Holocaust Education and Critical Thinking

From the Desk of Lori Shepherd - Executive Director

School is back in session across most of Southern Arizona and at Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) that means we are about to get a lot busier! And that is just the way we like it.

One of the most important aspects of TJMHC’s mission is teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides. We know that when students learn these lessons, they are inspired to think more critically about this important history and examine their own role in building a more just tomorrow in Southern Arizona and beyond.

Last year, 1,455 students, representing 43 schools across multiple districts, participated in comprehensive, docent-led tours of the museum. Every student and visitor to our campus encountered the history of Jews in Southern Arizona and learned from the intimate stories of the more than 270 Holocaust Survivors who made this region their home. And almost every tour ended with an in-person presentation from a local Holocaust survivor.  At TJMHC we take Elie Wiesel’s words to heart: “When you meet a witness, you become a witness.” 

TJMHC’s work to teach young people empathy and foster critical thinking begins long before they get into the classroom; this work truly starts with educating the educators. This summer, thanks to a generous grant from the Donald Baker Legacy Fund held at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, and a partnership with United States Holocaust Memorial Museum naming TJMHC a Community Holocaust Education Center, TJMHC offered a free, two-day teacher’s conference for Southern Arizona educators. Teachers from across the region learned guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, received classroom resources, and embraced the pedagogical tools necessary to help them teach this difficult subject with confidence.

TJMHC’s staff understands teachers often face logistical barriers when planning field trips, and this is why we work closely with administrators of more than a dozen school districts to ensure that every class has the opportunity to visit this museum. Our bus scholarship fund provides up to $150 per class to afford the transportation costs of a field trip to TJMHC. Our team also works with schools to provide on-site educational opportunities when the students can’t come to us.

At TJMHC, we bring all these things and so much more together to support our local schools because we know how important it is for us to continue to use history to build a safer, more just tomorrow!