On 17-18 February a workshop Getting to know Lithuanian Jewish history was held for teachers in Kaunas. 40 teachers from Lithuanian mainstream institutions participated in the seminar.
The two-day workshop/seminar included lectures for teachers on Jewish traditions, celebrations, and their life in Shtetls until World War II, the Holocaust. The history and causes of anti-Semitism were analyzed by dr. Linas Venclauskas, who encouraged teachers to discuss it. The causes and phases of the Holocaust were presented by a historian dr. Arūnas Bubnys. During the workshop, teachers analyzed sources on stereotypes, anti-Semitism, intolerance as well as worked in groups to share their experiences.
The participants of the workshop visited Kaunas Choral synagogue, where they got introduced to the traditions of Judaism and the decorative elements of the synagogue. Teachers stopped for a minute at the monument for Jewish children killed during the Holocaust, built in the courtyard of Kaunas synagogue.
The seminar was organized by the Secretariat of the International Commission for the evaluation of the crimes of the Nazi and Soviet occupation regimes in Lithuania in partnership for the event with the International Yiddish Cultural Center of the World Jewish Congress in Vilnius.
