The 21st National Conference for fifty Croatian primary and secondary teachers, Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust and the Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity, took place in Karlovac, from 23rd to 26th January, in commemoration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Croatian IHRA Presidency sponsored the conference.
The conference was organised by the Croatian Education and Teacher Training Agency (ETTA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Education, Jewish Association in Karlovac, Yad Vashem, and Azrieli Foundation. The conference participants were Croatian primary and secondary school teachers of History, Ethics, Religious Education, Philosophy, Sociology, Croatian and Foreign Languages. The lecturers and workshop facilitators are national and international experts on Holocaust education and practitioners.
This annual conference is designed in such a way that the lectures give a broader historical context of the Holocaust in Europe and Croatia, and the recommended approaches to teaching about this very sensitive issue. In 2024, the keynote speeches and the lectures focused on responding to growing antisemitism and Holocaust distortion. The workshops offered the teachers an opportunity for experiential learning, especially in terms of moderating discussions and guiding the students’ learning about the Holocaust, highlighting the theme-appropriate and age-appropriate learning methods and materials. In 2024, the focus was on how to teach and learn about the Holocaust using a film, a novel or a graphic novel. At one of the workshops, the IHRA/UNESCO Training Program – Protecting the Facts, Protecting the Future: Capacity building training on countering Holocaust distortion was presented. The conference also gives an opportunity to teachers to present to a wider audience their school projects on the commemoration of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the teaching materials that they have developed during the year.
At the conference, on 26 January, the audience attended the launch of the Croatian language platform of “IWitness: teaching with testimony”, a project that is part of the Croatian IHRA Presidency’s partnership with the USC SHOAH Foundation.
Another important aspect of the conference is the cooperation with the local Jewish association. A guided tour was organised to the important places related to the Jewish heritage in Karlovac, and the Jewish cemetery in Karlovac. The annual teacher conference enables the teachers, researchers, and the Jewish organisations’ representatives to meet, work together and establish relations for future cooperation and projects.
