Facing History and Ourselves towards Today´s Society. Using History in the Civic Education
A two-year project implemented by the Terezín Initiative Institute in cooperation with partners Romano jasnica and Kharomo Chodov o.p.s.
Implementation period:
- 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2022
Annotation:
For effective understanding to the present, strengthening in it and to decide to engage in society, it is necessary to adopt democratic values, the will to acquire information and the skills to work with them. Facing history and ourselves towards today society project offers interconnected activities that lead to an understanding of our identity and history’s influence on our perception of today. Cooperation with organizations in structurally affected regions directly with members of the Roma community enables the majority and Roma com.connection, taking into account their attitudes and needs.
Our target groups:
- lecturers/educators who (after completing the course), will be able to teach lessons using the Facing History and Ourselves method in schools; including Roma lecturers and university students with pedagogical specialisation;
- teachers of all type of schools, lecturers/educators, students of pedagogical faculties or didactics of history – attend a seminar for teachers, then teach according to the FHAO method and using methodologies from seminars in their schools, participate in activity 5 by their own participation and students with implementation proposed activities;
- young people: students of secondary schools, grammar schools, clients of low-threshold facilities – complete educational programs led by ITI lecturers and subsequently trained lecturers from the course, shoot video clips, participate in student conferences and then implement a project designed.
Goals:
- What? Through history lead to thinking about our present, personal and group identity, our place in the world and what we can achieve through our own activity.
- How? Through a course for lecturers/educators, programs for schools, the shooting of clips with young people, public debates and a student conference that brings together all three target groups.
- Why? If we understand the context, we can apply our knowledge in the real world, we understand the causes of our attitudes and we are willing to change them, we are stronger, more confident and we know our value.
The biggest challenge of the project:
Align the target groups of the project so that participants have the opportunity to get to know each other, understand the different starting conditions and motivations, and inspire and strengthen each other in the effort to change for the better.
The biggest benefit of the project:
Getting to know people who would not otherwise meet.
Consistency with the strategy of the Terezín Initiative Institute:
The ITI's strategy is based on three pillars: 1. research on Nazi persecution in the Czech lands and in Europe and documentation of its victims, 2. remembrance and 3. education against racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Since 2015, we have been working on the Roma Holocaust, its causes and consequences. The study of the processes leading to the Holocaust shows that prejudice and hatred, together with ignorance and unwillingness to find informations and critically evaluate informations, lead to tragic consequences. The result is the insecurity of people belonging to marginalized excluded groups, the disruption of trust in their own culture and traditions, the loss of identity. Therefore, in the project we focus on knowledge, but above all on values, attitudes, skills, activity, communication and self-confidence.
Project activities:
- Capacity building of Terezín Initiative Institute.
- Course for lecturers/educators.
- Two days educational seminars for teachers.
- Educational programs for youth.
- Filming clips with young people and arragment of public debates to them
- Student conference for all target groups of the project.
The project is being supported by the Open Society Fund Prague from the Active Citizens Fund. The programme promotes citizens’ active participation in the public life and decision making and builds capacities of civil society organizations. The Active Citizens Fund is financed from the EEA and Norway Grants.
You can also visit
This Wednesday, Thomas and our volunteer Lena accepted the invitation from Beit Theresienstadt and Memos to attend the closing event of the project “From Prague to Prague – In Max Livni’s Footsteps in Czechia, Poland, and Germany.” During the two-week journey, the group, including participants from Israel and Germany, traced the path of Holocaust survivor Max Livni – from Theresienstadt, through Auschwitz, to Kaufering in Bavaria.
We have published the newest quarterly newsletter, which brings up-to-date information about our activities, projects and events. In this issue, you will learn more about our educational programs, commemorative events, and new publications that contribute to preserving the memory of Holocaust victims and promoting historical awareness in society.
On 24-27 June 2024, the first of three workshops commemorating the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti took place in Brno. The programme included a visit to the Holocaust Memorial of Roma and Sinti in Hodonín u Kunštátu and the only joint memorial of Jews and Roma located in Brno. The Museum of Romani Culture hosted the workshop. Future workshops will take place in Berlin and Warsaw. The goal of the program is to prepare teachers and museum professionals to work with this topic, and to further educate society. Dana Gabaľová is participating in the workshops on behalf of the Terezín Initiative Institute. She has been working with this topic for a long time, among other endeavors as a curator and co-author of the first version of the exhibition "Lety - The Story of a Forgotten Genocide".
The last two days of this June were dedicated to the project of rescuing and revitalizing the original textile factory of the Löw-Beer family in Brno, known from the story of Oskar Schindler and his wife Emilie, who saved more than 1300 Jews during the Holocaust. A museum and an educational programme centre will be built in the former factory.
On Thursday, 27 June 2024, we gathered at the Academia Literary Café for the launch of Tomáš Kraus' book, which bears witness to our recent past. The book is about life in socialist Czechoslovakia in the second half of the 20th century from the perspective of someone whose parents both survived the Holocaust. What was the cultural and social scene like then?
Many guests attended the launch, including Jiří Drahoš, First Deputy President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, and Tomáš Töpfer, actor, director, scriptwriter, former theatre director and senator.
The book is available in bookstores and online.
June 28th marks 56 years since the Stonewall Riots. Since 1970, June has been celebrated as Pride Month, and serves to support and celebrate queer folks. It commemorates the riot, which took place in the US, and was a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ rights movement. It’s a time for remembrance and celebration, and a reminder of the ongoing fight against discrimination and the need for continued progress toward full equality.
At Terezin Initiative Institute, our mission is to remember Holocaust victims, research contemporary documents to return victims their faces and stories, and to leverage the knowledge and understanding acquired to promote tolerance, equality, and help maintain a pluralistic society through education.
Tomáš Kraus, director of the Terezín Initiative Institute, will launch his book, Next, Please. The literary event will take place on Thursday, 27 June 2024 at 5 pm at the Academia Literary Café, 24 Václavské náměstí, Prague 1.
Tomáš Kraus' book is a testimony to our recent past. What was life like in socialist Czechoslovakia in the second half of the 20th century from the perspective of someone whose parents both survived the Holocaust? What was the cultural and social scene like then?
You are all cordially invited.