Projects for Teachers

On January 27–29, an All-Ukrainian scientific and practical seminar for history teachers was held in Uzhhorod, dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and “Tkuma” Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies.

The seminar opened on January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, so it is symbolic that the event began with a Ceremony of Honoring 6 Million Victims of Genocide. Representatives of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration, scientists from Uzhhorod National University, teachers and public figures took part in the memorial event. The event was continued by a lecture-discussion “The Holocaust and Other Genocides in the Context of Teaching History in Accordance with the NUSh Reform: Integrated Course and Concentrations”, which was held by Dr. Yehor Vradiy, Deputy Director of “Tkuma” Institute, and Dr. Igor Shchupak, Director of the Institute. The discussion focused on the importance of studying the history of the Holocaust in the context of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war and reforming history education.

The seminar program was not limited to lectures and discussions, but also included practical classes, participation in round tables and exchange of experience. Thus, Associate Professor of the Department of Archaeology, Ethnology and Cultural Studies of Uzhhorod National University Dr. Yuriy Slavik presented the results of new research on the local history of the Holocaust. The participants also visited the excursion “Memory of the Holocaust in Uzhhorod: places of memory”, where they got acquainted with the locations associated with the tragic events of World War II. As part of the educational event, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the State Archives of Vinnytsia Region, member of the Academic Council of the Tkuma Institute Dr. Faina Vynokurova presented a study on the participation of Jews in the anti-Nazi resistance movement, and history teacher of Mizhhirsk Lyceum No. 1 of the Transcarpathian region Maryna Mazur shared her practical experience of teaching the history of the Holocaust.

It is important that the seminar participants had the opportunity to join the XXIV meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish Commission of Experts on Improving the Content of School Textbooks on History and Geography, during which they joined the discussion of changes in educational publications on history.

The All-Ukrainian seminar in Uzhhorod became an important platform for discussing methodological approaches to teaching the history of the Holocaust, popularizing scientific research, and preserving the memory of the tragedy, which is especially relevant today, in the context of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.

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