Holocaust Museum Houston Digital Newsletter November 2015

“This experience had a profound effect on every part of me. I expected to come out a better teacher of the Holocaust, but not to come out a different person. The passion everyone has for the work they do was truly inspiring. I want to get involved in any way that I can and continue my studies because I know the knowledge I have is only the tip of the iceberg.”

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers

Each year, Holocaust Museum Houston brings future educators, college faculty and activists from across the United States to Houston to learn together from scholars representing Holocaust institutions around the world. In May 2015, 27 Fellows, the largest group to date, met for six days of learning, interacted with Holocaust survivors and used the Museum as a space to learn from and explore. Participants were selected in a rigorous application process, representing 18 colleges and universities. Spector/Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers During January 2015, 18 undergraduate and graduate Syracuse University students from seven states traveled to Houston to participate in a one- of-a-kind program that helps future educators learn how to teach their students about one of history’s darkest times, the Holocaust, and about its relevance to today’s world. The nationally acclaimed fellowship provides intensive training and opportunities to hear from international experts on World War II and Holocaust history, as well as from Houston-area survivors of the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust. One of the Fellows wrote, “So much happened to me in Houston. I heard, read, saw, learned, experienced, and realized so much. Survivors of the Holocaust will often say, “I died there.” They also talk about having two different lives: life before the Holocaust and life after. About my time in Houston, though, I could say I was born there. Life seemed to become renewed during that time. My life will now exist in two parts: life before the Spector/Warren Fellowship, and life after.” – A Spector/Warren Fellow The Spector/Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers is sponsored by Helen and Andrew Spector and the Spector Family Foundation, in honor of Survivor Naomi Warren. Law Enforcement and Society Working with the Anti-Defamation League and the Houston Police Department, the Museum hosted four Law Enforcement and Society training sessions for area law enforcement personnel. The program examines the role of law enforcement during the years of the Holocaust and pivotal roles in society today. This year, the program was visited by Washington, DC, colleagues from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Anti-Defamation League. Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute The Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute was a success in 2015, including our inaugural “Holocaust Education 101” session, held with the support of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the first day of the Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute. The intent of this additional programming, extending the typical four-day institute, was to introduce those new to Holocaust education to the framework for teaching the subject. Thirty- three educators participated this year. The Gerald S. Kaplan Endowment Lecture was presented by Professor Peter Hayes, the Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor at Northwestern University, who specializes in the history of Germany in the 20th century and particularly in the Nazi period. His lecture countered common myths and misconceptions about the Holocaust. i-Pad Digital Curriculum Trunk Program The Museum’s trademark curriculum trunk program continued to flourish this fiscal year. Each trunk contains a class set of iPad minis, and a trunk is available for a teacher’s use for 30 days. Each digital device has an individual cover and is pre-loaded with an i-Book written by the Museum’s education staff, “Exploring the Holocaust & Genocide,” which is an overview of Holocaust and genocide history, with connections to literature and art. There are also links to appropriate Web sites.

-- Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute participant.

Survivor Pauline Rubin worked with teachers attending the Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute during 2015.

Children of all ages participated in the Museum Experience Day, one of the busiest days of the year for the Museum.

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GRATITUDE REPORT 2015