Summer Academy

Enhance your Holocaust curriculum at our annual Summer Academy training seminar. Gain access to invaluable resources, connect with experts, and learn how to bring history to life for your students.

A Unique Experience for Holocaust Educators

We invite all Michigan educators to join us at The Zekelman Holocaust Center for Summer Academy on August 4, 5, 6, and 7. Whether you are new to teaching the Holocaust or an experienced Holocaust educator, The HC's Summer Academy has specialized professional development sessions with resources for your classroom. This year, each day’s sessions will focus on one educational theme: Foundations of Holocaust Teaching, Media Literacy and Teaching the Holocaust, Diversity and the Holocaust, and Understanding and Preventing Genocide.

At Summer Academy, you will gain a deeper understanding of Holocaust history and pedagogical practices, plus you will receive:

Attend three days and receive a free Educator Membership to The HC
Free, classroom-ready teaching materials for multiple disciplines
Free SCECH hours for each session completed
Opportunities to collaborate with other educators around the state
Daily lunch provided by The HC
Priority booking for student field trips
Access to our bus subsidy program for your visit with students next school year

Register for all four days or individual sessions. All sessions are completely free to Michigan educators.

Monday, August 4 Foundations of Holocaust Teaching

Foundations of Holocaust Teaching

Presented in partnership with Echoes and Reflections

This session provides educators with essential knowledge and tools for teaching the Holocaust thoughtfully and responsibly. Participants will explore the historical arc of the Holocaust, including pre-war Jewish life, the rise of Nazism and antisemitism, life in the ghettos, the Final Solution, and post-war rebuilding. Emphasis will be placed on telling human stories to foster empathy and understanding in students.

Teachers will also become familiar with key resources from Echoes & Reflections and other recommended materials to support accurate, sensitive, and impactful Holocaust education in their classrooms.

Keynote Presentation from the Anti-Defamation League

Guided Exhibit Tour With Expert Museum Educators

Tuesday, August 5 Media Literacy and Teaching the Holocaust

The Holocaust as a Historical Discipline

This session invites educators to reflect on their purpose for teaching the Holocaust and how it shapes student learning. Participants will explore the principles of disciplinary literacy and the distinct features of historical thinking—sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and interpretation—as they relate to Holocaust studies.

Through guided activities, teachers will engage as learners, practicing historical thinking skills to deepen their understanding and consider how to model these skills in the classroom. Educators will leave with strategies to help students think critically and empathetically about the complexities of Holocaust history.

Analyzing Propaganda & Teaching Media Literacy

Presented in partnership with our friends at Echoes & Reflections

This session equips educators with tools to teach media literacy through the lens of Holocaust education. Participants will explore key pedagogical principles for teaching the Holocaust and define critical terms related to propaganda and media literacy. Educators will examine Nazi ideology rooted in historical antisemitism and learn how propaganda was used to manipulate and deceive the public.

The session highlights the distinct features of Holocaust-era propaganda and provides teachers with concrete strategies and resources for helping students analyze media messages, recognize bias, and think critically—essential skills for Holocaust lesson design and broader classroom application.

Teaching with Holocaust Artifacts

Wednesday, August 6 Diversity and the Holocaust

Women's Experiences During the Holocaust

This session highlights the often-overlooked experiences of women during the Holocaust. Educators will learn about the diverse ways women were impacted—as victims, resisters, caretakers, and survivors—and how their stories reflect broader Holocaust history. Participants will explore why women’s narratives have historically been left out of mainstream accounts and why including them is essential for a fuller understanding.

Through powerful individual stories, teachers will gain insight into gendered experiences and receive practical guidance on how to seamlessly integrate women’s voices and perspectives into existing Holocaust units to enrich student learning and historical empathy.

Children's Experiences During the Holocaust

This session introduces educators to the diverse and powerful experiences of Jewish children during the Holocaust. Participants will explore the realities of childhood under Nazi persecution in the 1930s and 1940s, highlighting both the suffering and the resilience of young people. The session will also examine the various forms of resistance children engaged in—from physical defiance to spiritual and cultural perseverance.

Educators will gain access to grade-level appropriate resources and strategies for teaching these stories with care and age sensitivity, helping students connect to individual narratives and better understand the broader impact of the Holocaust.

Learner Diversity & Teaching with Graphic Novels

Holocaust literature and personal stories are critical to helping students develop compassion and understanding for the survivors and victims of the Holocaust. By taking learning styles and learner diversity into consideration, educators can incorporate personal stories through visually engaging graphic novels.

This session will help educators learn best practices for teaching the Holocaust through graphic novels and gain resources on using this text in the classroom.

Thursday, August 7 Understanding and Preventing Genocide

Preventing Genocide: Lessons from the Holocaust (Session A)

This session helps educators teach genocide as a process that unfolds over time, with identifiable stages and early warning signs. Using tools like the Genocide Model, participants will learn to help students recognize patterns of escalation and dehumanization. The session also explores how lessons from the Holocaust have informed global atrocity prevention efforts, guided by frameworks like the Peace Model.

Educators will leave with classroom-ready resources, student activities, and strategies for inspiring civic awareness and action. The goal is to empower students to recognize warning signs, understand global responsibility, and consider how individuals and communities can contribute to prevention efforts.

Ordinary Men & Women: Perpetration During the Holocaust (Session B)

This session invites educators to thoughtfully consider how and why to teach about perpetrators of the Holocaust. Participants will explore psychological, social, and historical explanations for perpetration, using primary source examples to deepen understanding. The session highlights the complexity of human behavior, examining cases where individuals both committed atrocities and, at times, acted to help Jews survive.

Teachers will also analyze post-war perpetrator accounts, learning how these individuals framed excuses and rationalizations for their actions. Educators will leave with strategies and resources to help students grapple with moral complexities and the human capacity for both cruelty and compassion.

Eugenics & the Holocaust (Session A)

This session introduces educators to the concept of eugenics and its profound influence on Nazi ideology and policies. Participants will learn how eugenic theories were promoted through propaganda, gaining traction in both education and society. The session will also explore how the Nazis applied eugenics to justify discriminatory laws and state-sanctioned violence against marginalized groups, including Jews, disabled individuals, and others deemed "unfit."

Educators will leave with strategies for incorporating the topic of eugenics into Holocaust instruction, helping students understand the pseudo-scientific underpinnings of Nazi policies and the ethical implications of these ideologies in both historical and modern contexts.

Understanding Forms of Resistance (Session B)

This session explores the diverse and often overlooked forms of resistance to the Holocaust. Teachers will examine case studies highlighting various ways individuals and groups resisted Nazi persecution, from armed uprisings to cultural preservation, smuggling, and underground education. Participants will gain an understanding of the wide range of actions taken by Jews and non-Jews alike to resist the Holocaust.

The session will also foster discussion about the importance of including stories of resistance in Holocaust education, emphasizing how these narratives inspire hope and resilience, and help students appreciate the complexity of human responses in times of extreme adversity.

Keynote Presentation from Local Holocaust Survivor

For more information about professional development opportunities for Michigan educators at The Zekelman Holocaust Center, contact Willow Hokett, Outreach Associate, at 248.571.0495 or willow.hokett@holocaustcenter.org.

Summer Academy

Summer Academy

A Unique Experience for Holocaust Educators

Monday, August 4 Foundations of Holocaust Teaching

Tuesday, August 5 Media Literacy and Teaching the Holocaust

Wednesday, August 6 Diversity and the Holocaust

Thursday, August 7 Understanding and Preventing Genocide

The Zekelman Holocaust Center

Hours