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| You are here: 2000 / Other Activities / Task Force for holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research / Presentation of Institutions in the field of Holocaust Education in the Task Force Countries | |||||||||
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Participants Countries and organizations Conference documentation Conference programme 
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Presentation of Institutions in the field of Holocaust Education in the Task Force Countries Presentation by Ms. Suzanne Bardgetts, Imperial War Museum, UK Presentation by Mr. Hans Westra, Anne Frank House, the Netherlands Task Force Declaration Task Force Briefing Presentation of Institutions in the field of Holocaust Education in the Task Force Countries Freeman, Bennet Presentation of Institutions in the field of Holocaust Education in the Task Force Countries Introduction (Bennett Freeman – USA) The chair noted that this session was added to the program at the request of the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research to give Task Force members the opportunity to relate their considerable experience in the very issues that are the subject of the International Forum. He encouraged the panelists to share their history, insights, and experience. Yad Vashem (Avner Shalev – Israel) Mr. Shalev reviewed the history of Yad Vashem, emphasizing its role as a memorial and its parallel activities of collecting physical evidence from of the Holocaust, engaging in scholarship and publication, as well as pursuing intensive educational initiatives. Yad Vashem follows a “holistic approach” to the Holocaust which pays attention to all perspectives – those of the perpetrators, bystanders, and (with particular emphasis) the victims. In tracing the history of Yad Vashem, Shalev described a “transition period” which began in the mid 1990’s and was driven in part by the realization that it was necessary for a new generation to become engaged with issues of the Holocaust since the survivor generation would gradually leave the scene. Yad Vashem’s response to the new challenge was an ambitious plan of growth and development that includes the construction of a new international school; a new archive and library facility that will house all relevant records of the Holocaust in one place; the innovative use of new technology which includes a project to collect some 3.5 million names of Jewish victims of the Holocaust in a computer database; and the construction of a new museum. Auschwitz State Museum (Agnieszka Magdziak-Miszewska – Poland) The Auschwitz State Museum was described as an example of Holocaust commemoration and education in a post-communist country. It has, as a result, a rather short history. Poland suffered a second occupation – the Soviet occupation -- and the Holocaust was not “part of the agenda.” Until 1989, the State Museum was intended to show what the Germans did to the Poles. Polish society created myths and stereotypes as a defense. One of the myths was that Poles alone were the victims of Auschwitz. Although Poland was the graveyard of European Jewry, memory of these tragic events had been “unknown for forty years.” With the changes in Poland, the State Museum in Auschwitz (and Maidanek) had to be reconceived. In September 1999, the Polish government decided to include study of the Holocaust in the school curriculum. Anne Frank House (Hans Wistra – The Netherlands) The presenter contrasted the Anne Frank House and Dutch attitudes in 1974 toward the Holocaust with those of today. This twenty-five year period saw a significant increase in interest in the Holocaust and in the number of visitors to the Anne Frank House. It was also realized that telling the history of the Holocaust in Holland had to include mention of Dutch collaboration with the Nazis and indifference to the fate of the Jews, in addition to resistance. Significant changes in Dutch society have led to a major increase in the involvement of the Dutch government in issues relating to Holocaust education, remembrance and research. These changes also included a major renovation of the Anne Frank House and a significant broadening of its educational mission and outreach. The Anne Frank House is more than a museum in Amsterdam. It has a major educational focus with visits from hundreds of school groups per year. Educational materials are developed for schools. They have an ambitious program of traveling exhibitions which circulate around the world and are visited by millions of people. They work actively with other Dutch institutions and have paid special attention to the use of information technology. Topography of Terror (Thomas Lutz – Germany) Thomas Lutz, the head of the Memorial Museum Branch of the Topography of Terror explained his work in coordinating and providing networking possibilities for the more than 100 memorial museums in Germany. He defined memorial museums as institutions that are located on accessible authentic sites of persecution, maintain permanent exhibitions explaining the history of the site, and conduct ongoing work. These memorial museums are located throughout Germany and receive more than 3 million visits each year. Memorial museums in Germany, a land of perpetrators, have a different task and a different responsibility that those in the lands of victims and bystanders. The sites themselves elicit a powerful emotional response in the public which creates a positive motivation to become interested in the history of the period and of the site. Memorial museums engage in active educational efforts to explain the history accurately and to pose “the correct questions.” Imperial War Museum (Suzanne Bardgett – UK) Suzanne Bardgett described the history of the IWM Holocaust exhibition and went on to explain some of the advantages and challenges involved in integrating a new exhibition on the Holocaust into an existing museum. The Holocaust exhibition has been four years in the making and will open in June 2000, occupying two floors in the Imperial War Museum. The Holocaust exhibition will be supported with a full range of education programs and resources. Ms. Bardgett outlined the advantages of launching a Holocaust exhibition in an already established museum. The history of the Holocaust will be given a context within European history and the progress of the Second World War. It benefits from the massive infrastructure of an established, well run institution for the full range of museum-technical, archival, and conservation issues. It will also be able to draw on an existing client base, and thereby reach a large and diverse audience. The Imperial War Museum also encountered some challenges along the way. They had to fill significant gaps in their knowledge, and had to address the impact of the new exhibition on the culture of the museum. The effect upon the museum’s atmosphere from the new exhibition was also discussed. Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation -- CDJC (Jacques Fredj – France) The CDJC was conceived of and established even before the end of the Second World War with the goals of assembling documents, bearing witness, and demanding justice. In the early 1950’s the tomb of the unknown Jewish martyr was dedicated at the CDJC, and it became the central memorial and symbol of Jewish memory and also serves as the venue for the observance of Holocaust commemorations. Starting with its important contribution to the prosecution of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg through its significant support of current scholarship on the Holocaust, the CDJC is a major force in Holocaust research. With more than one million original documents and other archival items, a significant research library, and an active publication program, the CDJC has been a leader in Holocaust scholarship since the Second World War. The CDJC maintains both a permanent exhibition and organizes traveling exhibitions and conducts wide-ranging educational programs. The CDJC is undergoing a major expansion that will be concluded in 2002. United State Holocaust Memorial Museum (Sara Bloomfield – USA) Sara Bloomfield reviewed the history of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and described it as a public-private partnership with three principal goals: Education, Remembrance, and Conscience. Ms. Bloomfield emphasized that the Musuem was not a genocide or human rights museum, but rather a history museum with a very specific and in-depth focus – the Holocaust which is carefully defined as the “planned, systematic murder of European Jews.” Through this focus the experience of other groups that suffered under Nazi persecution is also examined. In addition, the museum, situated in a land of bystanders, has a particular emphasis on US history. The Museum has experienced unanticipated resonance. More than 13.5 million people have visited since its opening in 1993 – 70% of which were non-Jews and 12% were minorities. In the last year the Museum received more than a million visitors to its website and reached large numbers in cities throughout the US with its traveling exhibition and public program offerings. The significant interest in the Museum and its programs reflects a broad interest in the United States about the Holocaust as an important subject to study and a widespread desire to learn more about it. There was no audience discussion. Respectfully submitted, David G. Marwell. January 27, 2000. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches Plenary Sessions: Messages and speeches Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declaration Other Activities
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||