Holocaust Education Initiative
Teacher Resource Center
Holocaust Education Teacher Resource Center
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is committed to educating the public and to supporting educators and their students in the Sarasota-Manatee communities, to be vigilant guardians of history, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are not just learned but deeply understood. Beyond textbooks and lectures, we will provide information, tools and programs to help cultivate empathy, courage, and resilience and to help educators to empower students to confront hatred and injustice wherever they may find it. We will help teachers to inspire a generation not only to remember the past but also to actively build a future founded on compassion, tolerance, and human dignity. We are also dedicated to honoring and assisting the victims, survivors, and families affected by this tragic and horrific era in history.
The State of Florida is one of 28 states that mandates K-12 Holocaust Education in their schools. (https://echoesandreflections.org/interactive-map/) To help support Holocaust Educators, the state provides updated standards which took effect in the 2023-2024 school year as found at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18736/urlt/HolocaustEducation.pdf
In addition, resources from the State of Florida Commissioner’s Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education can be found at: https://www.fldoe.org/holocausteducation/holo-ed-week.stml
Holocaust Education Week
Throughout Holocaust Education Week, The Jewish Federation will welcome scholars, liberators and Survivors to share their stories with students and teachers. At the end of Holocaust Education Week, in partnership with The Daffodil Project, we will support programming dedicated to World Kindness Day. Click the links below for details.
Lesson Plans
These lesson plans can be used to help instruct and engage your students when learning about the Holocaust.
- Holocaust Education Week – Lesson Plan Guide
- One Drop of Kindness Lesson Plan_Grades K-2
- The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco Lesson Plan_Grades 4-5
- The Butterfly Poem Lesson Plan_Grades 4-5
- The Number on Great Grand Pa’s Arm Lesson Plan_Grades 4-5
- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Lesson Plan_Grades 4-6
- Holocaust Poetry Lesson Plan_Grades 5-8
- The Number On Great Grand Pa’s Arm Lesson Plan Grades 6-8
Impact Theatre
Impact Theatre is an educational initiative to spotlight the common history of oppression and persecution of both Jewish and African-American communities. Impact Theatre provides an opportunity for both communities to unite and strive for human rights and peace.
- Agents of Impact: New initiative pairs Sarasota students with elders in The Jewish, Black community
- 2023 Impact Theatre Film Debut
- Impact Theatre created with goal of combatting racism and oppression
- Black, Jewish seniors aim for impact on teens in arts project
- Holocaust survivor takes part in community initiative
- The Story of Impact Theatre
- Jewish Federation, Chabad of Venice plan educational events to fight tide of antisemitism
- African-American Elders
- Holocaust Survivor Speakers Bureau Participants
Holocaust Speakers Bureau
Your students can learn from Holocaust survivors and their relatives as they share first hand or handed down stories of survivor experiences.
The Holocaust Speakers Bureau offers teachers and community leaders a unique opportunity to have a Holocaust Survivor speak to their students or groups. Since 2014, almost 15,000 community members of all ages in schools, churches and membership organizations were impacted by this program.
Rifka Glatz, an active member of our Jewish Federation’s Holocaust Speakers Bureau, recently spoke with a group of over 300 students at Haile Middle School in Bradenton, FL. Glatz described her imprisonment at Bergen-Belsen and talked about her father, who was killed at a concentration camp. After her speech, the students presented her with flowers and a plaque reading, “Thanks to you, we will never forget.”
The world will be bereft when the eyewitnesses to this grim history are no longer with us. We may, though, take some small comfort in the knowledge that when survivors themselves can no longer speak, our dedicated, knowledgeable Holocaust educators will speak for them. -Karen Shawn, Ph.D.
The Daffodil Project
A living memorial to the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust (Grades 4-12).
- Introduction
- Plan and Instructional Guide
- Teacher Resources
- Children of the Holocaust (25-minute video)
- The Daffodil Project: We have a dream (2-minute video)
Resource Links
Click on the links below for additional and useful information.
- Holocaust Survivor Stories
- Holocaust Teachers’ Guide
- Florida Holocaust Museum Virtual Tour
- Ann Frank House Virtual Tour
- US Holocaust Memorial Museum Virtual Tour
- Programs and Calendar of Events
Professional Learning
Here are some resources that you can access for your professional learning. These include a Holocaust Teachers Guide, bibliography, a filmography (recommended for adults only) and a timeline of the Holocaust as provided by Yad Vashem.
- Holocaust Teachers’ Guide
- Bibliography
- Filmography
- Holocaust Timeline
- Bibliography for Adults
- Additional Resources
- Florida Holocaust Museum Virtual Tour
- Mandates for Supporting Holocaust Survivors(European Union)
Educational Resources
Utilize the links below for access to more important and relevant resources.
- Holocaust Speakers Request Form
- Yad Vashem
- Florida Holocaust Museum
- Holocaust Survivor Stories
- U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The Czech Scrolls
- Centropa
- The Torch Holocaust Edu Edition
- Yeshiva University Holocaust Studies Resources
- Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Survival to Service – Article
- Children’s Holocaust Discussion Guide
Educational Videos
Video links from respected resources including: The Museum of Jewish Heritage, The US Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, The Daffodil Project, and OpenDor Media.
Grades 3-12
- Children of the Holocaust (25 min)
- The Number on My Great Grandpa’s Arm (18 min) (For Access contact Bette Zaret with your teacher email and school name)
- From Generation to Generation with Holocaust Survivor Rifka Glatz (10 min)
Middle School thru High School
- The Upstander (5 min)
- The Bystander (5 min)
- The Perpetrator (5 min)
- The Victim (5 min)
- Why we remember the Holocaust (9 min)
Middle School thru High School
- Year I Educational Video Trailer (3+ minutes)
- Year I Educational Video (30 minutes)
- Year II Live Showcase Video (87 minutes)
Gallery
Connect
Holocaust Education Programming
Bette
Bette is responsible for the Federation’s Holocaust Education Initiative offering events and educational programs targeted to all members of the community and especially, to teachers and students. Reach out to Bette for any questions or information regarding Holocaust education programming.
