At the Holocaust Education Center, we are dedicated to teaching about the Holocaust, preserving the experiences of those who survived, and honoring the memory of those who perished. Teaching the lessons of the Holocaust is an important and effective means to redjuce prejuidce and affect attitues to lessen hatred, bigotry, and violence against all groups. The purpose of the museum is not to just learn of the past but to educate for the future.

At our education center, students listen to survivors of the Holocaust who tell of their experiences. In addition to the suvivors, the students often hear from an American GI who liberated a concentration camp. We also take the students on a guided tour of our museum and show a short video about the Holocaust.

“Dear Esther” – a play about the Holocaust based on a true story of survival and courage. This is the true story of Esther Raab, a South Jersey resident and Holocaust survivor who escaped from Sobibor, a Nazi death camp. It is a wonderful play about courage, survival and Esther’s confrontation with her past. As the play confronts the past, it forces the audience to confront the terrible spiral of prejudice, hatred and bigotry that leads to such terrible results in the world. The play is age appropriate for grades 6 through 12. Tickets for each performance are $5.00 per person. The play is 1 1/2 hours long and we follow each performance with a 1/2 hour question and answer session with Esther or a member of her family. We have teacher's guides available to assist teaching and in preparing their students to better understand and appreciate the play. If you are interested in attending or need more information, please call 856-751-9500 ext 249. We are expecting to have performances later in the 2003 school year, so please call to check on performance dates.

“The Town That Fought Hate” – a puppet show performed by the Catskill Puppet Theater
This show explores an incident that made national headlines regarding the remarkable events of the 1993 Christmas Holiday season in Billings, Montana. When a hate group harassed Jewish families who placed their lighted Chanukah candles in their windows, the entire town of Jews and non-Jews placed Chanukah candles in their windows.

The show is based on Janice Cohn’s book “The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate”. It is age appropriate for grades 2-5 and is designed to help young children realize that individuals can work against hatred in their communities. Attendance is limited to 270 persons per show which is 55 minutes long. An additional 30 minutes are allowed for student questions and answers. Please call 856-751-9500 ext 249 for more information about this wonderful event. Teacher guides are available.

Teacher workshops are offered to help teachers improve their knowledge about the Holocaust as well as help them to integrate Holocaust education into their own curriculums. We offer in-service programs at our Holocaust Education Center or we can set up an in-service program for a specific school or for a district wide program. We also sponsor an annual bus trip to the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC 50 teachers and survivors may go together. We schedule this once a year and we offer professional development credits for teachers who participate in this program. For more information about scheduling teacher in-service programs on attending the trip to Washington DC, please call the HEC office at 856-751-9500 ext 249.