The JFR Blog

Every year we conclude our program with an entire morning with Professor Robert Jan van Pelt.

Today was another jam-packed day of incredible speakers.

Each year we invite teachers from Poland, through the State Department, and from Croatia, through the Intergovernmental Task Force, to attend the Summer Institute for Teachers. This diversity is an important component of the Summer Institute, and adds another layer of learning.

This morning we began with a tour-de-force from Professor Jeffrey Burds, who lectured about the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. We then heard from Sheila Hanson, a former teacher who now works at the USC Shoah Foundation.

Each year, one participant of the Summer Institute receives the Sonder Award.

This morning Professor Harry Reicher spoke about law during the Holocaust. Participants learned that in the twelve years of Nazi rule, some 4,000 laws were promulgated. We also learned that Nazis had no respect for the law, however, they used it as a tool for their own advantage.