At the end of June, nine representatives from Lithuania attended the Xth International Conference “Education on Holocaust: time, place and relevance”. The conference was held at Yad Vashem, the international school on the Holocaust in Israel, in Jerusalem.
The international conference was attended by more than 350 participants from 50 countries of the world. The Lithuanian group of representatives consisted of teachers and educational staff working at the Tolerance Centers established at the initiative of the International Commission.
Participants of the conference listened to lectures on the Holocaust’s presentation to pupils, participated in work groups, where different topics were tackled, considerations and discussions were organized. Executive Director of the International Commission Ronaldas Račinskas and coordinator of educational programs Ingrida Vilkienė participated in different workgroups, where they presented projects initiated by the International Commission, the events for commemorative days.
At the end of the conference in Jerusalem, Director of the International Commission, Ronaldas Račinskas, went to the Ghetto Fighters’ Museum. This museum is the first museum in the world to reveal the Holocaust theme. The museum was founded by survivors of the Holocaust in 1949. Ronaldas Račinskas told the museum staff about the structure, activities, research of the International Commission and its initiated educational activities. The staff of the museum agreed with the idea expressed by Ronaldas Račinskas: -“pupils will not be able to perceive the Holocaust as an event if they do not know about the Jews’ life before the Nazi occupation.”
