Commissioner of Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education

Vision

In Florida schools, the Holocaust will to be taught across the curriculum with content infused in ways that are age-appropriate and interdisciplinary.

Mission

The core mission of the Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education is to promote Holocaust education in the State of Florida. On a continual basis, the Task Force shall survey the status of Holocaust Education; design, encourage and promote the implementation of Holocaust education and awareness; provide programs in all Florida school districts; and coordinate designated events that will provide appropriate memorialization of the Holocaust on a regular basis throughout the state.

History

Required Instruction

In 1994, the Florida Legislature passed the Holocaust Education Bill (SB 660) which amended Section 233.061 of the Florida Statutes (s. 1003.42(g), Florida Statutes) relating to required instruction. The law requires all school districts to incorporate lessons on the Holocaust as part of public-school instruction in grades Grades 5-12. This mandate identifies both rationales and strategies for achieving Holocaust literacy. By focusing on key elements, the Task Force has created specific recommendations for the scope, content, and outcomes for Holocaust education in Florida schools.

The Task Force

As a result of the legislation requiring instruction on the Holocaust, then Commissioner of Education Doug Jamerson appointed a special Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education. The Task Force serves as an advisory group to the Commissioner of Education and coordinates Holocaust education activities on his/her behalf. The Task Force continues to pursue efforts to help teachers, school administrators, and other educators identify effective instructional strategies and materials for integrating the Holocaust into Grades 5-12 classrooms.

Florida’s Holocaust Education Mandate (PDF)

Project - Based Funding Application

25-26 Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education Project Based Funding Application (PDF)

Learning Sites

• Arthur and Emalie Gutterman Family Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters at Florida Atlantic University
  • Contact: Linda Medvin, lmedvin@fau.edu, 561-297-2929
  • Location: Boca Raton, FL
• Holocaust Documentation & Education Center
  • Contact: Rositta E. Kenigsberg, rositta@hdec.org, 954-929-5690
  • Location: Dania Beach, FL
• Holocaust Education Resource Council
  • Contact: Barbara Goldstein, barabara@holocaustresources.org, 850-443-9649
  • Location: Tallahassee, FL
• Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida
  • Contact: Stephen Poyner 407-628-0555, ext. 283
  • Location: Maitland, FL
• Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center
  • Contact: Susan Suarez, susan@hmcec.org, 239-263-9200
  • Location: Naples, FL
• The Florida Holocaust Museum
  • Contact: Erin Blankenship, eblankenship@thefhm.org, 727-820-0100
  • Location: St. Petersburg, FL
• University of Florida Holocaust Studies
  • Contact: Norman JW Goda, goda@ufl.edu
  • Location: Gainesville, FL
• University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute
  • Contact: Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, miriamk10@aol.com, 305-868-5127
  • Location: Miami, FL

Education Resources

• Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
  • Holocaust Lesson Plan Kit (PDF)
  • Study Guide for the Memorial (PDF)
  • Holocaust Documentary Streaming Collection
  • Holocaust Survivor Films and Lesson Plans
  • Holocaust Survivor Memoirs and Lessons Plans
  • Lesson Plans on Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig biography
• Holocaust Documentation & Education Center Suggested Holocaust Resources
  • Holocaust Bibliography
  • Holocaust Filmography
  • Holocaust Webography
  • Speakers Bureau - Request Holocaust survivors to speak with your classroom via Zoom
• Echoes and Reflections
  • Provides free online and in-person training, lesson plans, and pedagogy for teaching the Holocaust and other genocides
• Yad Vashem Education and E-Learning
  • Educational materials, activities, and guidance for Holocaust educators
• Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
  • Educational programming, educational materials, and documentaries regarding the Holocaust and rescuers of Holocaust victims
• Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust (PDF)
  • Provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)
• Recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust (PDF)
  • Provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
• Museum of Jewish Heritage Holocaust Curriculum
• PBS Learning Collections
  • Lessons of the Holocaust
  • Harbor from the Holocaust
  • Eva Kor: Documentary and Educator’s Guide
  • Defying Nazis: The Sharps
  • Meeting Max: A Holocaust Survivor’s Story

Museums and Collections

• Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
• Auschwitz Museum
  • Virtual tour of Auschwitz
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Holocaust Museum Houston
• Museum of Tolerance
• IWitness: University of Southern California Shoah Foundation
• Holocaust Denial on Trial

Holocaust Education Week

Holocaust Education Week in Florida is held annually the second week in November which coincides with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938, a major turning point in the persecution of European Jews by the Nazi regime. The Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education identifies the following resources to assist K-12 educators in structuring Holocaust Education Week lessons.

2025

• Holocaust Education Week 2025 Memo (PDF)

2024

• Holocaust Education Week 2024 Memo (PDF)

2023

• Holocaust Education Week 2023 Proclamation (PDF)

2022

• Holocaust Education Week 2022 Memo (PDF)
• Holocaust Education Week 2022 Press Release
• Holocaust Education Week 2022 Proclamation (PDF)

Members