Dear Colleague,
The team at UCL Centre for Holocaust Education would like to wish all our teacher networks and friends well for the new academic year. We also welcome our new cohort of Lead Teachers on our 2021-2022 Beacon School Programme. It was great to meet the senior leaders of each school in Nic Wetherall’s opening session last week.
Brand New CPD offer: What was the Holocaust, how do I teach it and why does it matter?
This year, in our goal to support you with high quality, research informed, transformative, teacher development and training about the Holocaust, all free of charge, we are excited to bring you our brand new, twilight, modular ‘live online’ offer. All sessions come with ready-to-go lesson plans, PowerPoints together with step-by-step notes and accessible resources that stimulate critical thinking and empathy.
The first session runs this afternoon from 4:30-5:45pm and is entitled: An ‘ordinary’ shoe? Stepping into this challenging history at KS3.
80th Anniversary of the Massacres at Babi Yar
This week marks the start of one of the most horrific atrocities of the Holocaust – the massacres at Babi Yar 80 years ago. Mania Halef was one of more than 33,000 Jews killed in over two days of the massacre at Babi Yar beginning on 29th September 1941. Mania was just seven years old when she was killed. Read more
HMD 2022 will be marking this anniversary on 27 January 2022. Visit the HMD website for more details
Passing of Holocaust Survivor Lili Pohlmann MBE
It is with a heavy heart that the Centre reports the passing of Holocaust survivor Lili Pohlman, MBE this week. I attended her funeral yesterday and listened to the eulogies paid to her by her close friend, Anthony Lishak, CEO of Learning from the Righteous and from her daughter Karen Mantell.
Lili was a phenomenal force of nature, charismatic, beguiling and deeply compassionate. Her faith in humankind was, it is said, influenced by her experience of being rescued by righteous non-Jews who, in kindness and courage, risked their lives to shelter her. In this Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) interview you can find out more about this remarkable woman.
May her dear life be for a great blessing.
Upcoming courses:
- Teaching the Holocaust: Innovative Approaches to the Challenges We Face – Free Online MOOC (Course begins 11 October)
We have partnered with Yad Vashem to develop this unique MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) that offers educators innovative approaches to the challenges presented when teaching about the Holocaust…. read more
- What was the Holocaust, how do I teach it and why does it matter?
A new programme of flexible CPD modules, delivered live online… view full course listings
- Additional CPD workshops to suit the school day
- Training the next generation of teachers
In partnership with initial teacher training providers, we offer courses tailored to the needs of teachers at the start of their careers. All free of charge… view full course listings
Latest research:
- Improving teachers’ subject knowledge of the Holocaust
During September, the BBC and other news outlets reported early findings from our recent research with teachers. Our data suggests that, in general, teachers today have a more accurate knowledge of the Holocaust than they did ten years ago. However, it also reveals that a number of widespread and concerning misconceptions still exist…. read more
- Teaching about the Holocaust at history GCSE or A Level?
We want to hear from history teachers about their experiences of teaching about the Holocaust and related topics at both GCSE and A Level. Colleagues from UCL are working in partnership with Edexcel Pearson, AQA and OCR… read more
Have a good week,
Ruth-Anne
