embassy events 2008 

U.S. Embassy Co-sponsors Holocaust Education Conference On Rescue

18 January 2008 

Ambassador Victor Ashe opens the conference

The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, in cooperation with the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous in New York and the Center for Citizenship Education in Warsaw, co-hosted a conference for high-school teachers on Holocaust education entitled “Rescuers in the Times of Darkness” on January 25, 2008. U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe opened the conference along with the Minister of Education Ms. Katarzyna Hall, Professor Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, Secretary of State at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Ambassador of Israel David Peleg, Ms. Stanlee Stahl, Vice President of The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, and Ms. Teresa Lecka, Director of the National In-Service Teacher Training Center. In his opening remarks, Ambassador Ashe emphasized the importance of teaching about rescue saying that “Teaching the upcoming generation about the rescuing of Jewish children in the Holocaust is extremely important so that future generations understand the depth of moral courage it takes to put yourself and your family in grave danger to save another’s life.” Keynote speaker Deborah Dwork, Rose Professor of Holocaust History and Director of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide at Clark University, spoke on “Rescue and Life in Hiding” describing the enormous difficulties of being completely hidden, or living in hiding, or passing as a non-Jew during the Holocaust. Dwork presented stories of children who were rescued and hidden during the Holocaust and how it was to “live without living” and how their rescuers had to mask the activities of the hidden children. 

Invited participants were alumni of Holocaust education teacher training programs in the United States, Poland, and Israel. During the conference, each teacher received the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Poster Set on Rescue: Traits that Transcend which was translated into Polish by the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Each eight full-color posters links two rescuers to a character trait that is plainly evident in their stories. The posters provide educators with a visually appealing tool that they can use to teach about rescue while highlighting traits that young people can cultivate and bring to bear in their own lives. The eight traits are compassion, cooperation, courage, ingenuity, integrity, moral leadership, self-sacrifice, and social responsibility. The rescuers featured on the posters come from all professions and from a range of countries and include such notable persons as: Marion Pritchard, Irena Sendler, Varian Fry, Jerzy Jadwanek, Jadwiga Konochowicz, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Andre Trocme, Raoul Wallenberg, Eugenia Wąsowska, Chlune Sugihara, Olga Kukovic, Oskar Schindler, Preben Munch Nielsen, Dymitry Peszew, Olga Rajsek, Hasmik i Tigran Tashtshiyan.  The poster set comes with a twelve-page teacher’s guide that includes an overview of key issues to consider when teaching the subject of rescue, suggestions for using the posters in the classroom, and a list of relevant books, films, and websites.  During 2007, 1000 JFR Poster Sets reached teachers of history, Polish literature, and civic education during workshops organized by CEO under various programs for teachers in 23 towns and 13 regions.

• Training program on how to teach about the Holocaust