The Holocaust is part of our common European heritage and has significantly affected the history and politics of our continent. The Nazi persecution and genocide was perpetuated by the regime but would not have happened without the active involvement, support and/or indifference of a large number of individuals. For a long time the survivors of the Holocaust have shared their memories with us, but very soon they will no longer be able to tell their life stories.Today we see how human rights, freedom and democracy are again threatened by a wave of extremist, antidemocratic and populist movements and parties.Through this project we want to shed light on our common European history, the consequences of the Holocaust and what can happen when human rights and democracy are not upheld. By studying the steps that led to the Holocaust, we want to make young students aware of how subtle changes in society can lead to horrible consequences, and elucidate the importance of taking action against discriminatory and racist attitudes. Our intention is also to improve and foster Holocaust and human rights’ education. A needs analysis indicate that there is a great need for:-comprehensive and accurate materials (including survivor testimonies) in local languages-user-friendly tools utilizing digital features-effective and easy-to-use exercises and assessment tools In the project, seven well-established educational institutions from Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden, will create a joint transnational pedagogical tool for Holocaust education taking into account national curricula, as well as local and European aspects of the Holocaust.We aim to: -learn from each other and share best practices in order to develop a common pedagogical approach to Holocaust education, using evaluated methods and didactics of all partners-provide teachers with a comprehensive, ready to use, accessible and free pedagogical tool in the local languages of all partners-reinforce teachers’ expertise about the Holocaust, the Roma genocide and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime -enhance teachers’ knowledge about and ability to use digital materials to facilitate the transition from text books to digital materials. All partners will be involved in producing the joint transnational pedagogical tool; discussing content, as well as testing and evaluating in schools. Partners will contribute through input of knowledge, expertise and pedagogical skills. A group of teachers affiliated to each local partner will contribute to the project in developing, testing and evaluating the quality and usability of the tool. All partners will conduct several tests in schools of content, exercises and technical application, as well as the assessment tools. The test results will be discussed by all partners and adjusted.Five partners will produce and add one local testimony each to the tool. They will perform an indebt interview; produce video-clips, historical context material, a local timeline and specific exercises for this testimony.Three partners will do research on, and propose materials (video-interviews and articles) for a special section on the Roma genocide and the persecution of other groups. All partners will discuss and decide together what material to publish.Three partners will propose and develop exercises and assessment tools common for all testimonies about e.g. Nazi ideology and propaganda, rescue operations and resistance, source criticism etc., to be discussed and decided upon at the transnational meetings. The progress of all activities will be monitored and checked by means of time reports, local project group meetings, online-meetings and transnational meetings.The partners will in turn hold a transnational meeting, arrange expert lectures and lead Master Classes to enhance the knowledge of the participants, making the intellectual output accurate and relevant for: the primary target group – teachers; as well as for the secondary target group – students aged 14-17. The results of the project and the intellectual output will be presented to teachers and educators from different countries at an international conference in Warsaw, Poland, in August 2019. This project will result in a closer network of educational organizations, be disseminated directly to 700 teachers and provide hundreds of schools with a modern digital interactive educational tool to teach about the Holocaust, the Roma genocide and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime. The tool will be sustainable, user friendly and cost effective. It will be an open educational resource on our common European history, human rights and democratic values – in order to fight antisemitism, antiziganism, racism and xenophobia and for promoting an open and inclusive society.
The Holocaust is part of our common European heritage and has significantly affected the history and politics of our continent. The persecution and genocide were perpetuated by the Nazi regime, but it could not have happened without the active involvement, support and indifference of a large number of individuals. In today’s society, human rights, freedom and democracy are again threatened by a wave of extremist, antidemocratic and populist movements and parties, and there is a need for a more informed and engaged citizenry. Before the start of this project, the lead organisation made a need analysis and found a lack of comprehensive and accurate materials on the Holocaust that featured survivor testimonies presented in a historical context. The objectives of the project were to learn from each other and share best practices in order to develop a transnational pedagogical approach to Holocaust education, using evaluated methods and didactics of all partners in order to provide teachers with a comprehensive, ready to use, accessible and free educational tool in the local languages. The tool should work in different school milieus; have practical and easy-to-use exercises and assessment tools; be user-friendly and utilize digital features. It should reinforce teachers’ expertise about the Holocaust, the Romani genocide and other groups persecuted by the Nazi regime. It should enhance teachers’ knowledge about and ability to use digital materials. The intellectual output of the project, the digital tool Eternal Echoes, is the result of a collaborative effort between seven partner organisations from Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Romania and Lithuania. The Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism works to discourage and disseminate knowledge about antisemitism and other forms of racism through education and advocacy, providing information, expert lecturers and teaching resources for use by teachers, students, the media, political organisations and other interested parties. POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw is a modern cultural institution – a narrative museum that presents the 1000-year history of Polish Jews. It is also a place for meetings and conversations to face the perils of today’s world, such as xenophobia and nationalistic prejudices. Institute of Tolerance is an NGO in Poland whose statuary goal to promote tolerance is realized by educational projects, debates, contests and events. The Zachor Foundation for Social Remembrance is an educational NGO in Hungary, whose mission is to draw attention to dangerous phenomena like racism, antisemitism and prejudice through formal and non-formal educational programs, offering teacher training and educational materials for educators. The department of Science Communication and Higher Education Research at Klagenfurt University in Austria focuses on the social constitution of science in the broader German sense of Wissenschaft. Among the central themes is the media-based communication of scientific knowledge. Asociația Memorială Hebraica is an NGO in Romania that promotes education based on knowledge about the historical past. The museum is also a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust. The Vilnius Yiddish Institute is an international research and teaching center based at Vilnius University and dedicated to documentation, preservation and education in the field of East European Jewish languages, literature, culture and history. The project has resulted in a broader and tightened network of the participating organisations and among the individuals involved in the project. The participants have become much more aware of different national historical narratives, as well as the variety of school curricula, and how this affects the teachers' ability to teach about the Second World War and the Holocaust. Participants have continuously shared best practices concerning evaluated methods and didactics. Together we have created a unique transnational educational tool, Eternal Echoes. A digital tool that works in many different school milieus and languages. Each partner has been responsible for creating content, as well as testing and evaluating the material and function together with pedagogues and students. The tangible result is a ready to use, digital, open, transnational educational resource on the Holocaust in the local languages of all partners: eternalechoes.org. It is a comprehensive educational tool on this aspect of our common European history, human rights and democratic values. Each partner has disseminated the tool through seminars, social media, exhibitions, presentations and news announcements, and the tool has become an integrated part of the partners’ ordinary activities. In addition to the disseminations made in each country, the results were presented to a broader audience at an International Conference at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.