March 15, 2004
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESENT FOURTH ANNUAL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FORUM ON HOLOCAUST EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in cooperation with the College of Education, California State University, San Bernardino, will host the 4th annual Southern California Teacher Forum on Holocaust Education from March 18 – 20 at California State University, San Bernardino. The Forum will provide an in-depth evaluation of Holocaust education and explore the content, methodologies, and rationales for teaching this complex history. Up to 200 Southern California educators are scheduled to attend.
“California is one of the states mandating Holocaust education,” says Stephen Feinberg, the Museum’s Director of National Outreach. “This Forum will enable teachers to more effectively meet the state’s educational requirements. Participants interact with Holocaust education experts from California and around the country, and, most importantly, listen to Holocaust survivors speak about their experiences and why keeping this memory alive is crucial.”
Sessions will cover Holocaust education guidelines, examine local resources available to Holocaust educators, and using technology in teaching the Holocaust. In addition to presentations by Museum educators, conference highlights include:
- Live satellite connection and discussion with Wolf Kaiser, Director of Education, House of the Wannsee Villa, Germany.
- Presentation by Bernat Rosner and Frederic Tubach, authors of An Uncommon Friendship: From Opposite Sides of the Holocaust. Mr. Rosner is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor; Mr. Tubach is the son of a Nazi officer.
- Presentation by Bridget Conley of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience. The Committee on Conscience is tasked to alert the national conscience about potential contemporary instances of genocide and crimes against humanity.
- Presentation by Holocaust scholar Dr. Michael Berenbaum, Director, Sigi Ziering Institute for the Study of Ethics and the Holocaust, University of Judaism, Los Angeles.
- Presentations by Holocaust survivors.
This conference is made possible by the Samueli Foundation.
A complete conference schedule is available. Please contact Andrew Hollinger in the Museum’s Media Relations Department at 202/488-6133 or ahollinger@ushmm.org if you would like to attend the Forum or speak with organizers or participants.
As part of its national outreach efforts, the Museum’s Education Division offers programs for educators of all levels of Holocaust education experience. The Museum hosts Educational Forums and Conferences across the country. This is the 4th Annual Forum for Southern California educators; on March 25-28, the Museum will host its 2nd Annual Forum for Northern California educators. Each summer, the Museum hosts two, three-day Belfer Conferences for Holocaust educators and the Museum Teacher Fellowship program, an intensive five-day workshop for educators with at least five years of experience teaching Holocaust studies. In addition, the Museum hosts workshops across the country throughout the year.
A public-private partnership, the Museum is a federal institution whose educational activities and outreach are made possible through private donations. More than 250,000 individuals, foundations, and corporations helped build the institution and currently support its programs and operations. For more information, visit www.ushmm.org.
