished Holocaust educators and scholars from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., and Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. Moreover, several child survivors of the Shoah will give testimony.
Attending teacher-participants will learn and analyze how the Nazi regime sought to indoctrinate Gentile children and turn them into supporters of their regime. They will also examine how persecuted Jewish children tried to cope with persecution and, eventually, outright genocidal onslaughts. The presentations and assigned materials will shed new light on children’s complex challenges and struggles under Nazi rule and occupation, in the ghettos and even camps as well as many’s resilience and despair.
The Symposium provides approximately 40 hours of lectures, workshops, discussion, films, and demonstrations. Teachers who complete all 40 hours will receive four (4) CEU units.
Requirements:
Open to middle and high school teachers, university faculty and students, and interested community leaders.
Location:
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
(Grandfather Ballroom at Plemmons Student Union)
Accommodations:
Provided by Appalachian State in nearby University apartments.
Dates:
Saturday, July 25 (2:00 pm) – Thursday, July 30 (3:30 pm), 2020
Session Length:
6 days
Program Agenda:
Application:
Application Deadline:
First come, first-served.
Cost:
There is no registration fee for the workshop.
Additional scholarships are available from the Rosen Foundation to cover housing on campus and 3 meals each day.
Friedman Scholarships will cover all additional expenses.
For four days, educators will be part of in-depth seminars on topics central to understanding the Holocaust. This includes daily meetings and discussions with Holocaust survivors and instruction by renowned Holocaust educators from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, and other important Holocaust education organizations.
Teachers receive 4 PLUs upon completion.
An additional 1 PLU credit may be obtained by submitting a lesson plan incorporating the subject matter studied during the week.
Requirements:
Teachers of elementary/middle/high school and public/charter/private/religious schools.
Class size will be limited to 60 teachers.
Location:
The Breman Museum
1440 Spring Street NW (entrance on 18th Street)
Atlanta, GA 30309
Accommodations:
Hotel will be the responsibility of the attendee.
The Museum on directly on a MARTA line connecting to other parts of the city.
Free parking is available at the museum.
Dates:
Monday, June 8 – Thursday, June 11, 2020
8:30 am – 4:00 pm each day
Session Length:
4 days
Program Agenda:
Application Deadline:
May 28, 2020
Cost:
Educators (Non-Scholarship) $200
Educator (Scholarship Application*) $25
Non-Educator $250
Tuition includes all textbooks (including Echoes and Reflections Curriculum, $95; and Michael Berenbaum’s Holocaust history, The World Must Know, $20), all presentation materials, lunches, snacks, and free parking.
*Teachers qualified to apply for the scholarship include those from public and private schools, including religious schools. Teachers must be currently employed.
In today’s world, questions of how to best build and maintain democratic societies that are pluralistic, open, and resilient to violence continues to be relevant. Studying the Holocaust allows students to wrestle with profound moral questions raised by this history and fosters their skills in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, empathy, and civic engagement—all of which are critical for sustaining democracy. This workshop features the fully revised, digital edition of Holocaust and Human Behavior and is intended for middle and high school teachers.
After this seminar you will:
- Become part of the Facing History educator network, with access to a rich slate of educator resources, including downloadable unit and lesson plans, study guides, and multimedia
- Be able to borrow books and DVDs through the Facing History online lending library at no cost
Requirements:
Recommended for 6-12th grade US History, World History, Humanities, or English Language Arts teachers.
Location:
Facing History and Ourselves
115 Huling Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
Accommodations:
Accommodations are the responsibility of the attendee.
Dates:
Tuesday, July 14 – Thursday, July 16, 2020
Session Length:
3 days, 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Application:
Application Deadline:
May 25, 2020
Cost:
Registration Fee $30 + Event Fee $400
Breakfast and lunch provided.
The Summer Seminar of the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers’ Program was initiated by Vladka Meed in 1984. The seminar is designed for secondary school teachers who implement Holocaust studies in their classrooms. The group of approximately 24 teachers visits historic sites and hears from survivors and prominent scholars.
Program Goals
- To advance education in U.S. secondary schools about the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance
- To deepen teachers’ knowledge and strengthen their ability to implement Holocaust studies in their classrooms
- To teach each new generation about the Holocaust and Jewish resistance, so that they will know, understand, and never forget
- To further educational activities which use the lessons of the past as warnings for the present and the future
Requirements:
Open to secondary school teachers who implement Holocaust studies in their classroom.
In order to be eligible for a BHEC Friedman Scholarship, teacher must have attended a minimum of (2) previous national Holocaust workshops.
Location:
US, Poland, and Germany
Accommodations:
Accommodations (2 to a room) included in fee.
Dates:
There will be no trip for Summer 2019.
Session Length:
15 days
Program Curriculum:
- Antisemitism in Europe
- The Outbreak of World War II
- Life in the Ghettos and the Camps
- “The Final Solution”
- Armed Resistance and Revolt
- Spiritual Resistance
- Reaction of the Free World
- The Holocaust in Literature and Art
- Post-War Impact of the Holocaust
- Present-day antisemitism
The Summer Seminar will begin with a 2-day intensive orientation in Newark. The group will then travel to Germany and Poland.
Application:
Apply for a Friedman Scholarship from the BHEC.
HAJRTP Application.
Application Deadline:
Cost:
Fee: $2,500 (Payment due upon acceptance.)
Includes round-trip travel from Newark; orientation in the US; trips to historic sites in Germany & Poland; hotel accommodations (2 to a room); 2 meals a day.
Payment is expected immediately upon notification of acceptance, at which time you will receive specifics of the program.
Participants must pay for their travel to Newark, NJ Liberty Airport and back home again.
BHEC Friedman Scholarships will only provide UP TO $1,000.
TOLI welcomes applications from middle school, high school, and college faculty across the U.S. who seek to deepen their teaching about the Holocaust, genocide, and social justice.
Led by Sondra Perl and Jennifer Lemberg, this 12-day seminar encourages teachers to think creatively and collaboratively about how they teach the Holocaust and more recent genocides. Participants become adept at dealing with difficult material and discover how writing, dialogue, and inquiry can help motivate students toward social action.
Requirements:
- Prior experience teaching the Holocaust or focusing on social injustice in the classroom is required.
- Applicants should have at least 5 years of classroom experience and need to be at least 5 years from retirement.
- Previous Holocaust workshop experience required to receive BHEC Friedman Scholarship.
Location:
The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI)
Memorial Library
58 East 79th Street
New York, NY
Accommodations:
Provided at Columbia University
Dates:
Saturday, June 20 – Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Session Length:
12 days
Application:
No BHEC Scholarship Application is necessary. We would appreciate knowing if you plan to apply.
Agenda:
Course content includes:
- Testimony from Holocaust survivors
- Workshops by scholars and artists
- A day at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
- A focus on experiential learning, interactive pedagogy, and writing
- Outings to historic sites and cultural events
Speakers for 2020 will include:
- Alexandra Zapruder – author of Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust
- Irving Roth – on surviving Auschwitz
- Andrea Ptizer, author of One Long Night: A Global History of the Concentration Camps
- Ellen Kennedy – Executive Director, World Without Genocide
- Rabbi Greg Wall – Jewish culture and klezmer music
Application Deadline:
Submission Deadline: February 15, 2020
Cost:
All participants receive a $350 stipend, free housing at Columbia University, round-trip airfare to NYC, and selected books.
Local transportation and most meals will be provided by TOLI.
The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center is designated a “Center of Excellence” by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. The Holocaust Centers of Excellence Program is a partnership between the JFR and the participating Holocaust Center. In agreeing to participate in the program, each center agrees to nominate two educators each year to attend the Summer Institute for Teachers. Additionally, each center agrees to sponsor Holocaust teacher education programs that draw on JFR materials and training modules. The Centers make a commitment to teach the Holocaust in as comprehensive a manner as possible and to include the subject of rescue. Teachers who attend JFR programs are known as Alfred Lerner Fellows and form a cadre of educators for each local center as well as for the JFR.
The JFR’s additional education programs are comprehensive and far-reaching. They include not only the summer residential program but an advanced seminar, and educators’ trip to Europe, an academic newsletter, a teachers’ internet resource, and partnerships with Holocaust Centers throughout the country.
The Summer Institute for Teachers examines the Holocaust from the precedents found in the history of antisemitism, to the rise of the Nazi party, the machinery of death, rescue, through to the aftermath of the Holocaust. The text will be How Was It Possible? A Holocaust Reader by Professor Peter Hayes.
The program is a high-level, intensive academic seminar in which participants are exposed to prominent Holocaust scholars. Participants meet in small groups following each lecture, enabling them to share teaching concepts and to develop approaches to introducing the subject matter to their students.
All participants selected to attend the JFR Summer Institute for Teachers are known as Alfred Lerner Fellows and must be nominated by one of the centers in our Holocaust Centers of Excellence Program. In order to participate in other JFR educational programs, a teacher must be an Alfred Lerner Fellow and have remained involved with their local Holocaust center. While there is a participant fee, the JFR provides each Lerner Fellow with a significant scholarship to attend the Summer Institute for Teachers. The program is a residential program – all participants stay on the Columbia University campus. Participants are expected to complete required readings prior to the start of the program.
The JFR Summer Institute for Teachers provides the foundation for other JFR education programs, such as the Advanced Seminar and European Study Program which delve deeply into aspects of the Holocaust not covered by other Holocaust teacher education programs.
Requirements:
- Teacher must be selected by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC), a designated “Center of Excellence.” The BHEC will select 2 teachers each year from the state of Alabama. Teachers can express interest in this nomination by applying for a Friedman Scholarship through the BHEC.
- Teacher must teach English or Social Studies at the middle or high school level, or they must work in an education capacity with the BHEC.
- Teacher must have taught for at least five years and must be at least five years from retirement.
- Teacher must currently teach the Holocaust in the classroom.
- Previous Holocaust workshop experience required.
- Teacher must agree to serve as a resource for the JFR and the BHEC.
- The JFR requires each applicant to submit a content outline of their Holocaust unit of study with their application.
- The JFR requires each participant to submit a 1-2 page paper AFTER the workshop, discussing how the participant intends to change their unit on the Holocaust with respect to content and methodology, as a result of attending the Summer Institute. With this should be a required revised lesson plan from your unit of study.
This submission will be due by Friday, August 28, 2020.
Location:
Columbia University; New York City, NY
Accommodations:
Dorms of Columbia University.
The dorm has private rooms, but bathrooms are shared.
All participants MUST stay in the dorms. There are no facilities for family members.
Dates:
Saturday, June 20 – Thursday, June 25, 2020
Program begins 8:00 a.m. on Saturday with breakfast and runs through 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. Participants should arrive at Columbia by the evening of Friday, June 19.
Session Length:
6 days
Program Agenda:
Application:
Apply for a Friedman Scholarship from the BHEC
If accepted, the JFR’s application will be sent to you by the BHEC Education Coordinator. Your application must be submitted to the BHEC office first, and will then be submitted to the JFR.
Application Deadline:
January 31, 2020
Cost:
$850 registration fee includes accommodations as well as all breakfasts, lunches, breaks, and two dinners (Saturday and Wednesday nights) – beginning with breakfast on Saturday, June 20.
For those arriving on Friday, June 19 the JFR will also cover the cost of lodging, but not meals.
The JFR holds its Advanced Seminar every year over the birthday weekend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This 3-day, intensive program is open only to Alfred Lerner Fellows and is limited to 24 participants. The Advanced Seminar is designed to deepen knowledge of the Holocaust in particular geographies or thematic areas. Participants are expected to complete required readings and writing assignments prior to the start of the program.
Requirements:
Teacher must have completed JFR’s Summer Institute for Teachers and must be nominated by the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC).
Location:
Newark, NJ
Accommodations:
Hilton Hotel at Newark Airport
Dates:
Saturday, January 18 – Monday, January 20, 2020
(MLK Weekend)
Session Length:
3 days
Program Agenda:
Application:
Apply for a Friedman Scholarship from the BHEC.
If accepted, the JFR’s application will be sent to you by the BHEC Education Coordinator. Your application must be submitted to the BHEC office first, and will then be submitted to the JFR.
Friedman Scholarships for the Advanced Seminar will cover REGISTRATION FEES ONLY.
Application Deadline:
Notify BHEC Education Coordinator if you are interested in applying. The BHEC must sign all applications before submission.
SPACE IS LIMITED
Cost:
$400 registration fee, based on double occupancy.
$125 additional charge for a single
– BHEC Friedman Scholarship covers only the registration fee (this includes hotel for Friday/Sat/Sun nights.
– You will likely have to fly up one day early (Friday) in order to be there at the first session on Saturday.
– Travel and additional expenses are the responsibility of the participant.
The European Study Program offers participants an intensive educational experience. This program is scheduled every other year and is limited to twenty Lerner Fellows. It includes visits to concentration camps; ghetto sites; former shtetls; and meetings with survivors, rescuers, local historians, and teachers. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous sees the European Study Program as its capstone and provides a subsidy for each participant.
Requirements:
Teacher must have completed JFR’s Summer Institute for Teachers and must be nominated by the BHEC.
Location:
2020: Germany and Poland
Accommodations:
All accommodations included.
Dates:
Sunday, July 5 – Sunday, July 19, 2020
Program Agenda:
Scholar: Professor Robert Jan van Pelt
Application:
Apply for a Friedman Scholarship from the BHEC.
JFR’s application will be sent to you by the BHEC Education Coordinator.
Application Deadline:
Friday, February 28, 2020
Application and Deposit
March 2020
Announcement of participants
Friday, May 1, 2020
Participant fees to be paid in full
Cost:
$500 non-refundable deposit.
$3,600 (For a single room, add $795)
BHEC Friedman Scholarship will only provide UP TO $1,500.
Belfer National Conference for Educators
Funded by a grant from the Belfer Foundation, this conference is designed for middle and high school educators and community college faculty.
Subject-specific conferences are offered for Social Studies and English/Language Arts teachers. Educators who teach a subject outside these two disciplines may pick which session to attend that better suits their subject matter. Sessions are designed specifically for teachers with five or fewer years teaching the Holocaust.
Museum educators and scholars will share rationales, strategies, and approaches for teaching about the Holocaust. Participants will have extensive time to view the Museum’s Permanent Exhibition, as well as the special exhibitions Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story and Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration & Complicity in the Holocaust, and to explore the Museum’s full range of resources.
Those who complete the conference will receive a set of educational materials from the Museum.
Requirements:
Taught Holocaust 1-5 years.
Location:
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
Accommodations:
There is no conference hotel. Accommodations are up to each participant.
Dates:
English/Language Arts
Monday, July 20 – Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Social Studies
Thursday, July 23 – Saturday, July 25, 2020
Session Length:
3 days
Application:
Apply for a Friedman Scholarship from the BHEC
USHMM Online Application (English/Language Arts)
USHMM Online Application (Social Studies)
Application Deadline:
Registration opens November 1, 2019 for the summer of 2020.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. a
Cost:
– There is NO registration fee.
– Teachers who complete the program receive a set of educational materials from the Museum.
USHMM Scholarships:
A limited number of scholarships are available from USHMM.
Deadline: Wednesday, May 15, 2019
USHMM Scholarship Application
Applicants must first register for the Belfer National Conference before their scholarship application will be reviewed. Be Advised that scholarships may no longer be available by the deadline.
The Museum Teacher Fellowship Program seeks to train leaders in the field of Holocaust education. The fellows are a national corps of skilled educators who assist the Museum’s efforts to promote quality Holocaust education that is rooted in accurate history and responsible pedagogy.
Requirements:
The Museum selects up to 20 educators – from grades 7 through 12 – as new Museum Teacher Fellows. These educators must show evidence of extensive knowledge of Holocaust history, successful teaching experience, and participation in community and professional organizations. Preference is given to applicants who have attended the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer National Conference for Educators.
Location:
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
Accommodations:
Hotel per conference recommendation.
Dates:
Monday, July 6 – Friday, July, 10, 2020
Session Length:
5 days
There is also a follow-up week at the USHMM the following summer.
Application:
Application Deadline:
Applications will be accepted beginning November 1, 2019 for the summer of 2020.
Cost:
All expenses paid by the USHMM, including travel and hotel.
This 19-day seminar is one that requires a tremendous amount of physical, intellectual, and emotional stamina. Throughout most of the seminar you will find yourself sitting in the classroom listening to the pre-eminent scholars in the various fields of Holocaust education.
The seminar is built upon three major pillars: academic, pedagogical, and experiential.
– The academic component will take you through the history and culture of the Jewish people in the interwar period. It will continue through the history of antisemitism, the stages of the Final Solution, and the Jewish response to the Nazi onslaught. This element, although historically based, will include lectures on literature, theology, psychology, and art.
– The pedagogical component will provide the participants with the tools to translate this academic content into suitable pedagogical materials that are age appropriate and multi-disciplinary.
– The experiential component has three varied parts. The first and most important is meetings with survivors. During the course of this seminar, participants meet with ten to twelve survivors whose testimonies document and personalize this tragic historical event. The second element is field trips that will connect educators not only with the recent history of the Jewish people but also with its ancient roots in the Land of Israel. The final component is a series of films and optional workshops that will enhance both the historical and pedagogical components of the program. We will address the recent upsurge of antisemitism and Holocaust denial throughout the world today including strategies for combating these phenomena.
This seminar is accredited by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a participant can receive up to four MA credits. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA will award three MA credits. Either option is contingent upon the completion of a required work post seminar and payment to the respective institution.
Requirements:
– For dedicated teachers planning to teach or currently teaching the Holocaust.
– In order to be eligible for a BHEC Scholarship, teacher must have attended a minimum of two (2) previous national Holocaust workshops.
Location:
International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
Accommodations:
Hotel (bed & breakfast) paid by attendee: The Prima Kings Hotel.
Approximately $113/day (single) or $70/day (double).
Cost includes breakfast.
Dates:
Sunday, June 28 – Thursday, July 16, 2020
This seminar takes place six days a week:
Sunday – Thursday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, 8:30 am – 2:00 pm
Session Length:
19 days; 140 hours
Program Agenda:
Application Deadline:
March 31, 2018
Cost:
$1300
This includes the opportunity to take one Yad Vashem online course at any time after the seminar. (It does NOT include payment for MA credits.)
Hotel cost is additional (see above). Airfare is additional.
BHEC Friedman Scholarship will only provide UP TO $1,000.
Some scholarships available from Yad Vashem.