The College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences

School of Historical, Philosophical
and Religious Studies
Jewish Studies

Mandates on
Holocaust
and Genocide
Education in the
United States
September 2021

Lindsey Stillman, M.A.

Preface
Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA) has been working for several years to advance a mandate for Holocaust education in
Arizona. In 2021, H.B. 2241 - mandating the Holocaust and other genocides be taught twice between seventh and 12th grades was passed by the state legislature. Governor Doug Ducey signed the bill into law on July 9, 2021.
This research was undertaken in an effort to understand key elements of successful implementation of Holocaust education
mandates in other states, including the role of Holocaust commissions, resource centers and funding. PHA wanted to learn the
specific language and elements included in their bills. Are these states achieving the implementation they hoped for? If not,
why, and what might they do differently in hindsight? To answer these questions, PHA reached out to Professor Volker Benkert,
Assistant Professor of History at Arizona State University (ASU), to commission a study.
Dr. Benkert recommended Lindsey Stillman, who recently completed a master’s degree in World War II History from ASU, as
an excellent candidate for this research. PHA engaged Ms. Stillman to conduct the study and prepare the following report
with generous support from Steven and Suzanne Hilton. Mr. and Mrs Hilton are major donors to the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum and Mr. Hilton is the son of a Holocaust survivor. PHA is also grateful for the support of ASU’s School of
Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and Jewish Studies at ASU.
Our hope is that the findings of this study will help guide Arizona in its implementation of the new mandate, and assist other
states in creating future legislation that will result in successful implementation of Holocaust and genocide education.
-Sheryl Bronkesh, President
Janice Friebaum, Vice President
Phoenix Holocaust Association

Arizona State
Representatives Alma
Hernandez and Aaron
Lieberman with Holocaust
survivors at the Arizona
Capitol. (Courtesy: Alma
Hernandez)

Executive Summary
Lawmakers all over the United States have introduced bills
on Holocaust education. Since New Jersey and Florida
passed the first bills in 1994, this trend has accelerated in
recent years. Of the 21 states with legislation requiring or
encouraging Holocaust education, 12 have passed such bills
since 2018 with Wisconsin and Arizona as the latest additions
in 2021. The proliferation of these bills demonstrates concern
about rising anti-Semitism, students’ lack of knowledge as
well as a belief that teaching the Holocaust is a necessary
foundation for fostering ethics and empathy in a democratic
society. Florida’s 1994 bill already established that Holocaust
education is “encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic
society and (…) nurturing and protecting democratic values
and institutions.”1 These shared concerns notwithstanding,
Holocaust education bills vary greatly in three interlinked
dimensions studied in this report:
• strength of the bills,
• corresponding taskforces/commissions
to build resource centers, and
• allocated funding (if any).
This report relies on the wording of the bills and associated
state standards. This data is complemented by phone or email
interviews conducted between November 2020 and May
2021 with key stakeholders in 17 of the 21 states. Central
findings of this report include:
• Effective bills include unambiguous mandates embedded
in state standards and are endowed with specific
instructions on when and how to teach the Holocaust in
different grade levels. Effective bills also include teaching
other genocides.

•T
 askforces/commissions are the transmission between
the bill, states’ Departments of Education, and schools.
These bodies should perform three tasks.
		(1) provide professional development that is both
recurring each year and continuous for individual
teachers, create resources for teachers and hold
schools accountable by conducting periodic
evaluations of the bills’ implementation.
		(2) develop curricula for middle and high schools
integrated in state standards and establish a set
amount of time (and number of lessons) that the
Holocaust and other genocides must be taught, and
		(3) establish transparent governing rules such as
term limits, appointment/election of chairperson and
diversity requirements for taskforces/commissions
as well as pool existing resources at universities,
colleges and museums.
• Even though taskforces and commissions receive
substantial donations from individuals and in-kind
contributions from museums, universities, and
communities, they typically lack sufficient funding. Only
three states attached modest funding to their bills.
As a result, taskforces in their current form fall short,
especially in assessing how well the bills’ mandates are
implemented in schools.
The political will to pass Holocaust education bills is laudable.
Yet, the failure to endow the bills with funds and to empower
taskforces/commissions substantially hampers these efforts.

1

Introduction
A 2020 telephone polling study commissioned by the Claims Conference: Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
showed “significant gaps in knowledge about the Holocaust” among all Americans and particularly among Millennials. A
large portion of the population in the United States under the age of 35 is unaware of key events that transpired, such as
names of well-known camps and those culpable for the genocidal atrocities.2 These findings echo a 2019 Pew Research
Center survey based on multiple choice questions which showed that younger Americans and particularly “teens display
lower levels of knowledge about the Holocaust than their elders do.”3
This growing lack of Holocaust awareness coincides with a rise in hate crimes across the United States. The heinous
attack on the Pittsburgh Tree-of-Life-Synagogue in 2018 is but one example of such increasing violence. According to the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL), between 2019 and 2020 alone there were more than 10,000 reported incidents of antiSemitism in the United States.4 Others are targets of violence as well. Concern about anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Muslim,
and other forms of violence also explain the need to include different forms of discrimination and other genocides in the
curriculum.
This report studies the 21 states that have passed legislation mandating Holocaust education in some capacity. Of these,
16 also included teaching other genocides. The report offers a timeline and an investigation of the motivations for such
legislation, demonstrating a renewed urgency to pass Holocaust bills since 2018. What is more, the report explores
differences in such legislation in three dimensions, which all influence the impact of such bills:
• the strength of mandates as expressed in the wording, its embeddedness in state standards, and the inclusion of other
genocides,
• the creation of taskforces and commissions to assist school districts in teaching the Holocaust, train teachers, and to
hold districts accountable in whether and how well they teach the Holocaust, and
• funding (or lack thereof) allocated to such taskforces and commissions.
This report would not have been possible without the generous support from Steven and Suzanne Hilton and the Phoenix
Holocaust Association. Thank you for the opportunity to conduct this important research.
-Lindsay Stillman, MA

2

Research Methods
This report relies on two main sources of information. First,
the author used all publicly available information on 21
states that introduced bills with mandates ranging from
“requiring” to “strongly encouraging” Holocaust education.
States using weaker language such as “welcoming”
Holocaust education were excluded.5 From the legislative
texts, key vocabulary and further provisions on funding and
taskforces/commissions were identified and correlated with
state standards. A list of these bills and state standards as
pdf links is included in Appendix 1.
These texts however say little about the actual
implementation of their goals, potential shortcomings or
successes. In a second step, this information was therefore
supplemented with interviews with key stakeholders in
17 out of 21 states depending on their availability. The
interviews were conducted between November 2020 and
May 2021 over email or over the phone, sometimes both.
These stakeholders were identified among members of
taskforces/commissions and professionals in the field such
as teachers, staff at museums, university professors, and
Department of Education officials. A list of the interview
partners with affiliations is in included in Appendix 2 and
quotes from these interactions are highlighted in cursive in
the report.

The data compiled in this report is muddied by proverbial
moving goalposts and murky reporting. During the writing
of this report Wisconsin and Arizona passed legislation and
North Carolina6 may well have passed a bill by the time this
report meets its readers. This report is a still life also with
respect to legislative texts and corresponding standards
that are constantly updated. New Jersey7 and Florida8
for example updated their 1994 bills in 2013 and 2020
respectively. Taskforces and commissions also constantly
change. They are often unofficially formed, and changes,
sometimes even their existence, may not show up on state
Department of Education websites. As this report shows,
their impact is enormous nonetheless. Official funding
is rare – only three states have allocated modest funds.
Persons interviewed for this report, however, stress that
private funding and in-kind contributions from museums,
universities, and communities as well as countless hours of
volunteer work somewhat disguise this shortcoming. While
the report highlights the presence of these efforts, it cannot
quantify them.

3

Holocaust
Education Bills:
Why and
Why Now?

Bills passed in
1994 (2)
4

Bills passed between
2001-2009 (3)

There are 21 states that have passed legislation
that requires or strongly encourages Holocaust
education be taught in public schools. The
earliest Holocaust education legislation was
passed in 1994 in New Jersey and Florida
followed suit shortly thereafter.9 A majority of
such bills (12), however, have been put in place
since 2018.

Bills passed between
2014-2017 (4)

Bills since
2018 (12)

Just as the earliest efforts to teach genocide grew out of
the “affective revolution” to teach values and empathy as a
critique of the Vietnam War, abject racial inequality, and the
assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King10,
the proliferation of Holocaust education bills in recent years
is a response to contemporary challenges. In particular,
interview partners mentioned as their motivations combating
rising anti-Semitism and prejudice, fostering civic virtues
at a time of intense polarization, creating awareness for the
Holocaust as public knowledge recedes, and preserving
the memory of the events as more and more survivors sadly
pass away.
A 2020 update to Florida’s 1994 bill for example mandates
“instruction related to anti-Semitism” echoed by a
Pennsylvania bill from 2014 that strongly encourages
teaching “anti-Semitism, racism and the abridgment of civil
rights.”11 In July of 2021, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R)
released a press statement citing anti-Semitic incidences
across the state “in Queen Creek, Chandler and (…) at
the Chabad on River Synagogue in Tucson” as reason for
this legislation.12 Bills also often invoke that “teaching the
lessons learned from the Holocaust and other genocides
helps cultivate the spirit of human resilience, courage,
heroism, and tolerance.”13 In addition to rising anti-Semitism
and cultivating civic virtues, other efforts cite the lack of
students’ knowledge of the Holocaust. Sharon Greenwald,
an author and interview partner for this report who lobbied
Texas lawmakers to pass a Holocaust education bill,
noted as inspiration Rhonda Fink-Whitman’s interviews
with Pennsylvania public school graduates in 2013. FinkWhitman’s interviews revealed how little students knew
about the Holocaust.14 Finally, some bills specifically
reference the need to “preserve the memories of survivors
of genocide and provide opportunities for students to
discuss and honor survivors’ cultural legacies” (Oregon
01/2020 and verbatim Delaware 06/2020).15 Today’s bills
are thus embedded in well publicized contexts, especially
rising anti-Semitism and violence against other minorities,
lack of students’ knowledge, and the need to preserve the
testimony of survivors, whose numbers are dwindling.
The urgency connected to these contemporary issues not
only sped up the proliferation of Holocaust education bills
in recent years, it also increased the speed with which
they moved through the process. Once the bills were
introduced in state legislatures, it took anywhere between
a few months to over a year for them to be passed. States
whose mandates took less than six months include Oregon,

Washington, Florida (to update its existing mandate), Texas,
Kentucky, and Connecticut. Colorado. Illinois, California,
Delaware, and New Hampshire took between six and
12 months, while New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
all took more than one year. Wisconsin and Arizona are
outliers, as the legislative process was interrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
This recent proliferation and pace of passage of such
bills can also be attributed to support from institutions
such as museums, universities and community groups,
increased funding, hiring politically savvy lobbyists, and
moderation of goals. Several respondents mentioned
the support of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum nationally, local universities and museums such
as the Oregon Jewish Museum, and Jewish and other
communities as vital for the passage of such bills. Without
dedicated and overwhelmingly unpaid individuals in such
organizations, these bills would not be on the books today.
Equally important was that these individuals managed
to acquire funding and with that political experience.
Nelson Hersh, who serves on the board of the Holocaust
Memorial Center in Farmington, MI, for example, pointed to
the impact of individual philanthropy that funded not only
content experts but also a lobbyist to ensure passage of
the bill. With political know-how also came a prioritization
and moderation of goals. Sharon Greenwald from Texas
mentioned in an email that legislation bypassing teaching
Holocaust education as essential curriculum under the
Texas Education Code and instead establishing a separate
statute under the Texas Education Code mandating one
week of Holocaust instruction for all Texas school districts
in all grade levels “allowed for 100 percent bipartisan
support and swift passage of SB 1828. The clear pro
with this approach was phenomenally quick passage.
The clear cons with this approach are no direct public
funding and no structured task force to ensure success as
of this date.” She expressed hope that the Federal Never
Again Education Act to allow the United States Holocaust
Museum to fund and expand its education programs and
education materials uniformly to US schools would make
state funding less essential.16
In short, we have Holocaust education bills today because
we need them to address contemporary challenges,
especially anti-Semitism, and because their proponents
became experienced operators in building coalitions,
fundraising, political lobbying, and limiting themselves to
attainable goals.

5

Strength of Holocaust
Education Bills
In the absence of one clear measure of a bill’s strength, the report identified three factors that influence the impact of such
legislation:
• the strength of the mandate to teach the Holocaust in the bills’ wording,
• the bills’ embeddedness in school standards and guidance through state Departments of Education or Superintendents of
Public Instruction, and
• the inclusion of other genocides and the potential collaboration with other interest groups
Confronted with obvious concerns such as rising anti-Semitism and pressured by increasingly experienced groups, lawmakers
were willing to endow bills with robust language. Bills use verbs such as “must include,” “mandate,” and “require” to strengthen
their bills. Even slightly weaker wording such as, “shall include,” “provide,” or “ensure,” still offer a stiffer mandate than “shall
incorporate” or “strongly encourage” used in Pennsylvania and Washington.

6

States that use:

Name of States(s)

“Must include”

New Jersey

“Mandating”

Texas

“Requires”

California, Colorado , Florida, Oregon, Rhode Island

“Shall include”

Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky

“Shall provide”

Delaware

“Shall ensure”

Michigan, New Hampshire, New York

“Shall select/distribute”

Virginia

“Shall be”

Arkansas

“Incorporate”

Wisconsin

“Strongly encouraged”

Pennsylvania, Washington

Lawmakers in some states offered not only strong wording,
but also explicitly linked the bill to state standards and precise
instructions on when and how often the Holocaust be taught.
Oregon’s bill from July 2020, for example, “requires school
districts to provide instruction about the Holocaust and
genocide beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.”17 The bill
also specifies design principles for such instructions that the
Oregon Department of Education then directly translated into its
standards for different grade levels.18 The law then calls on the
department to work with organizations “whose primary purpose
is Holocaust and genocide studies.” Amit Kobrowski from the
Oregon Department of Education in an email particularly flagged
the Oregon Jewish Museum and its Center for Holocaust
Education as partners “helping teachers who are on the early
adopter path on the Learning Concepts identified in the bill.”
Oregon is not alone in issuing such a detailed mandate,
incorporating it in its state standards, and fostering partnerships
with outside partners. Michigan also clearly identified when
and in which subject the Holocaust and other genocides be
taught. School districts were asked to ensure that the “social
studies curriculum for grades 8 to 12 include age- and gradeappropriate instruction about genocide, including, but not limited
to, the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide.”19
Such clear mandates stand in contrast to states such as
Connecticut20 and Pennsylvania21, which felt that by not
emphasizing a particular age group, their bills were easier to
pass. As a result, school districts had little guidance on how and
when to introduce the topic. As Michael Bloom, the Executive
Director of the Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut,
mentioned in a phone call, the lack of guidance frustrated school
principals who were scrambling to insert the topic in a variety
of subjects. This made worse already existing pressures on
teachers to teach too many subjects with too little time.
In Washington, a weaker bill that only “strongly encouraged”
middle and high schools to include the Holocaust in its
curriculum not surprisingly failed to make a specific connection
to the state standards altogether.22 To their credit, however,
lawmakers were specific in other areas to offer guidance
to school districts. For example, they adopted a close
approximation of the USHMM definition of the Holocaust in the
bill as “the systemic, German state-sponsored persecution and
murder of Jews and other innocent victims by the Nazi regime
and its collaborators between the years 1933 and 1945.”23
They also charged the superintendent of public instruction to
create teaching resources in conjunction with the Holocaust
Center for Humanity in Seattle. This helped the center to raise
funds for a staff position in Holocaust education.24 Still, as Paul
Regelbrugge from the center wrote in an email, “progress in our
‘strongly encouraged’ work regarding Holocaust education” is
difficult as “an awful lot of districts (…) don’t even respond to
our many emails and other targeted outreach efforts.”
This sentiment was echoed numerous times. Josey Fisher,
the Director of the Holocaust Oral History Archive at Gratz

College in Pennsylvania, said for example “Having a mandate
means nothing unless teachers know what they’re doing.” Bills
therefore have to be connected to standards and be flanked by
guidelines and supervision through Departments of Education
or Superintendents at the state and district levels. Although
Washington and Pennsylvania have weaker language in their
bills, states with stronger mandates struggle with the same
problem. As Millie Jasper, Executive Director at the Holocaust
and Human Rights Education Center in White Plains, NY
mentioned “(It is) very good for the state of New York to say they
have a mandate but that’s it. (… It was actually) New York state
education department that mandated that there be Holocaust,
genocide, and human rights education.”
By including mandates to teach the Holocaust and other
genocides, bills largely avoid competition between different
groups and opened doors for other supporters of the bill to
join.25 This was quite intentional. A person involved in Oregon
who did not want to be named personally wrote in an email
that they were “advocating to call it a genocide mandate not
Holocaust and genocide. The Holocaust is an example of a
genocide and should not be pulled out as separate. (…) our
bill was that it was genocide inclusive and requires teachers
to educate on genocides beyond the Holocaust. The name
is misleading — but this was a battle I wasn’t going to win.”
Even if they were unsuccessful in getting a bill solely focused
on genocide, Oregon is one of 16 states studied in this report,
whose bills reference the Holocaust and other genocides. Only
five (Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, New York, and Texas) focus
only on the Holocaust, albeit often with reference to broad
issues such as Human Rights. Josey Fisher of Pennsylvania
mentioned “Specific districts in the state needed to focus
on broader issues or issues that are connected to their
populations” thus enabling broader coalitions to include other
issues in such legislation. Some bills go so far to identify
different genocides to be taught26, while most leave this to state
standards, which for example in Connecticut’s case list “human
rights violations in the modern world (e.g., Armenian genocide,
Nanking Massacre, Holocaust, Amritsar Massacre, Chinese
Cultural Revolution, Syrian Civil War).” Connecticut also asks
students to “evaluate the role of the United States during the
Holocaust.”27 Although some bills and standards explicitly point
to the United Nations definition of Genocide28, others just list
atrocities without clear reference to this definition. In either case,
no bill or state standard anywhere mandates how much time
should be devoted to other genocides or offers pathways to the
comparative study of genocides.29
No one factor alone governs the strengths of Holocaust
education bills. Yet, endowing bills with strong language, linking
them to state standards and public-school administrations
with specific instructions on when and how to teach it in
different grade levels, and incorporating other genocides makes
mandates stronger. Together these measures give outsize
weight to such bills and garner more support relative to those
efforts that lack any one of these components.
7

Taskforces and
Commissions
Passing strong bills does not guarantee implementation, even if bills are embedded in state standards and enforced by state
Departments of Education and Superintendents. For some states, the legislative process therefore included the creation of a
statewide taskforce or commission to support their respective Departments of Education, Superintendents, and school districts.
Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey are such states with Holocaust education bills and an official taskforce or commission.
Florida and New Jersey even have state funding allocated for these efforts. Other states with Holocaust education legislation
saw the creation of volunteer-based taskforces and commissions often encouraged by their respective Department of Education,
but without a legislative act of creation. This is the case in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, and Texas. Of these states, only Colorado receives modest funding. Lastly, some states without or with pending legislation
have created taskforces to bolster Holocaust education in their states. Even as the funding and status of these taskforces and
commissions differ greatly, overall, their primary function is
• to assist school districts in including the Holocaust in their curricula,
• to train teachers, and
• to hold districts accountable in whether and how well they enforce Holocaust education legislation in their states

Pending legislation,
but commission
8

No legislation,
but taskforce

Legislation, but taskforce not
mentioned in bill or established
before the passing of the bill

States with Legislation
and Official Taskforces

New Jersey has the most comprehensive commission relative to
other states with taskforces and commissions. The commission,
signed into law in 2013, is allocated $159,000 annually, which
pays the salaries of its two leaders and general operating
costs. The commission’s focus includes educating teachers
and districts while holding them accountable to enforce the
bill’s charge. The commission currently has 25 members. In
addition, according to the New Jersey Commission there are
also 30 resource centers throughout New Jersey dedicated to
training teachers, college students, and educating the public
about the Holocaust. Each of these resource centers has its
own funding mostly through private donors and foundations.
For their teacher training efforts, they mostly work with national
organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Facing
History and Ourselves, and others. Many are associated with
local museums, universities and colleges. This decentralized
structure has many advantages in reaching different parts of the
state, but it makes communication and coordination difficult.
Helen Kirschbaum works for one of these resource centers as
the Director of the Goodwin Education Center at the Esther
Raab Holocaust Museum in Cherry Hill, NJ. She mentioned
that there is a lack of communication between different centers
and with declining funding of the commission, “they have less
to offer to the centers each year.” This means that despite
the creation of a commission and its endowment with funds,
there is “no way to hold high schools accountable” as the
commission does “not know which districts are even teaching
about the Holocaust.”
Florida was also early to pass legislation, create an official
taskforce on Holocaust Education under the Commissioner
of Education, and endow it with funds albeit through annual
appropriation and not in perpetuity as in New Jersey.30
According to Mallory McGovern, the Florida’s Program
Coordinator at the Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust
Education, there are also resource centers around the state.
Their primary charge is “to provide access to resources and
professional development for Florida teachers. Some of these
sites are connected to universities, but not all.”The taskforce
issues a call for applications to give funding to “school districts,
designated sites, other community organizations whose
proposed activities are aligned with the mission.”31 While the
taskforce’s organization are admirable, similar problems as in
New Jersey also plague Florida. Barbara Goldstein, a former
chair of Florida’s taskforce, mentioned in an email, “More state
outreach to educators is needed for teacher training.” Mallory
McGovern added, “accountability and monitoring tend to fall on
the school districts as far as assessing the long-term impact.”
States with smaller taskforces and commissions and no funding
are even more challenged to serve their missions. Illinois
currently has a commission of 17 members, whereas Michigan
has narrowed its commission from 15 members to three. Given
these challenging circumstances, these states build coalitions

to offer as much teacher training and follow up as possible.
Michigan’s Governor’s Council on Genocide and Holocaust
Education for example issued detailed recommendations
already in 2017 on teacher training and other issues, yet this
was only possible due to private funding.32 New Hampshire too
has an unfunded taskforce made up of invested parties that
includes the Catholic Diocese, school district Superintendents,
the Anti-Defamation League, Holocaust survivors, legislators,
and an affiliation with Keene State College. In the same
spirit of pooling resources, the Rhode Island Holocaust and
Genocide Education Coalition involves the Holocaust Center,
the Armenian Genocide Project and the Jewish Federation
flanked by two universities. As Marty Cooper, a member of
Rhode Island’s coalition, wrote in an email, “the coalition, has
become a clearinghouse in assisting teachers with finding/
getting resources, including finding survivors of the Holocaust
or other genocides to speak at schools.” As in the case of
funded taskforces in New Jersey and Florida, these efforts
are very impactful. Esther Kalajian, Rhode Island co-chair of
the Genocide Education Project and member of the coalition,
mentioned, “students are having a meaningful dialogue
amongst themselves” about the Holocaust. This “would
not have happened prior to the legislation” and the coalition
that sprung from it. Yet, implementation and oversight over
Holocaust curriculum remain difficult in Rhode Island and
everywhere else. As Marty Cooper of Rhode Island wrote, “It
is not possible, currently, to hold anyone accountable. The
Department of Education, at this time, does not have the ability
to oversee ‘curriculum requirements’ per se.”
There is very little consistency between the different states’
taskforces or commissions, as all vary in legislative support,
partnerships, numbers of members, even meeting times. They
are much more consistent in terms of what they hope to achieve
– inserting Holocaust education curriculum in schools, training
teachers and holding districts accountable in enforcing the
legislative mandates on Holocaust education. Even New Jersey
and Florida as states with old, strong mandates embedded in
state standards, and funded taskforces struggle to meet these
goals. Relying on their networks and using national curricula
provided by the Anti-Defamation League and others, taskforces
therefore focus on teacher training as the most attainable and
perhaps most important goal. They clearly achieve much with
little, but inconsistent funding makes it difficult to ensure that
training is recurring each year and continuous for individual
teachers over their careers. A comprehensive study of
implementation and accountability remains elusive everywhere.
As Elaine Culbertson, the Chair of the Pennsylvania Holocaust
Education Council, lamented in a phone interview, “districts
would self-report (with no proof) if they were teaching the
Holocaust (...) if there was one course that included one thing
about the Holocaust they could say ‘yes’.”

9

Funding for Taskforces
and Commissions
Taskforces and commissions work hard to implement
Holocaust education as mandated in their states’ bills. Yet,
few legislatures are willing to fund them. Knowing this,
many proponents of Holocaust education bills avoided any
reference to funding just to get them passed, even if that
meant having to fundraise for these efforts themselves.
Michael Bloom, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation
Association of Connecticut, for example made this point
in a phone interview, (We) “did that on purpose to make it
easier to pass, but it means the state wasn’t giving money
to create a curriculum.”
New Jersey is a notable exception; it is one of the few states
that provides funding with an annual allocation of $159,000
in perpetuity.33 Florida and Colorado also provide annual
funding for Holocaust education, $100,00034 and $11,998
respectively.35 Clearly, these funds are not commensurate
with what the taskforces and commissions are charged
with. Individuals interviewed for this report are keenly aware
that the lack of funding jeopardizes the bills’ intentions
on the whole. As Amanda Coven, Director of Education
at Oregon’s Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust

Education wrote in an email, “Unfortunately, there are still
teachers across the state that are unaware of the mandate.
Without funding, there is no way to guarantee that teachers
and administrators receive quality professional development
that prepare them for its implementation.”
As a result of modest or no state funding, all taskforces and
commissions rely on philanthropy from private donors and
in-kind donations from museums, community groups, and
higher education institutions. These contributions cannot be
quantified, but literally all interview partners had something
good to say about their partners and their contributions.
Many interview partners also mention using resources from
national organizations such as the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, Echoes
and Reflections, and Facing History and Ourselves to start
or support already existing teacher training. In the absence
of well researched resources on other genocides, it will be
a difficult task for taskforces and commissions to provide
teachers with quality materials on these atrocities. Lastly,
volunteers, many of whom are retirees, provide a large part
of the labor in all of these endeavors.

Arizona’s Efforts
Arizona got a lot of things right, which resulted in the passing
of its long-awaited bill in July 2021. The key to success
was that the bill’s proponents, notably Phoenix Holocaust
Association, pursued a two-tiered approach pushing for
legislation as well as building coalitions and infrastructure in
support of Holocaust education. The legislative effort, led
by Representative Alma Hernandez (D) as primary sponsor
and with the support of House Speaker Rusty Bowers
(R), succeeded as a bi-partisan effort. Key individuals,
such as Michael Beller and Josh Kay, provided behind the
scenes strategizing, coordinating and lobbying for the bill.
Phoenix Holocaust Association also built partnerships and
infrastructure needed for Holocaust and genocide education
by establishing close ties with the Arizona Department of
Education. In fact, when the legislative effort was stalled in
10

early 2020 due to delays caused by the pandemic, the drive
for the mandate was kept alive by passage of Arizona Board
of Education rules in October 2020. Mirroring the stalled
bill’s text, these rules “require students to receive instruction
in the Holocaust and other genocides at least once in either
grade seven or grade eight and at least once in high school
in their social studies courses.”36
These rules triggered the creation of a taskforce led by
Phoenix Holocaust Association bringing together teachers,
administrators, and representatives from a host of institutions
around the state, including from all three public universities
in Arizona. The taskforce created a toolkit on the website of
the Arizona Department of Education to immediately provide
teachers with quality materials on the Holocaust and other

Holocaust Survivor
Dr. Alexander White,
Phoenix Holocaust
Association President
Sheryl Bronkesh
and Vice President
Janice Friebaum at a
AZ Senate education
committee meeting in
January 2020. Photo
Credits: Anthony
Fusco, Jr.

genocides thus enhancing and pooling the many existing
teacher training efforts in our state. This two-pronged
approach created the very link between legislative efforts
and state standards as expressed by the Department of
Education that this report identified as vital. It also built the
infrastructure that followed, but did not accompany, the
legislative efforts in other states.
The bill’s text is short, but relatively strong for the three
reasons discussed in this report. The wording of the
mandate is unambiguous, making it a requirement “that
students be taught about the Holocaust and other
genocides.” It also specifies that such instruction needs to
take place “at least twice between the seventh and twelfth
grades.” What is more, the bill directly references the
Arizona Department of Education rules, thus embedding
it in state standards and Department of Education rules.
Importantly, it is referencing the “Minimum Course of Study
and Competency Requirements for Graduation” from Middle
and High School (R7-2-301 and R7-2-302). As a graduation
requirement, the mandate is thus endowed with extra teeth
for future enforcement.37 Lastly, it includes other genocides
opening up the possibility to include a host of organizations
representing the diversity of our state.38
The bill and corresponding infrastructure are in place, but
Arizona’s work is far from done. As in other states, the bill
deliberately evaded the issue of funding, and the taskforce
relies solely on volunteer work and private donations. There
is no shortage of good will in our state, but intensifying the

taskforce’s efforts to become a larger, coordinating body
for resource centers around the state will require greater
funding. To this effect, the taskforce might consider:
• creating bylaws governing for example the election
process and potential term limits for taskforce
members,
• lobbying for the allocation of funds from the state as
well as acquiring more funds from private donations
and grants,
• developing strategies together with the Department of
Education to assess the implementation and quality of
instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides in
Arizona,
• identifying existing resource centers from around our
state at museums, archives, community organizations,
universities, and community colleges,
• acting as a clearing house, continue to pool materials
from resource centers, especially with respect to
teacher training that is both online and in person,
• helping resource centers enhance and tailor existing
high-quality Holocaust materials from the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other national
organizations to include the stories of Arizona survivors,
and
•h
 elping resource centers to create materials to enable
teachers to cover other genocides and showcase
Arizona’s relation to survivors of these genocides.

11

Endnotes
1

https://www.holocaustresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/FL-HolocaustMandate.pdf

2

h
 ttps://www.claimscon.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Holocaust-Knowledge-Awareness-Study_Executive-Summary-2018.pdf

3

https://www.pewforum.org/2020/01/22/what-americans-know-about-the-holocaust/

4

https://www.adl.org/education-and-resources/resource-knowledge-base/adl-heat-map

5

T
 here is no universally agreed metric of such bills. Echoes and Reflections for example uses a different methodology to assess the
strength of legislation distinguishing between Holocaust education requirements and “permissive status” that mentions but does
not requires Holocaust education. However, permissive status also entails very different commitments to Holocaust education. This
category ranges from welcoming “the Alabama State Department of Education’s stated commitment to ensuring Alabama students
have access to quality Holocaust education” to strongly encouraging “to include in its curriculum instruction on the events of the
period in modern world history known as the Holocaust (Washington). https://echoesandreflections.org/interactive-map/ The United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum groups these mandates again differently to identify 19 different states that require Holocaust
education. https://www.ushmm.org/teach/fundamentals/where-holocaust-education-is-required-in-the-us

6

https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H69v1.pdf

7

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2013/title-18a/section-18a-4a-2/

8

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1213/BillText/er/PDF

9

A
 aron Johnson and Lisa Pennington, “Teaching ‘Other’ Genocides. Exploring the Intersection of Global Education and Genocide
Studies. Social Studies 109, Issue 5 (2018): 227-237, here 229.

10

T
 homas D Fallace, “The Origins of Holocaust Education in American Public Schools.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies 20, no. 1
(2006): 80-102, here p. 81. As part of this movement, the California Assembly changed California’s Educational Codes already in
1985. These changes in the code established a “Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide” published already in 1988 and
updated in 2000. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/im/documents/modelcurrichrgenoc.pdf. California’s bill, however, was only passed
in 2001 and revised in 2014. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=200120020AB367

11

 lorida: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1213/BillText/er/PDF.
F
Pennsylvania: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2014&sessInd=0&act=70

12

https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2021/07/governor-ducey-signs-holocaust-education-bill

13

https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocumentEngrossment?engrossmentId=23978&docTypeId=6

14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V4bmm6yJMw

15

Oregon: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB664/Introduced.
Delaware: https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocumentEngrossment?engrossmentId=23978&docTypeId=6

16

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/943/text

17

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB664/Introduced

18

h
 ttps://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/standards/socialsciences/Documents/664%20grade%20level%20guidance%20
Web%20accessible%20(002).pdf

19

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2015-2016/billconcurred/House/pdf/2015-HCB-4493.pdf

20

https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/ACT/pa/pdf/2018PA-00024-R00SB-00452-PA.pdf

21

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2014&sessInd=0&act=70

22

https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/socialstudies/standards/OSPI_SocStudies_Standards_2019.pdf

23

h
 ttp://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Passed%20Legislature/5612-S.PL.pdf?q=20201118212309

24

https://holocaustcenterseattle.org/intro-to-teaching-the-holocaust

25

C
 ompetition between different victim groups have sometimes hampered commemorative efforts in diverse settings, for example
at Buchenwald and Mittelbau Dora Foundation that commemorates the Nazi concentration camps and the Soviet/East German
internment camp at the same site. Bill Niven, The Buchenwald Child. Truth, Fiction, and Propaganda (Rochester: Camden House
2007), p. 203.

26

For example, California: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OqcDkrHkQLlpnzmTp0b0BfFl4fv43nh6utWPWMRYrPA/edit#

27

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/Social-Studies/ssframeworks.pdf

12

28

For example, Kentucky: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/hb128/bill.pdf

29

https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/sites/default/files/a_matter_of_comparison_web_0.pdf

30

https://www.fldoe.org/holocausteducation/

31

https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/19868/urlt/fundingappholocaust.pdf

32

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/GCGHE-annual-report-2017--2-5_640616_7.pdf

33

According to an email from the New Jersey Commission on the Holocaust.

34

According to an email from Barbara Goldstein, former chair of the taskforce in Florida.

35

h
 ttps://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2020A/bills/fn/2020a_hb1336_f1.pdf Mostly travel and meeting
reimbursement and substitute teacher cost.

36

https://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/holocaust-and-genocide

37

https://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_07/7-02.pdf

38

https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/1270214

Appendix 1: Sources by State
California
Mandate: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1380; accessed 11/18/20
Timeline: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1380; accessed 11/18/20
Earlier Mandate (2/20/2001): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=200120020AB367; accessed
11/18/20
Standards: https://www.cde.ca.gov/BE/ST/SS/documents/histsocscistnd.pdf; accessed 11/18/20
Colorado
Mandate (7/08/2020): https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2020A/bills/2020a_1336_01.pdf; accessed 11/20/20
Timeline: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb20-1336; accessed 11/20/20
Standards: https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/holocaustandgenocidestudies; accessed 11/20/20
https://www.cde.state.co.us/cosocialstudies/secss2020standards; accessed 11/20/20
Article on Colorado Bill: https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/genocide-holocaust-education-bill-passes-house/
article_169b5bc4-a98e-11ea-a60c-f3250bd294b7.html; accessed 11/20/20
Connecticut
Mandate (5/15/2018): https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/ACT/pa/pdf/2018PA-00024-R00SB-00452-PA.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2018&bill_num=452; accessed
11/19/20
Standards: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/Social-Studies/ssframeworks.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Teaching the Holocaust: https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Publications/Teaching-the-Holocaust/Introduction; accessed 11/19/20
Delaware
Mandate (6/23/2020): https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/
GenerateHtmlDocumentEngrossment?engrossmentId=23978&docTypeId=6; accessed 11/20/20
Timeline: https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail/47968; accessed 11/20/20
Standards: https://www.doe.k12.de.us/Page/2548; accessed 11/20/20
Florida
Mandate (1994): https://www.holocaustresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/FL-HolocaustMandate.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
2020 updated Mandate (3/12/2020): https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1213/BillText/er/PDF; accessed 11/19/20
Timeline for 2020 update: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1213; accessed 11/19/20
Legislation: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=1000-1099/1003/Sections/1003.42.
html; accessed 12/7/20
Standards: https://www.cpalms.org/Public/search/Standard; accessed 11/19/20
Course Guidance: https://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewCourse/Preview/674; accessed 11/19/20
Contact via phone or email: Barbara Goldstein 12/7/20; 4/26/21
Mallory McGovern 12/7/20; 4/26/21

13

Illinois
Mandate (8/05/2005): https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0478&print=true&write=; accessed
11/19/20
Timeline: https://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.
asp?DocNum=0312&GAID=8&GA=94&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=14536&SessionID=50&SpecSess=; accessed 11/19/20
Public Act (1/1/2011): https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-1063; accessed 11/19/20
Mandated Units of Study: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Guidance_Doc_Mandate.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/K-12-SS-Standards.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Illinois-Priority-Learning-Standards-2020-21.pdf#page=153; accessed 11/19/20
Indiana
Mandate (3/13/2014): http://archive.iga.in.gov/2007/bills/PDF/HE/HE1059.1.pdf; accessed 11/20/20
Timeline: https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1059/2014; accessed 11/20/20
Standards (History of the World): https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/geography-and-history-world-standardsupdated-march-2020.pdf; accessed 11/20/20
Standards (World History): https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/world-history-standards-updated-march-2020.pdf;
accessed 11/20/20
Standards (US History): https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/united-states-history-standards-updated-march-2020.
pdf; accessed 11/20/20
Standards (Grade 6): https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/grade-6-ss-standards-updated-march-2020.pdf;
accessed 11/20/20
Kentucky
Mandate (4/02/2018): https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/hb128/bill.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/18rs/hb128.html; accessed 11/19/20
https://education.ky.gov/curriculum/standards/kyacadstand/Documents/Kentucky_Academic_Standards_for_Social_Studies_2019.
pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Michigan
Mandate (5/18/2016): https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2015-2016/billconcurred/House/pdf/2015-HCB-4493.pdf;
accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://www.michiganvotes.org/2015-HB-4493; accessed 11/19/20
Standards: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Final_Social_Studies_Standards_Document_655968_7.pdf; accessed
11/19/20
Teacher Advisory Groups: https://www.holocaustcenter.org/education/teacher-advisory-groups/; accessed 11/19/20
New Hampshire
Mandate (7/23/20): http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2020&id=2020-1275s&txtFormat=amend;
accessed 01/05/21
Timeline: https://openstates.org/nh/bills/2020/HB1135/; accessed 01/05/21
New Jersey
2013 Update with Commission Task Force: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2013/title-18a/section-18a-4a-2/; accessed
11/18/20
Mandate (03/1994): https://nj.gov/education/holocaust/about_us/holocaust_ed.html; accessed11/18/20
Standards: https://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/2020/2020%20NJSLS-SS.pdf; accessed 11/18/20
Curriculum Guide: https://www.nj.gov/education/holocaust/curriculumn/materials/; accessed 11/18/20
New York
Mandate (4/6/2017): https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2017/S5530; accessed 11/18/20
Timeline: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/S5530; accessed 11/18/20
1996 Bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EDN/801; accessed 11/18/20
http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/ss-framework-9-12.pdf; accessed 11/18/20
Oregon
Mandate (7/1/2020): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB664/Introduced; accessed
11/18/20
Timeline: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/SB664; accessed 11/18/20
New Holocaust Standards: https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/standards/socialsciences/Documents/664%20

14

grade%20level%20guidance%20Web%20accessible%20(002).pdf; accessed 11/18/20
Learning Concepts Guidance: https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/standards/socialsciences/Documents/
Holocaust%20and%20Other%20Genocides%20Learning%20Concepts%20Guidance.pdf; accessed 11/18/20
Pennsylvania
Details on Act 70: https://www.stateboard.education.pa.gov/Documents/Research%20Reports%20and%20Studies/Act%20
70%20Report.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Report on aftermath of Act 70: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2017/11/09/Survey-Holocaust-education-reachingnearly-all-Pa-schools/stories/201711090198; accessed 11/19/20
PA top 10 for Holocaust Education: https://www.jewishexponent.com/2020/10/07/survey-pennsylvania-ranked-in-top-10-forholocaust-knowledge/; accessed 11/19/20
Mandate (06/26/2014): https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2014&sessInd=0&act=70;
accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2013&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1424;
accessed 11/19/20
Standards: https://www.pdesas.org/Standard/View#0%7c780%7c0%7c0; 11/19/20
Rhode Island
Mandate (5/10/2018): http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText18/HouseText18/H8185.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/982193; accessed 11/19/20
Title 16: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE16/16-93/16-93-3.HTM; accessed 11/19/20
Standards: https://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Instruction-and-Assessment-World-Class-Standards/SocialStudies/RI-SS-GSEs-K-12-Final-Version.pdf; accessed 11/19/20
Texas
Mandate (Holocaust Remembrance Week) (6/10/2019): https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/pdf/SB01828H.
pdf#navpanes=0; accessed 11/19/20
Timeline: https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB1828/2019; accessed 11/19/20
Standards: https://thgc.texas.gov/learning/best-practices/standards; accessed 11/19/20
Virginia
Bill (3/27/2009): http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+CHAP0474; accessed 11/20/20
Standards (Links to Word Documents): https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/#sol2015;
accessed 11/20/20
Washington
Mandate (7/28/2019): http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Passed%20Legislature/5612-S.
PL.pdf?q=20201118212309; accessed 11/18/20
Timeline: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5612&Year=2019; accessed 11/18/20
Standards (updated 2019): https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/socialstudies/standards/OSPI_SocStudies_
Standards_2019.pdf; accessed 11/18/20
*note: does not include the terms “Holocaust” or “Genocide”
Proposed Teaching Unit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZhfZ247XVwGvvdc-xLQC4VCfZcpS54zeNCTR0FvX74I/edit;
accessed 11/18/20
Holocaust Center: https://holocaustcenterseattle.org/best-practices; accessed 12/10/20
Additional Sources
Anti-Defamation League: https://www.adl.org/blog/why-we-need-legislation-to-ensure-the-holocaust-is-taught-in-schools;
accessed 11/18/20
https://www.adl.org/blog/why-we-need-legislation-to-ensure-the-holocaust-is-taught-in-schools; accessed 11/18/20
https://www.jta.org/2017/04/24/united-states/lawmakers-from-20-states-pledge-to-mandate-holocaust-education;
accessed 11/18/20
Claims Conference Survey: http://www.claimscon.org/study/; accessed from 11/24/20 to 2/4/21
Echoes and Reflections: https://echoesandreflections.org/interactive-map/; accessed 1/5/21
United States Holocaust Museum: https://www.ushmm.org/teach/fundamentals/where-holocaust-education-is-required-in-the-us;
accessed continuously from 11/16/20 to 2/4/21

15

Governor Doug Ducey
signing Arizona’s
Holocaust Education
Bill HB 2241, July 9,
2021. (Courtesy of the
Governor’s Office)

Appendix 2: Interviews by State
California
Kenneth McDonald, Education Programs Consultant, California Department of Education, kmcdonal@cde.ca.gov, 12/4/20
Colorado
Stephanie Hartman, Social Studies Content Specialist, Colorado Department of Education, Hartman_S@cde.state.co.us,
12/16/20; 4/26/21
Connecticut
Michael Bloom, Executive Director, Jewish Federation Association of Connecticut, mbloom@jfact.org, 12/8/20;
4/28/21; 4/30/21
Florida
Barbara Goldstein, Executive Director, Holocaust Education Resource Council, Barbara@holocaustresources.org, 12/7/20;
4/26/21
Mallory McGovern, Program Assistant Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education, Mallory.McGovern@tcc.fl.edu,
12/7/20; 4/26/21
Illinois
Peter Fritzsche, Professor of History, University of Illinois, pfritzsc@illinois.edu, 5/7/21
Kelley Szany, Vice President of Education and Exhibitions, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center,
Kelley.Szany@ilhmec.org, 5/10/21
Indiana
Leah Thompson, Director, Candles Holocaust Museum and Education Center, leah@candlesholocaustmuseum.org, 4/26/21
Steven Carr, Director for Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Purdue University Fort Wayne carr@pfw.edu, 4/28/21
Kentucky
Fred Whittaker, Teacher, St. Francis of Assisi School, fwhittaker@ccsfa.org, 12/3/20; 5/4/21
Lauren Gallicchio, Social Studies Consultant, Kentucky Department of Education, lauren.gallicchio@education.ky.gov, 4/26/21
16

Michigan
Nelson Hersh, Board Member, Holocaust Memorial Center, dr1ortho@aol.com, 5/7/21
New Hampshire
Tom White, Coordinator of Educational Outreach, Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies,
twhite@keene.edu, 4/26/21
New Jersey
Brianna Doherty, Executive Assistant, NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, brianna.doherty@doe.nj.gov, 12/14/20
New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, holocaust@doe.nj.gov, 4/28/21
Doug Cervi, Executive Director, New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, 12/14/20
Helen Kirschbaum, Director, Raab/Goodwin Education Center in Cherry Hill, hkirschbaum@jfedsnj.org, 4/27/21
Gail Rosenthal, Director of Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, Stockton University,
Gail.Rosenthal@stockton.edu, 4/29/21
New York
Millie Jasper, Executive Director, Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, mjasper@hhrecny.org, 12/11/20
Helen Turner, Executive Director, Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, |helenturner@holocaustnassau.org, 5/3/21
Oregon
Amit Kobrowski, Social Science Specialist, Oregon Department of Education, Amit.Kobrowski@state.or.us, 12/9/20; 4/28/21
Amanda Coven, Director of Education, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education,
acoven@ojmche.org, 4/26/21
Pennsylvania
Elaine Culbertson, Executive Director, American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, efculbert@comcast.net, 12/8/20
Josey Fisher, Director of Holocaust Oral History Archive and Adjunct Faculty in Holocaust and Genocide Studies,
Gratz College, jfisher@gratz.edu, 12/7/20; 4/23/21
Rhode Island
Esther Kalajian, ESL Specialist and AEL Instructor, Bryant University, ekalajian@bryant.edu, 12/8/20
Marty Cooper, Community Relations Director, Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, martycooper@cox.net, 4/23/21
Paula Olivieri, Education Coordinator, Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, polivieri@hercri.org, 4/28/21
Texas
Sharon Greenwald, Attorney at Law, Greenwald and Greenwald PLLC, sharon@greelaw.com, 5/3/21
Virginia
Megan Ferenczy, Director of Education, Virginia Holocaust Museum, mferenczy@vaholocaust.org, 4/28/21
Washington
Paul Regelbrugge, Teaching and Learning Specialist, Holocaust Center for Humanity, paul@holocaustcenterseattle.org,
12/10/20; 4/27/21
Dee Simon, Baral Family Executive Director, Holocaust Center of Seattle, dee@holocaustcenterseattle.org, 12/11/20
Additional Sources
Alexander Alvarez, Professor, Northern Arizona University, Alexander.Alvarez@nau.edu, 11/24/20
Sherry Bard, Independent Education Consultant, bard.sherry@gmail.com, 12/15/20

17

The College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences

School of Historical, Philosophical
and Religious Studies
Jewish Studies