Resources for Students and Teachers of Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Teaching Materials and Resources
Subsequent episodes of genocide in the contemporary world generate a continued need for education and a demand for teaching resources for this topic. As a public, comprehensive university that has been training teachers for over a century, West Chester University has always served the public by introducing important materials as well as providing excellent scholarly and pedagogical resources to students, teachers, and the wider community. The inclusion of this timely topic attests to the university's commitment to education. Below are links to various web resources that should prove to be invaluable resources for both students and teachers of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Africa

  • Human Rights Watch Organization This group documents human rights violations throughout the world. They attempt to help victims and activists prevent discrimination, uphold political freedom, protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and bring offenders to justice. This site features detailed reports of violations, criminal trials, historical perspectives, commentaries, and a variety of publications. www.hrw.org
  • Frontline's "Valentina's Nightmare" A website featuring the PBS/Frontline documentary "Valentina's Nightmare" includes witness testimonials, readings, interviews of officials, a chronology of US/UN actions (or inaction), definition of terms, and educational resources. The resources "explore how the Western powers and the United Nations ignored warnings about the impending genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and failed to intervene even when it became clear what was happening. This companion website offers historical background and information explaining why the West lacked the will to act. These online resources can enrich classroom discussion and lectures in both higher and secondary education." www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/
  • Journal of Humanitarian Assistance Published by the University of Cambridge this site offers a historical perspective of the Rwandan genocide using daily and weekly reports of the event.

Asia

  • The Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project - www.dithpran.org/ The Project was founded by Dith Pran, a Cambodian refugee whose war time story was portrayed in the movie, The Killing Fields. The mission of this organization is to educate students about the Cambodian genocide. The site provides a large selection of information about Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, US politicians, writings and internet resources.
  • The Yale Cambodian Genocide Program - www.yale.edu/cgp/ Created by Yale University, this site focuses on gathering primary source documents related to the Khmer Rouge Genocide. It includes the Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal, Cambodian genocide databases, findings from the CGP, a documentation center, and an interactive geographic database.
  • The Cambodian Artists Assistance Project - www.en.com/khmer/ An online art gallery of Cambodian artists who survived the Genocide in Cambodia.
  • The Cambodia Auto-Genocide Page - www.cybercambodia.com/dachs/ Named in Lycos Search Engine's top 5% of all web sites. It features survivor testimonies, an archive, and information on the Killing Fields.
  • Cambodia - www.bigpond.com.kh/users/dccam.genocide
  • Tibet - The Office of Tibet - www.tibet.com/ Site provided by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
  • East Timor - http://www.pt/timor/netret.htm#history

Europe

  • Armenia - http://www.armenian-genocide.org
  • Armenian Research Center - http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/ The only Armenian Research Center attached to an American university.
  • Armenian National Institute http://www.armenian-genocide.org/affirmation/affirmlinks.htm Information of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish Empire
  • Armenian Genocide http://www.genocide.am/index0.htm Includes Armenian history, a bibliography, articles, on-line texts, and much more. "Ethnic Cleansing" in Bosnia and Kosovo
  • Web Genocide Documentation Centre - Genocide and Conflict in Kosovo http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-index.htm Background/Overview, Book Reviews, Chronology of Events, Photographic Evidence, Maps, Current News Documents Relating to the Conflict in Kosovo Economic and Financial Aspects of the Kosovo Conflict Ethnic Cleansing.
  • Kosova Crisis Centre - http://www.alb-net.com/index.htm A major source of current news and background information on the genocide and conflict in Kosovo. In addition to immediate news on the unfolding situation relating to the refugees, Serb instigated massacres and atrocities and the NATO campaign, there is background information, links to other sites, information about demonstrations worldwide supporting the Kosovars, letters of support, information on lending support, KCC news, etc. The KCC-News mailing news list service can be subscribed to by sending an email to Majordomo@alb-net.com.
  • Kosovo: News, Background and Resources - http://www.kosovo.mod.uk/ This is a UK joint Ministry of Defence and Foreign & Commonwealth Office Web presentation providing information on developments in the Kosovo conflict, including information on the refugee crisis, daily updates on the military situation, historical background materials, and similar.
  • US Department of State: Kosovo Humanitarian Crisis - http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/kosovo_hp.html Regularly updated information on the crisis in Kosovo, with particular emphasis on US focused events. Includes press releases, fact sheets, remarks, maps, texts and a list of related sites. There is also a mailing list from which subscribers will receive all information published at this site, from which can be subscribed to at http://www.state.gov/www/listservs.html
  • Human Rights Watch - http://www.hrw.org/ One of the two major international rights organizations, Human Rights Watch produces reports, briefings, policy pronouncements, recommendations, etc., on a wide range of human rights issues in every part of the world. As one of the leading human rights' organizations it has a substantial influence on the development of human rights policies at both the international and national level. Its Kosovo: Focus on Human Rights Web presentation collates various types of information relating to the background and current (1999) crisis in Kosovo, including short current updates, detailed reports, photographic images, news on campaigns, links to other organizations closely involved in human rights issues relating to the crisis, and similar.
  • Hellenic Resources Network - http://www.hri.org/news/latest/ Includes a large volume of links to current news resources on the Kosovo conflict
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - (UNHCR) - http://www.unhcr.ch/ Information on the Kosovo refugees situation and policies being implemented by UNHCR and other agencies.
  • Bosnia - http://www.sarajevo.bin.tripod.com Holocaust
  • Abe's Story "Follow the journey of survivor Abram Korn through his story, interactive map, online lesson plans, and email support from his son, Joey, who put the site online and edited his father's memoirs."
  • About.com The Holocaust List of links dealing with the Holocaust.
  • Alan Jacobs Photos of Auschwitz and the Camps View pictures of Auschwitz. Compare photos from the camps. http://www.alst.org/ This site deals with the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the years of the Third Reich.
  • Anne Frank House View Anne Frank's house. The site exhibits images from the past and present. See pictures of Anne Frank's house including her bedroom and the Annex (Their hiding place). Explore the museum which includes an education department, exhibits, and CD-ROM information.
  • The Auschwitz Alphabet Each letter of the alphabet details the horrors of the Holocaust; some are personal tales.
  • Auschwitz Museum Created by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, this site includes a detailed history of Auschwitz, information on visiting the camp and museum, images, maps, publications, and latest news. Also included is information on camp preservation.
  • C.A.N.D.L.E.S. Children of Auschwitz website featuring information on twins, books, and lesson plans. · Consolidated World Wide Web Resources for the Holocaust. An outstanding list of Holocaust related links and search tips.
  • Cybrary of the Holocaust An online educational forum that provides information and access to historical materials includes images, witness testimonies, and scholar interviews. The site includes educational resources for grades 6 through college.
  • Facing History and Ourselves Facing History and Ourselves is a national educational and professional organization whose mission it is to engage students of diverse backgrounds to examine of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development and lessons of the Holocaust, and other examples of genocide, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives.
  • Ghetto Fighter's House Museum of the Holocaust and Resistance Information on the Holocaust and the Resistance. Also, the KIBBUTZ LOHAMEI HAGETAOT (THE GHETTO FIGHTERSÕ KIBBUTZ) in Israel. Exhibits, education center, and searchable database.
  • Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Guide to Teaching the Holocaust
  • The Holocaust Guide for Teachers A page from the Cybrary website. This is a series of guides for teachers, "designed so that the teacher does not have to pursue original source material in order to feel comfortable with the complexity and diversity of Holocaust history and the range of the subject matter."
  • Holocaust: A Tragic Legacy A Think Quest site designed by students! This site has it all: summary of the Holocaust, definitions, interactive timelines, virtual reality, audio clips of Holocaust survivors, a multimedia glossary and interviews with historians, and revisionism. Information on Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda & Burundi, and the Nuremberg Trials
  • Holocaust Museum Houston Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust, calendar of events, exhibitions.
  • Holocaust Pictures Exhibit Pictures from the Holocaust.
  • Holocaust Teacher Resource Center Educators (kindergarten through college) will find materials which can be brought into the classroom and studied. Whenever possible, entire documents are included and may be downloaded for direct use in the classroom. In other instances samples from the documents are presented. Lesson plans, curricula, and video.
  • I Saw the Walking Dead: A Black Sergeant Remembers Buchenwald Part of the History Matters website. This page focuses on the American soldiers who liberated the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp. Included is an interview with Leon Bass, an African-American sergeant, who served with a segregated army unit who witnessed the "walking dead" of Buchenwald.
  • "Lest We Forget" CD-ROM Lest We Forget- A History of the Holocaust The latest dual platform multimedia CD-ROM from Logos Research Systems, Inc. was awarded the 1996 Graphics and Animation BIMA Award from the British Interactive Multimedia Association. · Linda Woolf's Holocaust and Genocide Links - An outstanding web site from one the world’s experts in Holocaust and genocide studies, Dr. Linda Woolf of Webster University.
  • Literature of the Holocaust Links for books, stories, and website.
  • Missing Identity This site's focus is to identify victims and to locate survivors. It includes last known information, pictures, names, and places of birth. Also provides success stories of families that have been reunited.
  • Night by Elie Wiesel Teacher Cyberguide A supplemental unit to Night by Elie Wiesel developed by teachers in the Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE) Project. Funded by the California Technology Assistance Program (CTAP) and the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA)
  • Nizkor Project One of the most comprehensive sites online for research, with extensive documentation and refutation of revisionism.
  • An Online Magazine for Post-Holocaust Issues Created, maintained, and supervised by Holocaust survivor Alexander Kimel, this site has been recommended by the Jerusalem Post and The History Channel. The site offers many articles on a wide selection of topics. It opens with the evocation: "Almighty God! Let the Ashes of the Children incinerated in Auschwitz, rivers of blood spilled in Babi Yar or Majdanek, be a warning to mankind that violence is destructive, hatred is contagious, while man has an unlimited capacity for cruelty." The magazine includes editorials, feature articles, feedback and comments, previews of future topics, links to other sites and, an extensive section of writings by Mr. Kimel, "Holocaust Understanding and Prevention."
  • PBS's Frontline -- Nazi Gold This Website is a companion to the PBS Frontline special report on Switzerland's wartime actions as a neutral nation and its role as banker and financial broker for Nazi Germany. Sections of the site include: reactions and discussion: "What are your views of Switzerland's actions during the war?" "The Train: Were Nazi death trains allowed through Zurich -- a look at what is known -- and not known." "Switzerland and the War: Neutral or Cowardly?" Further Readings (including the Eizenstat Report and the Swiss Federal Council's response). How to Seek World War II Swiss Bank Accounts. Map: What were the actions of other neutral nations? · Philadelphia Area Holocaust Resources – Information on area resources by WHYY.
  • Shanash: The Jewish Internet Consortium Holocaust Home Page This site contains information that refutes the efforts of Holocaust deniers.
  • Shtetl (Frontline) A Frontline documentary focusing on the Holocaust in Poland. The site includes information for those interested in trying to recover a family's history (especially Jewish ancestors in Eastern Europe and parts of Russia), non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews, and Polish - Jewish relations.
  • Simon Wiesenthal Center's Multimedia Learning Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international center for Holocaust remembrance and the defense of human rights and the Jewish people. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Center's mandate is a unique combination of social action, public outreach, scholarship, education and media projects as it imparts the lessons of the Holocaust and develops educational strategies for teaching tolerance.
  • Teach with Movies: Learning guide to Schindler's List A learning guide to Schindler's List.
  • Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust From the timeline, "Images: The Nuremberg Trials" maintained by the University of South Florida, this page includes images and short text of Eichmann's trial.
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum A wonderful source for research and education materials on the Holocaust. The site includes an extensive photo archive, museum programs, libraries, and expert research assistance. "America's national institution for the documentation, study, interpretation of Holocaust history, serves as this country's memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. The Museum's primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this unprecedented tragedy; to preserve the memory of those who suffered; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy."
  • Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance AuthorityIn Israel, the museum also offers a chance to submit searches through their Hall of Names project, where people can possibly find out what happened to members of their family. Contact them for more information.

Hate, Prejudice, and Stereotyping

  • Stop the Hate This site has numerous links to anti-hate sites. www.stop-the-hate.org
  • Southern Poverty Law Center A Leader in civil rights activism, Morris Dees, heads up the Southern Poverty Law Center, distributes literature for educational purposes. The site also houses the SPLC Intelligence project which tracks racist activity. Also available are materials from the SPLC's Teaching Tolerance project. www.SPLCenter.org
  • Hatewatch - An excellent resource for research, the site contains histories of hate groups with biographies as well as interviews with their leaders. hatewatch.org
  • Anti-Defamation League This site tracks anti-Semitic groups and provides information on numerous hate groups as well as their activity on the Internet. It offers large amounts of information to communities attempting to confront hate groups as well as Internet hate filter software, and opinions on current events and political issues. www.adl.org
  • Boyertown Area Unity Coalition This site traces the development of the Boyertown Area Unity Coalition and offers an explanation of "Project Lemonade". It notes how communities are able to fight hate groups. www.users.fast.net/~isaacs/bauc.html
  • The Education and Vigilance Network - http://www.geocities/com/CapitolHill/7701 Administered by Floyd Cochran, a former Aryan Nations member, this site tracks hate group activities in Pennsylvania. It also includes articles that provide insight into the thought processes of hate group members.
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