“The Power of Place”
“The Power of Place” European Summer Institute for Holocaust Educators has become even more vital as we continue to lose survivors. It’s imperative for teachers to personally visit authentic historic sites where the Holocaust happened; to experience the “power of place”.
In the absence of survivors, the power of place remains and helps to tell their stories. As Yitskhok Rudashevski, a young Jewish teenager who lived in the Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania during the 1940s, said: “Space stands as a witness to what happened.”
Additionally, because truth and facts have come under siege, and antisemitism and extremism continue to rise globally, it is critical that teachers visit authentic sites where the history of the Holocaust is documented fact.
2025 “Power of Place”:
European Summer Institute
For Holocaust Educators
AUSTRIA: Expert, Paul Salmons - Participant Centered Experience, Linz, Hartheim Castle, Mauthausen
POLAND: Oświęcim, Bielsko-Biala - Gerda Weissmann Klein’s hometown & experience, Bedzin - Rudka Laskier (Polish Anne Frank), Auschwitz-Birkenau, Krakow
ITALY: Fosse Ardeatine Caves, Castel Gandolfo, Vatican Archives w/expert, Dr. Suzanne Brown-Fleming, Collegio Militare in the Palazzo Salviati in Trastevere, Pizza and Pasta Master Class with Wine and Tiramisu
2024 “Power of Place”:
European Summer Institute
For Holocaust Educators
POLAND: Warsaw, Jewish Quarter, Umschlagplatz, Jewish cemetery, Treblinka, Zabinski Villa (Warsaw Zoo), ZIH - Oneg Shabbat, POLIN, Yahad-In Unum, Lodz ghetto
GERMANY: Berlin, Babelplatz, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Topography of Terror, Reichstag, Jewish Berlin, Kindertransport, Sachsenhausen, Platform 17, Wannsee Haus
CZECH REPUBLIC: Jewish Quarter, Terezin, Lidice, Meeting w/Nick Winton (Kindertransport), Private River Cruise
2023 Power of Place:
European Summer Institute
for Holocaust Educators
GERMANY: Regensburg, Jewish Quarter, Dachau, Munich, Beer hall Putsch, White Rose, Nuremberg, Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Palace of Justice
POLAND: Krakow, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Remah Synagogue, Krakow Ghetto, Plaszow Concentration Camp, Old Town, JCC meeting survivor - Zosia Radzikowska, Oskar Schindler factory
NORWAY: Norweggian Ctr for Holocaust Studies (Vidkun Quisling house), Oslo Jewish Museum - meet survivor, Norway’s Resistance Museum, Akershus Fortress, Fjord dinner cruise
