NJ Commission on Holocaust Education Recommends A JOURNEY INTO THE HOLOCAUST to Public Schools

The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education recommends and distributes the film "A Journey into the Holocaust" to its 1,200 middle and high schools.

• Every NJ teacher can receive a free copy of the Teacher's Guide created for the film.
• Every NJ teacher who uses the film will receive a free screening license.
• Every NJ teacher has access to the educator's only portion of the website.

A Journey into the Holocaust, a documentary that attempts to answer why the Holocaust and other genocides happened and why they will continue to happen, has been accepted as an approved program to teach the Holocaust to New Jersey students. "We have approved and are recommending that teachers use this excellent film and Teacher's Guide to help meet the state's Holocaust education mandate," expressed New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education Executive Director D. Paul Winkler.

The Commission on Holocaust Education will distribute one DVD to every public, private, charter, parochial, vocational and special education middle school and HIGH SCHOOL in New Jersey. Teachers can then reserve the DVD for use in their classroom for the five days over which the film will be played.

The teacher's guide divides the film into five class periods. The guide starts out with general background on the subject, teaching objectives, some definitions and timelines. Each classroom day is then broken up into several parts as follows:

1. Objectives for THE DAY (for teacher reference only),
2. Vocabulary words for THE DAY (10 minutes of class time per day),
3. Watch several consecutive scenes of the film (12 to 22 minutes of class time per day),
4. Short summary of each scene (for teacher reference only),
5. Discussion questions and answers (the balance of each class period generally 20 to 25 minutes of class time per day).

"This is a film with a purpose," noted filmmaker Paul S. Bachow. "We've relied on Holocaust survivors for years to educate us about the Holocaust. The film will not only enhance those efforts but it will memorialize their stories. The film will also sound the siren to hopefully prevent future genocides. By raising the awareness of the warning signs, hopefully we'll be able to reduce their future occurrence." The world post-Holocaust has experienced 90 genocides or mass atrocities, resulting in the deaths of up to 55 million people.

A Journey into the Holocaust includes footage and images, much of which has not been seen widely or at all, and the stories of fourteen Holocaust survivors. Many had never been on camera. The film's trailer can be seen at http://www.ajourneyintotheholocaust.com.

Bachow's goal for the film is that it be used as an educational tool. "This film has been designed for HIGH SCHOOL and college students across the country. Adults also usually know very little or nothing about the Holocaust and even less about why it happened." In addition to the Teacher's Guide the film's website contains articles, documents, videos, blogs and images that relate to the Holocaust and prior and current genocides. This wide array of materials is available as an educational resource to anyone interested in studying genocide. Registration for the email distribution list here. It is free and will generate an occasional email as additional items or information are added to the website.

Educators can also register here and have access to a portion of the site only available to teachers. Here teachers can blog about what teaching ideas they feel work best or do not work well. They can also share collateral materials like images, timelines, maps, articles and documents. To receive the Teacher's Guide and a personal screening license to show the film in their classroom a New Jersey teacher must register on the website as an educator. The screening license protects teachers from copyright and use agreement liability in their classrooms.

The core mission of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education is to promote Holocaust education in the State of New Jersey. On a continual basis, the Commission surveys the status of Holocaust/Genocide Education; designs, encourages and promotes the implementation of Holocaust and genocide education and awareness; provides programs in New Jersey; and coordinates designated events that provide appropriate memorialization of the Holocaust on a regular basis throughout the state. The Commission provides assistance and advice to public and private schools and meets with county and local school officials, as well as with other interested public and private organizations, to assist with the study of the Holocaust and genocide.

For more information about the film, contact Paul Bachow directly.

To post a comment, you must register and login.