Prejudice Reduction Through Holocaust/Genocide Education:
A Collaborative Model
2004 Award Winner

Program Name: Prejudice Reduction Through Holocaust/Genocide Education: A Collaborative Model
Nominator's Name: Susan Rosen
Nominator's Title: Middle School Reading Department Supervisor
Nominator's Address: 238 Pitman-Downer Road
Sewell, New Jersey 08080
Nominator's Telephone Number: 856-582-5353 Extension 5643
Organization Name: The Holocaust Education Center of the Delaware Valley
Organization Address: 1301 Springdale Road
Suite 200, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08003-2761
List of Community Partners: Holocaust Education Center Speakers Bureau and the
Jewish Community Relations Council - Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey
The nominated program focuses on the following grade level or area: Middle/Jr. High School
District: Washington Township
County: Gloucester
Address: 206 East Holly Avenue, Sewell, New Jersey 08080
District Superintendent: Thomas J. Flemming
District Telephone Number: 856-589-6644
Date of Program Initiation: Fall, 1990

"The Prejudice Reduction Through Holocaust/Genocide Education: A Collaborative Model" program was instituted as part of Washington Township's middle level program to promote students' understanding of the Holocaust. Since its inception, the program has developed into an annual collaborative endeavor across certain content areas and between the middle schools and our community partners. Specifically, the program, through the collaboration of 8th grade Reading, Social Studies, and English teachers and volunteers from the Holocaust Education Center Speakers Bureau, provides students with a memorable educational experience. This experience provides students with not only an understanding of the Holocaust, but more importantly with an understanding of how intolerance and prejudice toward others, as well as passive indifference toward others, can have a significant impact at both a personal and societal level even in the present and in their daily lives.

Area 1: Goals:

The goals of the program include:

• To reduce prejudice as outlined in New Jersey's 1994 Holocaust/Genocide Education Mandate through the NJCCS in Language Arts, Social Studies, and Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills.
• To improve critical reading and expository and creative writing skills.
• To understand the various social, historical, and political roots and results of the Holocaust.

Language Arts Literacy Standards Alignment (Grade 8)

3.1 G4 Anticipate and construct meaning from text by making connections to self, an author, and others.

3.1 G16 Analyze drama as a source of information, entertainment, persuasion or transmitter of culture.

3.1 H3 Draw conclusions from information gathered from multiple sources.

3.1 G15 Understand perspectives of authors in a variety of interdisciplinary works.

Social Studies Standards Alignment (Grade 8)

6.1 A2 Demonstrate that they have actively listened to a speaker…by raising questions, summarizing positions and/or evaluating the presented positions.

6.1 F1 Understand that there are cultural norms which are expectations for social behavior.

6.1 F2 Be aware of and be sensitive to differences in people.

6.4 C5 Analyze the growth of Nazism and the background of Europe anti Semitism resulting in the Holocaust and its impact on Jewish culture and European society.

6.9 C2 Identify examples in which social institutions and groups have failed to function in a positive way and in which people have behaved in cruel or inhumane ways, including slavery, the Holocaust.

Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills Standards Alignment (Grade 8)

9.2 A2 Describe how personal beliefs and attitudes affect decision-making.

9.2 A4 Recognize bias, vested interest, stereotyping and the manipulation and misuse of information.

9.2 B2 Demonstrate responsibility for personal actions and contributions to group activities.

9.2 C1 Demonstrate respect and flexibility in interpersonal and group situations.

9.2 C3 Work cooperatively with others to solve a problem.

9.2 D1 Explain and demonstrate how character and behavior affect and influence the actions of others.
9.2 D3 List problems, their causes, effects and solutions faced in the home, school and/or community.

9.2 D4 Describe how personal ethics influence decision making.

Area 2: Activities:

The project centers on a presentation to the District's eighth grade students by a Holocaust survivor. The survivor spends two hours speaking with the children about personal experiences during the Holocaust. These are emotionally draining memories for the presenter; however, the recounting of these memories enables the students to "see" a snapshot of a life directly affected by the hatred espoused by the Nazi party during the Holocaust. It helps students to experience a more tangible connection to this historical event.

As a preparatory activity, students read The Diary of Anne Frank, analyze the Holocaust as an historical event, and use electronic media to research the experiences of many children from all parts of Europe during this time period. Follow-up letter writing continues the relationship between the students and the Survivor.

Area 3: Outside Resources:

This program is offered through the volunteer-based services of The Holocaust Education Center of the Delaware Valley, Goodwin Holocaust Museum, the Holocaust Education Center Speakers Bureau, and the Jewish Community Relations Council. The classroom teacher contacts a member of the Speakers Bureau (a volunteer) who, in turn, contacts one of the Holocaust survivors and invites the survivor to speak. The Speakers Bureau representative then coordinates schedules and times with the speaker and the teacher, drives the speaker to and from the school, assists the speaker, and helps coordinate the question/answer period with the students. This program is supported through the Holocaust Education Center of the Delaware Valley.

Area 4: Evaluation:

Each year, five teams of middle school students (approximately 675 students) and 35 teachers participate in a presentation by a Holocaust survivor. Student follow-up letters to the speakers show that the students gain greater sensitivity to the effects of bullying and bias. The impact of the assembly is shared at home, which turnkeys back to the community. According to our discipline records, we have an extremely low (almost non existent) problem with bullying and harassment.

In 2001, students were given a pre/post attitudinal survey based on the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education Assessment Questions (Fall 2001). In addition, students were given two short answer essays. The results were sent to Dr. Marvin Goldstein at Rider to study. The students' responses showed the definite effectiveness of Holocaust education instruction.

Student's attitudes change by looking at prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping as dangerous attitudes rather than benign feelings. Through this program, students understand that the concept of tolerance is not just empty politically correct jargon, but rather an attitude essential to ensuring that the horror of the Holocaust is never repeated. This idea of tolerance is especially applicable to the multicultural school environment. It is a lesson that can be lived out right in the halls of our own school. They also understand the role of bystander. The students realize that looking the other way when someone is being mistreated would make the bystander just as responsible as the perpetrator. When asked to put into one statement what lesson we should learn from our study of the Holocaust and the presentation by the Holocaust survivors, students recorded the following statements:

- "Silence can be just as deadly as actions."

- "People who stand by and do nothing are just as responsible for the murder."

- "Don't turn your back on someone in need of help."

- "Don't blame someone else for your problems. Be accountable."

- "Be more tolerant of other's beliefs."

- "Don't follow the crowd; be your own person!"

- "The most damage is done when everyone stands by and does nothing!"

- "The actions you do can come back to haunt you."

- "If you or someone you loved were in need, would you want someone to help you?"

Area 5: Stability:

This program has been in place since 1990. Speakers have been addressing various 8th grade classes as part of the Anne Frank unit in Reading. This has been part of a Drama unit through various rewrites and revisions of the Reading curriculum. Training has been provided by workshops and sharing of information over the years by the teachers as well as knowledge gained from hearing various speakers through the years. Recognizing that the Holocaust Survivors are now quite elderly, efforts have been made to preserve their stories. Older programs were taped using the VCR. Technology at our schools permits us to capture the presentation using IPTV which is broadcast live and is then archived in our system for future retrieval.

Area 6: Endorsements:

The Central Administration and the Administrations and the 8th grade Teams at Chestnut Ridge, Orchard Valley and Bunker Hill Middle Schools wholeheartedly support this program.

"Having a face to face encounter with someone who lived the horror of the Holocaust provides our students with a way to touch the past, engage in asking questions, and thinking critically. They can "see" this time period through the eyes of someone who lived it, hear the emotion in their voices and sense the pain that still lingers in their hearts. This is a privilege that future generations may not have as survivors continue to age.

As educators, we strive to provide our students with tangible experiences in our lessons whenever possible. There is not a more important lesson than that of tolerance, understanding and courage. We must utilize all of the resources at our disposal to teach this lesson. One way is to share stories from people who have experienced the end result of hatred, intolerance, prejudice and, ultimately, genocide."

Patricia Bernhardt (8th grade Reading teacher - Bunker Hill Middle School)

"In my Social Studies classes, I begin the year teaching about different types of governments. When we get to Dictatorships, I begin my unit on the Holocaust. This unit is quite sophisticated and a team effort. The Reading classes, students read The Diary of Anne Frank while the Social Studies classes learn about the War, what was going on in Europe and specifically, about Hitler. This program has proven to be very successful. Every student on the team is involved through research, lecture, activities and film. To culminate the unit, we are honored to have a Holocaust Survivor speak to the team of about 135 students. This program sets a very positive tone at the beginning of each year. Students learn to respect one another and their differences. They understand the ills of discrimination and the value that everyone offers to society."

Bruce Mercogliano (8th grade Social Studies teacher - Chestnut Ridge Middle School )

"The community of people involved in this program feel that through the teaching of Holocaust Studies there is the benefit of learning many important lessons about individual responsibility, character, and the consequences of hatred and bigotry. We feel this helps to promote better citizens by strengthening our understanding of democracy.
Our survivors benefit from the partnership by knowing that their first-hand knowledge of the events of the Holocaust may continue to be known to another generation and will not die with them. This program also generates more interest in the Holocaust Education Center and its Goodwin Museum; which in turn, gives more support to the overall effort of providing education to the community at large."

Shirley R. Tannenbaum (Jewish Community Relations Council - Speakers Bureau)