The article, written in collaboration with my colleague Elizabeth Edelstein, Vice President for Education at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, can be now accessed online by clicking on the image below:
True to its mission, to be a living memorial to the Holocaust, the Museum hosts a very unique program which is lovingly led by Ms. Edelstein, the Educators Program in which Holocaust survivors serve as educators inside the Museum galleries and as invited speakers in schools and other public spaces. This program reflects the unique emphasis of the Museum on the lived experience of eyewitnesses to the events of the Holocaust, and on interactive engagement with the audience and visitors.
It has been my great privilege to have the honor of giving an annual lecture to the volunteers in the Educators Program for the past several years. This special group of survivors has become very dear to me, and I cherish the relationship with each of the participants and with the program, which is an exemplary model of giving a voice and a role that allows the actual witnesses of social trauma to interact with the public. The importance of educating about the Holocaust goes even beyond learning about the history and memorializing it, but about reaching the audience and making an emotional connection that will hopefully have a true and lasting impact about the dangers of marginalization and bigotry towards any group. The survivors are fulfilling a tremendously important educational role in their effort to prevent such trauma from occurring in the lives of future generations.
Irit Felsen
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