The International School for Holocaust Studies
e-Newsletter for Holocaust Educators
Welcome to the 21st issue of Teaching the Legacy. This edition focuses on the Sephardic Jews of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Greece, and their unique experience before, during, and after the Holocaust. The e-newsletter includes a main article on this theme and an interview with Davor Bakovic, whose mother was saved by a Muslim man in Bosnia and later helped the Righteous' daughter who needed refuge during war in the 1990s. There is also a featured artifact from the Yad Vashem collection as well as new publications, book reviews, and updates on recent and upcoming activities at the International School for Holocaust Studies and across Yad Vashem. We hope you find this issue interesting and resourceful and we look forward to your feedback.
“It Happened There Too: Sephardic Jews in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Greece”
Education on the Holocaust cannot ignore the smaller Jewish communities who equally struggled with the horrors of persecution, deportation, and death. This article highlights the rich traditions of Sephardic Jews who mainly lived in the area of the Balkans. Included are some remarkable stories of rescue, and teaching tools for your classroom. Read more
What’s New at Yad Vashem?
Recommended Books
In this section, we feature some Holocaust-related literature that may be of interest to educators and the general public.
New Publications
New publications from Yad Vashem and the International School for Holocaust Studies. Read more
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The e-Newsletter
Editorial Board: Richelle Budd-Caplan, Shulamit Imber, Prof. Dan Michman, Dorit Novak, Dana Porath, Naama Shik
Editors: Jonathan Clapsaddle, Yael Weinstock
Writing Staff: Jackie Metzger and Yael Weinstock
Design and Production: Stephanie Amara, Eviatar Biton, Liz Elsby, Jeremy Zauder
Contact Us: internet.education@yadvashem.org.il
Interview with Davor Bakovic
Bakovic's mother, Mira, was saved by a Righteous Gentile in Bosnia; some fifty years later, there was an unexpected development involving the children of the savior and the saved. This interview highlights aspects of the Jewish tragedy in the Balkans during the Holocaust, growing up in communist Yugoslavia after the war and concludes with a surprising encounter. Read more
Artifacts from the Holocaust:
A Brit Milah (Circumcision Ceremony) Kit from a Greek Jew
The community of Zakynthos is the only Greek Jewish community that was saved from annihilation in its entirety. Moshe Matza, who worked as a mohel and a hazzan (cantor) in his community and in other Greek Jewish communities, continued to perform circumcisions despite the inherent danger because he felt he had a responsibility to Jews in the area. Read more
What’s New on the International School for Holocaust Studies Website?
- Take a look at what graduates of our seminars have accomplished since being at Yad Vashem.
- The Online Courses in English have a new layout, making it easier for learners to access related materials, videos, and the readings associated with each lesson. This includes all five courses that are part of “At the Edge of the Abyss,” “Life Lessons – Brining the Holocaust Into Your Classroom,” as well as the courses that we offer for gmul credits for teachers in Israel.
What’s New at the International School for Holocaust Studies?
- Activity updates from the European Department at the International School for Holocaust Studies.
- International Seminars: From October 4-18, 2010, Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies will welcome its first seminar for Chinese educators. Twenty-one teachers, students, and heads of Jewish Studies departments in Macau, Hong Kong, and mainland China, will come for ten days to learn about Holocaust art, music, and literature, hear survivor testimony, and gain historical background on the period. They will also travel a bit through Israel, to the north and to Masada. The International Seminars Department is excited to be expanding its work into China and hopes to continue this relationship.
