The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has developed a wide variety of educational tools in all six official languages of the United Nations in cooperation with leading institutions in Holocaust and genocide education. Please do not hesitate to contact us to request educational materials:
Poster set The Butterfly Project: Remembering the Children of the Holocaust
Poster set exhibit State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda (available in all UN official languages)
DVD The Path to Nazi Genocide (available in all UN official languages)
Study GuideThe Last Flight of Petr Ginz (available in all UN official languages)
Educational DVD and study guide Women and the Holocaust (available all UN official languages)
Discussion Papers Journal, Volume III (available in English)
Discussion Papers Journal, Volume II (available in all UN official languages)
Discussion Papers Journal, Volume I (available in all UN official languages)
Educational video Footprints for Hope (available in all UN official languages)
Posters (available in English, French, Spanish and Russian)
Partners Materials (available for download)
Educational materials produced by
The Holocaust and United Nations
Poster set “The Butterfly Project: Remembering the Children of the Holocaust”
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has partnered with the Holocaust Museum Houston to produce a set of 14 posters based on the Museum's exhibition The Butterfly Project: Remembering the Children of the Holocaust for display by the global network of United Nations information centres. The exhibition outlines the impact of the Holocaust on children, and showcases an educational initiative called The Butterfly Project developed by Holocaust Museum Houston to teach this history to young people, encourage them to remember the 1.5 million children who perished and to stand up against hatred and prejudice. The posters are available in all six United Nations official languages.
Poster set “The Holocaust – Keeping the Memory Alive”
The second educational tool titled The Holocaust – Keeping the Memory Alive features the 12 best posters out of more than 150 submitted by designers and students of design from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Serbia and Slovenia. The theme of this year’s competition, which was implemented with support from the global network of United Nations Information Centres, reflects our shared responsibility to remember and educate about this tragedy. The exhibit is a joint initiative of Yad Vashem and the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. The competition is sponsored by The Asper Foundation and endorsed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Design Poster Contest Winners 2017-2018:
First Place: Julia Brancaglione Cristofi (Brazil), Second Place: Yael Boverman (Israel), Third Place: Adelina Shaydullina (Russia)
The finalists are Vera Peskovets (Russia), Dora Ferenczy (Hungary), Eric Flavio (Indonesia), Panna Petro (Hungary), Angel Vega (Peru), Liron Tevet (Israel), Yoav Kahana (Russia), Ekaterina Kalujnaya (Russia), Hila ilchek & Rotem Gezunterman (Israel).
Poster set “State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda”
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has partnered with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to produce a set of 16 posters based on the Museum's exhibition State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda for display by the global network of United Nations information centres. The exhibition examines how the Nazis used propaganda to win broad voter support in Germany’s young democracy after the First World War, implement radical programmes under the party’s dictatorship in the 1930s, and justify war and mass murder. The exhibition emphasises why the issue of propaganda matters and challenges to question, analyse, and seek the truth. The posters and a lesson plan are available in all 6 United Nations official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish) as well as Dutch, Kiswahili and Ukrainian. Download Lesson plan for State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda poster set here.
Poster setThe set of 12 posters presents an overview of the Holocaust in the context of the Second World War and the founding of the United Nations. The posters are available in English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The Holocaust and the United Nations 10th Anniversary videoThe Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, in cooperation with the News and Media Division, has produced a seven-minute film that illustrates how the Programme has been carrying out its mandate for Holocaust education and remembrance to help prevent genocide over the past decade. The film includes a special message from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and footage from the many Holocaust memorial ceremonies, panel discussions and educational events that have been held at New York Headquarters, as well as in the field in cooperation with the global network of United Nations information centres. In 2014, there were more than 140 activities in 42 countries. The film also outlines the various educational products that have been produced in partnership with Holocaust institutions, educators and experts in Holocaust and genocide studies. It is available upon demand in all six United Nations official languages.
Testimony: the Liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration Camp (1940-1945)
In observance of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations and the end of the Second World War, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has produced an exhibition on Auschwitz Birkenau, the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp that provides background on the camp along with testimony from the archive of USC Shoah Foundation -- The Institute for Visual History and Education. This 15-minute film tells the story of six individuals, who were either imprisoned in the camp or were soldiers in the Red Army that liberated the camp on 27 January 1945. The film has been subtitled in all six United Nations official languages and was featured in exhibits mounted at New York Headquarters and at a number of locations around the world, in cooperation with the United Nations Information Centres.
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has partnered with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to make a film resource and educational package available to educators around the world in all United Nations official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
The film, The Path to Nazi Genocide, was produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and subtitled by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. Together with an article and timeline on the Holocaust, the DVD will be distributed to the global network of United Nations Information Centres and teachers to assist them in introducing the Holocaust to students.
Using rare footage, the film examines the Nazis’ rise and consolidation of power in Germany and explores their ideology, propaganda, and persecution of Jews and other victims. It also outlines the path by which the Nazis and their collaborators led a state to war and to the murder of millions of people. By providing a concise overview of the Holocaust and those involved, this resource is intended to provoke reflection and discussion about the role of ordinary people, institutions and nations between 1918 and 1945.
The film is intended for adult viewers, but selected segments may by appropriate for younger audience.
This film was made possible by generous support from Dr. Donald and Sue Hecht, the Bernice and Milton Stern Foundation, the Louis and Henrietta Blaustein Foundation and the May Family Endowment for Civic Responsibility.
Timeline of the Second World War (PDF) || Introduction to the Holocaust (PDF)
Study Guide The Last Flight of Petr GinzThe Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has produced a 32-page study guide for students aged 13 and up that serves as a companion to the new animated documentary film entitled, The Last Flight of Petr Ginz, on the life and artwork of Petr Ginz, a Jewish boy from Prague who perished in the Holocaust at the age of 16. The publication features Petr’s art and writings, and provides historical context for the film and information about the United Nations, human rights and Holocaust remembrance activities.
Study Guide and DVD Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion
Each chapter of the study guide explores different situations and ways in which these courageous and caring women struggled to survive. Through their determination, leadership, compassion, dedication, courage and willpower, they fed their families, helped to maintain a sense of community and religious traditions and faced Nazi persecution with dignity and strength.
Study Guide "Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion"
Discussion Papers JournalThe Discussion Papers Journal series is a compilation of papers written by leading Holocaust and genocide studies scholars from around the world. The series aims to engage the minds of students and spark lively discussions to expand their awareness of how hatred, discrimination and human rights abuses are shaping world events today. Teachers and students will examine what the implications are for the future and what could and should be done by the international community to stem the tide of violence, ensure the rule of law and protect the most vulnerable. The views expressed by these scholars do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.
In Volume I, students are introduced to the subject of the Holocaust and its implications through experts in this field of study and testimonies from survivors. German Professor Monika Richarz provides the reader with historical context and insight into Jewish culture before the war and French-born Holocaust survivor Simone Veil gives a first-hand account of experiencing the Holocaust as a Jew. Hungarian writer László Teleki talks about the Roma experience and how this group was similarly targeted by the Nazis. Historian and Professor Yehuda Bauer (Israel) explains how the Holocaust evolved from a utopian ideology that involved hatred towards Jews, while Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiessel (USA) challenges the reader with the question “Why hate?” Other contributors include Professor Xu Xin (China), Professor Ben Kiernan (Australia), Professor Edward Kissi (South Africa), and Francis Deng (former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-Generalon the Prevention of Genocide and today Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the United Nations).
In Volume II, Chinese author Pan Guang delivers a gripping account of how Jews made their way to Shanghai during the Second World War while Polish writer Andrzej Mirga details the Nazi persecution of Roma and Sinti during the same period. Argentine professor Juan E. Méndez bring us tothe 21st century with adiscussion of the 2011 arrest and pending trial of accused Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic. And the timeless value of Holocausteducation is explored as South African Tali Nates shows how education is helping to heal the divisions wrought by apartheid in South Africa and Russian scholar Ilya Altman lays out Holocaust remembrance and education in contemporary Russia. Other contributors are Edward Mortimer and Kaja Shonick Glahn (UK/Germany), David Matas (Canada), Lenore Weitzman (USA), and Robert Krell (Canada).
Volume III presents a diverse group of authors writing on a wide range of topics. Among the contributors are academics, researchers, and sociologists, the chairman of a world-renowned Holocaust museum, the Special Advisers to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, a Hollywood filmmaker, and a former United Nations intern. They are from Canada, Denmark, Israel, Morocco, Senegal, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their articles deal with a fascinating wide range of issues including Holocaust education in Denmark, and in Morocco; the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; music and the Holocaust; rescue; the preservation of former Nazi concentration and death camps; crimes committed against the Roma and Sinti during the Second World War; the post-Holocaust memory of German-Jewish achievements; and the prevention of atrocity crimes.
The Footprints for HopeAround the world, the network of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) are invited to join the Footprints for Hope Project, the initiative of the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, developed in partnership with Paul Salmons, Head of Curriculum Development at the Holocaust Education Development Programme of University of London, and Cornelia Reetz of the United Kingdom Holocaust Centre. The video is available on DVD and in all UN official languages (subtitles).
- Addressing Anti-Semitism through Education: Guidelines for Policymakers.
Produced by UNESCO and OSCE ODIHR, 2018.
- Education about the Holocaust and preventing genocide. A policy guide.
Produced by UNESCO Education Sector, Paris, 2017.
- Why Teach about the Holocaust? Produced by UNESCO Education Sector, Paris. This short introduction provides an essential overview on education about the Holocaust that can support policymakers, educators and student alike in their understanding of genocide and why it is vital that we continue to teach about the Holocaust.
English || Arabic || Chinese || French || Russian || Spanish
- Recommendations on Teaching about the Holocaust, Genocide and Crimes against Humanity published by the Subcommittee on the Holocaust, other genocides and crimes against humanity of the Educational Working Group in the International Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
- Teaching materials on the history of Jews and anti-Semitism in Europe published by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Part 1 Anti-Semitism in Europe up to 1945
Part 2. Anti-Semitism: a never ending struggle?
Part 3. Prejudices. You too?
- Frequently Asked Questions on the Holocaust
English Version by Yad Vashem (Israel)
French Version by Memorial de la Shoah (France)
Spanish Version by El Museo del Holocausto de Houston (USA)
- Guidelines on “Preparing for Holocaust Memorial Days, suggestions for Educators”, published by Yad Vashem and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
English || French || Spanish || Russian
- A Guide for Educators. "Addressing Anti-Semitism: Why and How?" published by Yad Vashem and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
English || Russian || Spanish
- Teaching Guidelines and other materials avaible from the "One Person Can Make a Difference" Educational Programme (International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation)
- Jewish Partisans: Study Guides from the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
"Jewish Women in the Partisans"
"Frank Blaichman: Jewish Partisan Platoon Commander"
- The Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum publishes since 1994 uninterruptedly Nuestra Memoria (in Spanish), with more than 350 pages. This material confirms a substantial contribution to the study of the subject of the Shoah, providing a significant enrichment to the existing literature in Spanish.
Educational Materials on Roma and SintiProject Education of Roma Children in Europe by the Council of Europe
Roma History: the Holocaust
Roma History: Concentration Camps
This website provides guidelines, facts, photos, and resources for educators on the fate of European Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust. It is a comprehensive look at Roma and Sinti life before the war, discrimination and persecution, and life under Nazi rule, including detention, forced labour, and mass murder. The site also provides an extensive glossary and a guide to resources listed by country. The website is an initiative of _erinnern.at _ , an initiative that focuses on teaching and learning about National Socialism and the Holocaust that was launched by the Austrian Ministry of Education, the Arts and Culture in 2000 and the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (now known as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The experience of the Roma and Sinti during the Nazi period is not well known. Throughout Europe they were arrested, deported and murdered. Many were forced to perform slave labour in camps and ghettos. According to historians, some 250,000 to 500,000 Roma and Sinti perished, although consistent records documenting these specifics were not maintained. According to romasinti.eu, more than half of the victims were under 14. The stories of six of the Roma victims - Zoni Weisz, Krystyna Gil, Elina Machálkova, Settela Steinbach, Amalie Schaich Reinhardt and Karl Stojka are told on this online exhibition produced by University of Applied Sciences (Graz, Austria); National Socialist Documentation Centre of the City of Cologne (Germany); Anne Frank House (The Netherlands); Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma (Heidelberg, Germany); and Museum of Culture (Brno, Czech Republic).