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2024 Belfer National Conference for Educators

June 24 - 26 | Attend Live or Watch On Demand

Inspire Students to Ask Why

At this free, virtual conference, explore the latest practices in accurate, meaningful teaching about the Holocaust with leading historians and educators. Discover thought-provoking resources that provide students with historical context and opportunities to advance media literacy skills.

Why Attend?

  • Engage with leading experts in real time through multiple live interactive sessions. 

  • Watch all sessions at your convenience on demand following the conference.

  • Access historically accurate, classroom-ready lessons and resources based on the Museum’s extensive collections.

  • Get a first look at the Museum’s newest teaching tools.

  • Hear directly from Holocaust survivors and experienced educators.

  • Connect in real time with a community of educators dedicated to teaching and learning about the Holocaust 

Benefits

  • Earn 24 hours of certified professional development.

  • Enjoy free books and resources mailed directly to you (available for teachers with a US or US territory mailing address).

Featured Speakers

  • Doris Bergen

    Professor, University of Toronto

  • Becky Erbelding

    Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  • Daniel Greene

    Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  • Peter Black

    Historian

Plan Your Experience

Join live or access sessions on demand after the conference to discover how to use classroom resources, find inspiration in new ideas, and grow with peers dedicated to teaching and learning about the Holocaust.

Participate In Live Virtual Sessions June 24 - 26, 2024

  • Meet and learn with fellow educators during each session.

  • Ask questions of expert historians and educators. 

  • Experience the conference with colleagues through local gatherings.

Access Recorded Sessions, On Demand Post Conference

  • Participate when your schedule allows.

  • Access all the 2024 sessions on demand following the conference.

  • Learn at your own pace.

  • Experience the conference with colleagues through local gatherings.

Collaborate and Grow Through A Community of Practice

Experience the 2024 Belfer National Conference for Educators with a cohort of your peers to learn, collaborate, and grow your instructional confidence in teaching about the Holocaust. Use this Planning Guide for Educators and Planning Tool to prepare for the conference, purposefully participate in sessions, and practice what you've learned.

Schedule

The Museum will present expanded live sessions in 2024. You may join any of these live sessions or access recorded sessions on demand at your own pace post-conference.

Monday, June 24, 2024 

Morning sessions begin at 9:30 am ET 

  • Welcome to the Conference 

  • Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust 

  • Art, Memory, and Authentic Assessment

  • History Speaks if We Listen: Historical Connections in the Classroom

  • Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration and Choice During the Holocaust 

Monday’s Keynote

  • Teaching Nazi Propaganda and Media Literacy

LUNCH BREAK 

Afternoon sessions begin at 1 pm ET 

  • Media Literacy Skills for Today’s Classroom with Renee Hobbs

  • A Conversation with a Holocaust Survivor 

  • Beyond Broken Glass: Kristallnacht with Dr. Lindsay MacNeill 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 

Morning sessions begin at 9:30 am ET 

  • Start Where You Are: Teaching about the Holocaust

  • Constructing a Holocaust Unit Using Museum Resources

  • Getting Started with the Museum’s Teach Page for Educators

  • The Power of Personal Stories

  • Using Films About the Holocaust in Your Classroom

  • Strategies for Connecting Artifacts to the English Classroom

  • Why Didn’t They Fight Back? Placing Resistance in Historical Context

Tuesday’s Keynote

  • A Conversation with Holocaust Scholar and Educator Dr. Doris Bergen

LUNCH BREAK 

Afternoon sessions begin at 1 pm ET 

  • Nazi Persecution of Persons with Disabilities with Dr. Patricia Heberer-Rice

  • The Persecution and Genocide of Roma with Dr. Mark Alexander 

  • Nazi Hunters: A Relentless Pursuit for Justice with Dr. Peter Black and Dr. Becky Erbelding 

Wednesday, June 26, 2024 

Morning sessions begin at 9:30 am ET

On this day, choose from the following: 

  • Teaching with Survivor Testimony OR Context is Crucial: A Guide Supporting Holocaust Literature in the Classroom

  • Timeline Lesson: Contextualizing Holocaust History OR Why Didn’t They Just Leave? Challenges of Escape

  • Teaching about the Holocaust in the English Classroom OR Teaching with Primary Sources

  • Spanish Language Museum Resources OR Reaching All Students: Learning Modifications for Museum Resources

  • Why the Jews: Nazi Racial Antisemitism OR Diaries and Memoirs in Historical Context: Night and Anne Frank Timeline Extension Lessons

Wednesday’s Keynote

  • Teacher to Teacher: Using Museum Resources - A Conversation with USHMM Teacher Fellows 

LUNCH BREAK 

Afternoon sessions begin at 1 pm ET

  • Photographs as Evidence: An SS Officer’s Sobibor Photo Collection with Anatol Steck

  • Americans and the Holocaust: New Timeline Extension with Dr. Becky Erbelding

  • “It’s Difficult in Times Like These”: Teenagers During the Holocaust with Dr. Jake Newsome

  • Conference Closing

Participants will receive more details about Whova, the virtual platform used to host the conference, in June.

On-Demand Professional Learning Videos

The short videos, produced by Museum educators and historians, provide guidance on how to teach about the Holocaust. The videos explain how educators can use Museum-created resources with their students.

These resources include classroom-ready lessons and digital learning tools. The videos also cover guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust, appropriate pedagogy, and classroom strategies.

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