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HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE? A HOLOCAUST CURRICULUM FOR AND BY TEACHERS™ (HWIP)
JFR’s new online curriculum is ready for teachers and community members to use. Our learning management system is up and running. For more detailed information about HWIP, click here.
To sign up for HWIP, click here. Additionally, you can access HWIP by scrolling to the top right of this page and clicking LOGIN next to the Donate.
To provide a brief overview of HWIP, our course provides middle and high school teachers and their students with a basic Holocaust unit of study. The program, which is based on the book How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Reader edited and introduced by Professor Emeritus Peter Hayes of Northwestern University, includes 16 lessons, an introductory video, and a closing CODA. Each lesson has a scholar-vetted and professionally prepared video. This program is being offered at no cost to teachers and their students. HWIP comes with an extensive Teacher’s Guide which is available on the JFR website.
How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Curriculum For and By Teachers™ (HWIP) can be used by educators for their own professional development as well as for educators to use with their students. The curriculum is also open to members of the community interested in learning more about the Holocaust.
The 16 lessons are based on the nine chapters of How Was it Possible? A Holocaust Reader and were developed around the themes within each chapter. An extensive Teacher’s Guide accompanies the curriculum. When the program officially launches as announcement will be sent.
2026 ADVANCED SEMINAR
The 2026 Advanced Seminar will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 17 and 18, 2026 at the Hilton Newark Airport. The following scholars will be presenting, Professors Andy Pearce from University College London, Noah Shenker from Colgate University, and Paul Salmons from the United Kingdom. We are waiting to hear from our fourth presenter. The focus of the 2026 Advanced Seminar will be “Challenges in Teaching the Holocaust.” We will explore the challenge of teaching the Holocaust after October 7, the impact of AI on Holocaust education and research, and addressing antisemitism as part of teaching the Holocaust.
2026 EUROPEAN STUDY PROGRAM TO POLAND
The JFR’s 2026 European Study Program will go to Poland in July 2026. Professor Robert Jan van Pelt is our scholar. The dates of the study program are July 5 – 15, 2026. The study program starts in Warsaw, we then travel to Lodz, then to Oswiecim where we will spend three nights, and we leave from Krakow. The JFR is extremely fortunate to have Professor Robert Jan van Pelt a leading Holocaust scholar lead the European Study Program.
WE MOURN THE PASSING OF WANDA KOLOMIJSKA
Wanda Kolomijska, a Righteous Gentle from Poland, passed away on September 15, 2025. Wanda was 93 at the time of her passing. We would see Wanda each year at the JFR-sponsored luncheons for Righteous Gentiles living in Warsaw, Poland. Wanda would attend with her son, Jerzy. We became good friends. Wanda was a special lady and will be missed. May her memory be a blessing.
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