Last week, The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) hosted its 9^th Annual Charlotte and Jacques Wolf Educators Conference on Echoes and Reflections at the ADL National Headquarters in New York, NY.

The conference hosted 27 educators from across the US who teach lessons on the Holocaust in their classrooms, and offered a unique, in-depth experience for learning and professional development.

The ADL, USC Shoah Foundation, and Yad Vashem created the Echoes and Reflections program to provide educators with a sound pedagogy and classroom-ready resources for teaching about the Holocaust. The conference provides a forum for participating educators to analyze and discuss the Echoes and Reflections lessons and resources, and partake in group activities led by ADL staff and facilitators.

Throughout the week, participants reviewed guidelines for planning and implementing effective lessons for the classroom that resonate with middle and high school students. Additionally, participants explored visual history testimonies, met with Auschwitz survivor Bronia Brandman,  “Hidden Children,” and heard from leading academics in the field, such as Scott Miller, Director of the Registry of Holocaust Survivors at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Dr. Gatsinzi Basaninyenzi, Associate Professor of English at Alabama A&M University to augment their own understanding of the Holocaust and other genocides.  The week also featured a reception at the Museum of Jewish Heritage with the current participants and past alumni of the program. They also had an opportunity to hear from USC Shoah Foundation and Yad Vashem educators.

ADL considers the annual Echoes and Reflections Conference an invaluable initiative closely tied to the League’s core mission. Participants walk away with an enhanced understanding of how to connect the lessons of the Holocaust to contemporary issues, thereby building connections to students’ lives.

Learn more about the Echoes and Reflections educator program here: http://echoesandreflections.org/