The Shoah Memorial branch internationally

The program of the Memorial «Shoah as a starting point» takes on new momentum in 2021. There are now 11 regional dialogues between countries with different memorials or histories that constitute the framework of this mechanism. Each dialogue brings together on a transnational basis the educational authorities, NGOs to support in-depth work with secondary education teachers and is based on training courses developed jointly and according to local issues. In addition to the increase in the number of operations proposed, this year 2021 is characterized by the inclusion of a systematic follow-up meeting for the same beneficiaries, 6 months after each dialogue, and the creation of dedicated websites where teachers consult the documentation necessary for their personal preparation. Due to the pandemic, the events of the first semester 2021 are all held online.

Since the month of January, 5 trainings have been organized

• • Spain-Portugal
  • Italy-Croatia-Slovenia
  • Hungary-Slovakia
  • Albania-Serbia-North Macedonia
  • Greece-Bulgaria-North Macedonia

The program is supported by the Claims Conference.

In Italy

The Shoah Memorial has had a permanent correspondent in Italy since 2008. Continuing education, partnerships with the museums of the Resistance and the university network are the main axes of the Memorial’s action in the peninsula.
In 2014, nearly 1,300 professors took part in seminars organized by the Memorial, including the fourth Italian university "Thinking and teaching the history of the Shoah", which took place from 22 to 27 June at the Shoah Memorial in Paris.

Read also: University for Italian teachers

In poland

Poland is at the heart of the policies of the Shoah Memorial: trips by students and teachers to Auschwitz-Birkenau, summer university for French teachers, joint pedagogical university, reception of Polish educational staff at the Memorial.
The Agency for Education, the Polin Museum, the Historical Institute and the French Embassy are the key interlocutors of the representative of the Memorial in Poland, responsible for supporting a qualitative cooperation.

Read also: Study trips to Auschwitz

In the United States

In this country where the network of associations and memorial institutions is dense, the Memorial has decided to rely on local actors in order to circulate two large-scale exhibitions ('Filmer les camps' and 'Hélène Berr') which have been the subject of a particular adaptation. Around these openings that mark this annual program, the correspondent of the Memorial organizes training for teachers in advance on a regional basis.

Read also: Expo 'Filming the camps'

the international seminars

The Memorial implements, each year, some training in Europe with the mission to make known the history of the Holocaust, to bring a renewed reflection on mass crimes, state violence and to share all the historiographical advances on these subjects.
Beyond the teaching staff, these seminars are addressed to various representatives of civil society and administrations (journalists, history teachers, civil servants, activists). The participation of experts and museum managers is also encouraged.

The continuous training of history teachers is incomplete within many European educational systems, most often in countries with significant memory challenges such as Greece, Estonia, Ukraine or Macedonia. The Memorial therefore builds long-term cooperation in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans while developing new partnerships at the request of local authorities or non-governmental associations.governments on regions hitherto little sensitive to the issues of Shoah teaching (Portugal).

See the educational news to find out more

THE ACTION OF THE SHOAH MEMORIAL IN THE REGION