The Center for Holocaust Education thrives as a dynamic, interactive and engaging program division within the East Valley JCC, aiming to continue to teach this generation and future generations the importance of acceptance and peace.
Our events encourage collaboration with a greater understanding while honoring and respecting individual histories and traditions. Programs include presentations, guest speakers, exhibits, a Holocaust education curriculum for schools, virtual live tours of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, an annual Yom Hashoah program and Generations After, a program for children and grandchildren of survivors.
The Center for Holocaust Education continues to reach people through programs in conjunction with the City of Chandler, Maricopa Community Colleges and the Phoenix Holocaust Association.
ONGOING PROGRAMS
AUSCHWITZ VIRTUAL TOUR
One of history’s darkest moments brought to life…
A two-hour Auschwitz Virtual Live Tour transports visitors to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp for a unique learning experience, using historical footage, Holocaust survivor testimonies and modern animation combined with virtual reality tools to teach about the horrors that happened in the world’s most infamous concentration camp. Proceeds from the tours go toward furthering Holocaust education and supporting Holocaust survivors.
HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CURRICULUM
The Center for Holocaust Education offers live virtual group tours of the Auschwitz concentration camp for schools and organizations, as well as speakers, exhibits, teacher training and more.
For more information, contact Rabbi Michael Beyo.
AVAILABLE EXHIBITS
- In the Eyes of the Soldier – This exhibit tells the story of an American liberator who witnessed the horrors he found at multiple concentration camps in Poland.
- ‘Das Ghetto and The Final Solution,” an exhibit by artist Helen Weisman, is a collection of paintings that depict a timeline of Jewish life before, during and after the Holocaust.
- ‘Then They Came For Us…’: This traveling exhibit explores the Holocaust, the treatment of black people in Europe and the domestic struggle for civil rights.
For more information, contact Rabbi Michael Beyo.
PAST EXHIBITS
- ‘Through the Eyes of Youth: Life and Death in the Bedzin Ghetto,” an exhibit created by the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University that tells the story of young people in the Jewish ghetto of Bedzin, Poland, before, during and after the Holocaust.
- ‘Documenting History Through Art,’ an exhibit presented by the David Labkovski Project that followed the course of the artist’s life through his artwork, from Vilna to Moscow to Israel. The exhibit included a paint night. lectures, docent-led tours for students and members of the community.
- ‘Anne Frank: A History for Today,’ a national exhibit from the New York-based Anne Frank Center USA, was presented in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, the City of Chandler, the Chandler Unified School District and the Arizona Region of the Anti-Defamation League.
- Macedonian Rail Car: In 2012, the East Valley JCC acquired a railcar from Macedonia, which was occupied by Germany during World War II. This railcar has been certified as “being of the type and era” used to transport Holocaust victims to death camps. The railcar is significant as a symbol of the millions of people whose lives and families were destroyed and subjected to the worse of human nature.
LEADERSHIP
- Rabbi Michael Beyo, CEO of the Center for Holocaust Education and the East Valley JCC
- Hadassah Baldinger, COO of the Center for Holocaust Education and the East Valley JCC
- Leisah Woldoff, Director of Communications for the East Valley JCC
