WEB-BASED TEACHER RESOURCES NOW AVAILABLE

Spring is a busy time of year for educators and also the time of year that many are teaching about the Holocaust. Teachers can find a variety of resources to use in their classrooms on the Holocaust Museum Houston Web site at www.hmh.org. Check the “Education” tab, as well as the “Library and Archives” tab for information about the Holocaust and other contemporary genocides. Or, check out “Testimonies from the Holocaust” to see video excerpts of testimonies from Houston-area survivors of the Holocaust.

APRIL IS GENOCIDE PREVENTION MONTH

Genocide survivors from Darfur and other civilian slaughters are uniting with each other and advocates to observe Genocide Prevention Month in April 2009. The survivors come together because the tragedies of Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and the Holocaust all have major anniversaries in April. For more information, visit www.genocidepreventionmonth.org to learn more. This site also has a link to 30 activities schools can complete during the month.

HOUSTON HOSTS YOM HASHOAH COMMEMORATION

Yom HaShoah is internationally recognized as Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day is observed in commemoration of the approximately 6 million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. Houston will observe Yom HaShoah in a city-wide commemoration on Monday, April 20, beginning at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel, 5600 N. Braeswood. The service is free and open to the public. The event is generously underwritten by Houston Endowment, Inc., and the Morgan Family Endowment Fund, with special thanks to Continental Airlines, official airline of Holocaust Museum Houston.

For school activities teachers might consider during the month, visit the Web site of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust at www.scholocaustcouncil.org. There is a “one minute of silence” application for use in the classroom. Or, consider conducting the Butterfly Project during this day. For information, visit www.hmh.org/minisite/butterfly/index.html.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS YEAR'S MAX M. KAPLAN SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS

The Max M. Kaplan Summer Institute for Educators at Holocaust Museum Houston is a four-day program that moves beyond the general history of the Holocaust to explore the various dimensions and implications of the Holocaust and other genocides. This year’s institute runs from July 7 through July 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.

Seating is limited and is on a competitive basis. The cost to attend the program is $150, which includes lunch and materials for the four days. Applications for the 2009 Summer Institute for Educators must be received with payment by Monday, June 22, 2009. For more information, visit www.hmh.org or e-mail teachertraining@hmh.org.

This educator training project has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation and the Max M. Kaplan Fund.

Facing History and Ourselves returns to Holocaust Museum Houston to conduct this special one-week seminar from July 20 through July 24, 2009. Although forgotten by most Americans today, during the early 20th century, the eugenics movement flourished in the United States. In the name of science and progress, eugenic proponents claimed that social problems, such as crime, poverty and violence, were caused by inferior racial traits passed on from one generation to another. This thinking influenced the passage of involuntary sterilization laws, immigration restriction legislation and state prohibitions on interracial marriages. The resource book “Race and Membership in American History” by Facing History and Ourselves chronicles this history.

This seminar is intended for secondary teachers, teachers of American history, teachers of interdisciplinary American Studies courses, and a range of social studies and English electives. For more information, call Tracy Garrison-Feinberg at 212-868-6544, ext. 34 or visit www.facinghistory.org.

EDUCATOR RESOURCES FOCUS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE DARFUR GENOCIDE

On Feb. 11, 2009, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in partnership with the Save Darfur Coalition, hosted the nationwide release of a 12-minute film on gender-based violence, featuring testimonials of women living in refugee camps in Chad and Darfur, Sudan. The film was followed by an in-depth discussion on gender-based violence and the ways in which rape is used as a weapon of war. This film is available for download, with resources available at www.ushmm.org/conscience/analysis.

UNITED STATES AFRICA COMMAND PROMOTES UNDERSTANDING

In 2007, then President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the creation of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The creation of AFRICOM recognized the strategic importance of Africa to include a deeper understanding that peace and stability on the African continent impacts not only Africans but also the interests of the international community as well. To learn more about this organization, its activities that support relief efforts in Darfur and the advisory role it plays in actions taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, visit www.africom.mil.  

ICC ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR SUDANESE PRESIDENT

On March 4, 2009, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its historic decision to issue an arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crimes for his leadership role in orchestrating the conflict in Darfur.  The charges against Bashir include murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, rape, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and pillaging. To learn more about the warrant and its meaning, visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Web site at www.ushmm.org/conscience or the Genocide Intervention Network at www.genocideintervention.net.