The current COVID-19 pandemic is posing a great challenge for people and institutions across the globe. Museums, educational institutions and civil society organizations focusing on the topic of the Holocaust are also affected.
In this uncertain time, one of the many challenges facing teachers around the world is the question of how to continue teaching their classes remotely. This collection of educational resources, spanning the range from audio-visual testimony, searchable encyclopedias, and themed lessons, may help.
Many of the resources listed below contain educational material about the genocide of the Sinti and Roma. However, five additional resources focusing specifically on this topic can be found here: Five resources for teaching and learning about the Roma Genocide.
If you or your institution have any suggestions for resources to add, please send them to us on Facebook or Twitter!
1. USHMM — Holocaust Encyclopedia
To bolster Holocaust context and knowledge, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s online Holocaust Encyclopedia contains hundreds of articles that feature key facts, content, primary sources, and critical thinking questions. There is also a collection of Online Tools, including a learning site for students, online exhibitions, and a virtual field trip.
Sample resource: Nazi Propaganda
Find more at: USHMM Encyclopedia
2. IHRA — Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust
This document, aimed more at teachers and policymakers than students, contains in-depth yet approachable discussions of Why, What, and How to teach about the Holocaust. Produced by IHRA experts in partnership with UNESCO, these recommendations are intended to help educators with fact-based and educationally sound techniques for teaching the complex and nuanced history of the Holocaust. Excerpts and the full text are available at the links here, and translations into further IHRA languages will become available this year.
Sample resource: How to Teach about the Holocaust in Schools
Find out more: Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust
3. The Wiener Library — The Holocaust Explained
The Holocaust Explained is a website created by The Wiener Library which aims to answer common questions in an accessible, reliable and engaging way. The content has been designed for learners from the age of 13 to 18, and is organized across nine clearly defined topic areas.
Sample resource: What was the Holocaust?
Find more at: The Holocaust Explained
4. Yad Vashem — educational videos
These educational videos, developed by Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, explore key historical concepts in Holocaust education. In only a few minutes, these videos outline concepts such as "Lebensraum," the Jewish Badge, and others. There are also survivor testimonies and a wealth of video resources available.
Sample resource: Teaching the Holocaust Using Photographs
See the entire video collection here: Yad Vashem educational videos
5. USC Shoah Foundation — IWitness
With video testimony, multimedia activities and digital resources, IWitness helps facilitate active learning. Registered IWitness users can search and watch full length testimonies addressing more than 50 different topics, and there is a library of ready-made activities in several languages. There is also a specific page for resources pages directly responding to the COVID-19 crisis, available in English, Czech, Hungarian and German.
Sample resource: The Nazi Genocide against Roma and Sinti People
See further resources and activities here: IWitness
6. EHRI — online course in Holocaust Studies
This online course in Holocaust Studies, created by the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure, is open to anyone who would like to learn more about the Holocaust. The course specifically aims to provide teachers, lecturers and students with source material and background information in order to give them an overview of recent trends in the historiography. Since it is challenging to cover the manifold topics encompassed by modern Holocaust research, this course teaches by using selected representative examples: Five overarching topics have been developed for the online course. Each of these topics is used to give a critical analysis of sources within the context of the current state and methods of Holocaust research.
Sample resource: Ghettos Under Nazi Rule
Read more: EHRI Online Course on Holocaust Studies
7. World Jewish Congress — What is the Holocaust?
This website, created by the World Jewish Congress and supported by UNESCO, provides young people with essential information about the history of the Holocaust and its legacy. The interactive online tool includes a range of content — facts that all students should know, video testimonies of survivors, and the latest news updates about Holocaust educational programs and activities — all designed to address misinformation that circulates across social media and other internet forums.
Sample resource: What Was the Nazi Party?
Read more: About Holocaust
