Welcome to The Memorial Library & The Holocaust Educators Network

HEN teachers and faculty create portrait boxes on day 1 of the summer seminar.
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage, HEN teachers spend time contemplating Andy Goldsworthy’s Garden of Stones.
Nick Winton, son of Holocaust rescuer Sir Nicholas Winton, discusses his father’s life and legacy.
Rabbi Greg Wall brings klezmer music to our classroom, Auschwitz survivor Olga Lengyel’s former dining room.
After days of immersion in Holocaust history and testimony, HEN teachers and faculty enjoy an evening in NY harbor aboard Captain Pat’s schooner.
HEN teachers approach the memorial at the entry gate to the Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland.
The "double-deep fencing" that surrounds Majdanek concentration camp.
2012 HEN teachers pose for a group photo on Captain Pat's sailboat after many days of hard work.

Holocaust Education in New York City – and Beyond

The Memorial Library was founded in 1962 by Auschwitz survivor Olga Lengyel as a memorial to the martyrs who died fighting Nazi aggression during World War II. Olga envisioned the Library as an educational and literary center that would exhibit works of art, literature, and music related to the war. After Olga’s death in 2001, the Board of Directors turned its attention to teacher education, contacting Dr. Sondra Perl, Professor of English at Lehman College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. With the Library’s support, Dr. Perl created the Holocaust Educators Network, a nationwide program designed to bring the lessons of the Holocaust into today’s world. Beginning in the summer of 2006 with 21 teachers, HEN now numbers over 200 teachers in 40 states.

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Holocaust Educators in Action

Memorial Library Teachers present at 2013 Urban Sites Network Conference in Birmingham

At the 2013 Urban Sites Network Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, “Writers of Social Justice: How One Pen Can Change the World” (April 25-27), past participants Paige Cole (’09), Lisa Hall (’09) of Georgia and Sandi Robertson (’11) of Tennessee presented their work in a panel entitled “Teaching about the Holocaust and Social Justice: Best Practices [...]

Radio Show: Reflections on the Memorial Library Summer Seminar in NYC

On February 14, 2013,The Memorial Library Summer Seminar was showcased on the National Writing Project’s Blog Talk Radio Show. Sondra Perl and Jennifer Lemberg were joined by by summer seminar participants Tai Basurto (2012), Carol Revelle (2011), and Melissa Flanagan (2007) to reflect on their experiences during the seminar and the ways in which they [...]

Kathy Carlisle, St. Francis HIgh School teacher and 2012 Summer Seminar Participant, passes away on December 8 2012

The Memorial Library is saddened to announce the untimely death of Kathy Carlisle, who passed away on December 8. The Library mourns her passing and extends sympathies to Kathy’s family and friends at this terrible loss. Kathy, a Visual Arts instructor at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, was a participant in the 2012 Summer [...]

Cardinal Gibbons High School students visit Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, NC

Summer seminar participant Mark DeLaRosa reflects, “one of my favorite Jewish sayings is, ‘an enemy is a friend you haven’t met yet,’” and his teaching practice reflects this philosophy through outreach to other communities. On a cool Sunday evening in October, sophomores from his class at Cardinal Gibbons (Catholic) High School in North Carolina and [...]

HEN teacher and satellite leader Jane Connealy becomes “Satellite Seminar Coordinator.”

We are pleased to announce that Jane Connealy, HEN ’07, is joining the HEN staff as the Coordinator of our Summer Satellite Program. Having worked for the past three years as a satellite leader in Lincoln, NB, along with her colleagues Katie Elsener and Tom Seib, Jane brings first-hand knowledge of what’s involved in running [...]