Holocaust Education

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) is committed to teaching the history of the Holocaust and to preserving the legacy of Righteous Gentiles, non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. We do this through our Holocaust teacher education program – a nationally recognized program for middle and high school educators. Our education program addresses historical and contemporary antisemitism and the historiography of the Holocaust.

2024 Summer Institute for Teachers Participants

Teacher Education

The JFR launched its national Holocaust teacher education program in June 2000. The program takes into account the diverse nature of education in the United States as well as the expressed needs of teachers and Holocaust center staff. The JFR’s education program is centered on three key elements: 1) JFR sponsored educational programs; 2) educational materials; and 3) a network of Holocaust centers.

The JFR’s education program is comprehensive and far-reaching. It includes a summer residential program, an advanced seminar, an educators’ study program to Germany and Poland, comprehensive online programs for teachers and students, an academic newsletter, and partnerships with Holocaust centers throughout the country.

JFR staff is available to assist educators with information and resources on teaching the Holocaust in their classroom. Please contact Stanlee Stahl at 1.973.736.1800 or e-mail her at sstahl@jfr.org.

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2024 Advanced Seminar Participants

2023 European Study Program

Professor Edward Westermann, Stanlee Stahl, and Professor Lawrence Douglas

Alfred Lerner Fellowship Program

The JFR conducts a graduate-level, residential program of teacher education in Holocaust studies each June. Teachers who attend the JFR’s Summer Institute for Teachers (SIT) are known as Alfred Lerner Fellows.

In 2002, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous lost a dear friend, Alfred Lerner. Mr. Lerner was the founding chairman and chief executive officer of MBNA Corporation. He was a trustworthy advisor and generous supporter of the JFR from its early years, and it is to him that we owe much of our success in achieving our mission. We are honored that the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous was high on his list of causes. It is both a pleasure and an honor for the Foundation to confer on each of these teachers the privilege of bearing the name of our beloved friend. We are grateful for Alfred Lerner’s wisdom, compassion, and support.

To date there are more than 790 Alfred Lerner Fellows. To find out more information about becoming an Alfred Lerner Fellow, see our Holocaust Centers of Excellence page, or our Seminars and Institutes page.

2024 Alfred Lerner Fellows and some of the 2024 SIT Scholars

How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and By Teachers™

Goldsmith Fellowship Program

In September 2024, the JFR launched its online Holocaust education program, How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and ByTeachers™. This online curriculum is a complete and ready to use program for secondary school teachers (grades 6 through 12). Because the JFR recognized the urgency of the need, we are making How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and By Teachers™, available to teachers and students at no cost. The study of the Holocaust and historical and contemporary antisemitism is both important and timely.

Teachers who complete the program and who utilize How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and By Teachers™ in their classrooms will be known as Goldsmith Fellows. To find out more information about becoming a Goldsmith Fellow, see our How Was It Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and By Teachers™ page.

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous has named this fellowship in honor of and in memory of members of Mark Goldsmith’s family. Mark Goldsmith is JFR’s Secretary/Treasurer and legal counsel. Mark’s family came from Germany and his family’s story provides an example of what happened to many Jewish families living in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Many members of Mark’s family were murdered by the Germans, some survived the camps, several were rescued, one crossed the alps from Vichy France into Switzerland, two participated in the Danish boat lift to Sweden, one was in charge of British agents infiltrating Germany to assassinate high-ranking Nazis, and many managed to emigrate from Germany to the United States or to Mandatory Palestine (now Israel).