2023 Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week

Second-Generation Survivor Ginny Wind speaks to students at IDEA South Flores

In 2019, the State of Texas enacted Senate Bill 1828 which mandates a week of Holocaust education in Kindergarten-12th grade classrooms at all public schools across Texas. This year, The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio (HMMSA) and its Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week (THRW) Committee hosted 21 presentations at school campuses throughout San Antonio and 2 virtual presentations for schools in Round Rock during the week of January 23-27 as part of the 2023 Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week programming. These presentations featured HMMSA docents and second-generation survivors sharing Holocaust history and survivor testimony with students and community members. This year’s program reached 7217 students with these campus presentations.

HMMSA also hosted three virtual webinars with authors Melissa W. Hunter, Anna Salton Eisen, and Holocaust researcher Dr. Eileen Angelini. The webinars were livestreamed for schools and community members during the week. You can view the recorded presentations on our website at https://www.hmmsa.org/thrw-presentations.

Overall, the Holocaust Memorial Museum was able to reach over 25,000 students and community members during THRW through presentations, traveling exhibits, educational trunks, and curriculum resources. We could not have done this without our volunteers, speakers, and THRW Committee members.

Second-Generation Survivor Dr. Steven Rosenblatt speaks to students at Bradley Middle School.

Special thanks to Lisa Barry, Camila Castro, Kelsey Goldstein, Sharon Scharff Greenwald, Kathleen Hoskins, Rabbi Yoel Lax, Tracy Morris, Jeanette Pierce, Varda Ratner, Cherylee Stewart, and Ginny Wind. This dedicated group of educators and community members worked hard to bring this year’s program directly to students with the series of in-person and virtual presentations. Additional thanks to Dr. Jessica Hanshaw and Allison King for their guidance and seamless execution of the week’s programming.

The next Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week will be held January 22-26, 2024. The museum and committee are already planning for next year.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio is a program of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. To learn more or to sponsor one of the museum’s programs, visit www.hmmsa.org or contact info@hmmsa.org.