NEW YORK โ The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous selected 12 middle and high school teachers and Holocaust center personnel from five U.S. states to participate in its 2025 European Study Program. Between July 8 and 18, the educators toured the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, gaining first-hand experience at concentration camps, former ghettos, and memorials under the guidance of noted historian Robert Jan van Pelt.
The program began in Amsterdam, where participants visited the Portuguese Synagogue, the Jewish History Museum, the Dutch Holocaust Museum, the Hollandsche Schouwburg, and the Anne Frank House. They then examined the Frank family home and the Resistance Museum before traveling to Germany to study the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus and the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The tour concluded in Denmark with stops at sites including Ryvangen and Copenhagenโs memorials to rescue efforts.
Stanlee Stahl, JFRโs executive vice president, said the immersive experience had equipped educators to teach the Holocaust with greater authenticity. She explained that โas we move further from these events, empowering our teachers to connect their students with history on the ground is vital,โ and that the programโs design ensured participants would โpresent these complex stories in a more meaningful and insightful way.โ
The 2025 Lerner Fellows included Amy McDonald of the Alabama Holocaust Education Center, three educators from the School District of Palm Beach County in Florida, and Judy Schancupp of the Georgia Holocaust Commission, among others. Each fellow returned with new curricular resources and personal reflections intended to enrich student learning and uphold the legacy of the Righteous Gentiles.
Since its founding, JFR has provided more than $46 million in financial support to 73 surviving Righteous Gentiles across 10 countries. Its teacher-education initiatives have become a benchmark for Holocaust instruction, honoring non-Jewish rescuers as moral exemplars for future generations.
This article is based on verified information from the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.