How to Remember Holocaust Month

April is National Holocaust Month and like other history months, it should be remembered as a warning for the future. Because the topic is painful even to non-Jews, it's best to designate in advance days you'll devote to remembering it. Make it a month where you learn and teach others about the causes, circumstances and lessons of the Holocaust.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Learn about what happened in the Holocaust and why. It's important to understand the reasons it went on for so long without being stopped. Remember, for example, that the media couldn't capture the vivid detail in real time the way it does today.
2. Teach your children about the Holocaust during the month of April. Cultivate in them a tradition of remembering this important and tragic time. Books such as "The Diary of Anne Frank" make it easier for them to understand what it must have been like.
3. Visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C (see Resources). You'll need a pass for their permanent exhibition and there are a limited number of these available, so order them in advance or arrive early. There are plenty of other things to see, though, that don't require a pass.
4. Write an article for a local paper about the Holocaust. Honor Jewish as well as non-Jewish victims of this tragedy and talk about some of the resistance efforts, such as the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in January of 1943.
5. Give a presentation in your community about the Holocaust. Educate both children and adults about why it happened and how it's relevant to the world today. Make sure to use photographs in your presentation to make it come alive.
6. Donate to or volunteer for a Holocaust museum. The USHMM is the largest, but there are local ones that could use your support such as the ones in Houston, Texas, Richmond, Virginia, and St. Petersburg, Florida.
7. Blog about the Holocaust during the month of April. Pick one aspect to remember each day and explain to your visitors why it's important for them to know about it.

Tips & Warnings

• Rent "Schindler's List" and watch it with your children during Holocaust month.
• Balance activities that are painful with hopeful ones, such as reading the biography of a survivor.