In a 2019 poll taken in New Zealand, 70% of the 1000 people interviewed had little or no knowledge of the Holocaust. This is a staggering number which needs to be lowered. The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand needs your help to ensure that future generations are properly educated on the Holocaust.

The Challenge

Education is vital in preventing intolerance. Young people educated in the lessons of the Holocaust will become influential citizens of society that aid in the fight against discrimination and antisemitism. The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand is on a mission to empower children with the knowledge and history of the Holocaust.

After the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” protests, the Anti-Defamation League released a report that examined the links between white supremacy and young people. They found that children who learn about the Holocaust are less likely to become members of white supremacy groups and less antisemitic. Additionally, children who learn about individual stories are more likely to remember them than facts and figures given to them by teachers in the classroom.

In New Zealand, we became all too aware of the dangerous position we could be in if our education funding ran dry. In the 2019 poll, 57% of those interviewed could not identify how many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust and 34% believe the Holocaust to be exaggerated or a myth.

“The work of the Holocaust Centre continues to challenge us to learn more, the centre is active in education challenging antisemitism, discrimination and prejudice. This builds diversity and inclusiveness in a nation we see ourselves as”. – RT Honourable Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand

Our Solution

Our goal is to make sure we reach every child in every school.

With your help, we will have 100 or more high schools visit our center each year. Each of these students will get access to an education about the Holocaust that they might not otherwise have had. We have the resources and materials necessary to teach our communities in ways that are more influential than just a history class. These kids and teachers need to be able to experience the humanness of those that suffered. To learn the personal stories. We will continue to bring them interviews with Holocaust survivors, and in some cases, they’ll even be able to meet them.

There are also many remote schools that do not typically get these opportunities, including the Māori communities. With your support, we’ll be able to reach these schools and spread the authentic, emotional stories of our past. These stories are our history. Knowing them is crucial for our future. With this knowledge students and teachers will be more likely to protect and strengthen our Jewish future.

As we reach more schools, we’ll reach more people. We will create an extensive database to keep track of the schools that are engaged in our Holocaust education. With this data, we’ll be able to create an informed report on our achievements, which we can present to the government and the Ministry of Education to help our cause and receive future funding.

“All New Zealanders, whatever their faith, should make a point of visiting the Holocaust Centre. We need to be reminded that such unthinkable events have happened in the past, and can happen again. It reminds us to raise our voices in defence of people who are suffering discrimination, harassment or violence because of their ethnicity or religious affiliations.” – The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand, and Patron of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand

Pictured above: Young people listen to the testimony of a Holocaust Survivor.

“To see 600 students, hang on every word, was breathtaking, to see a room full of energy and empathy, truly inspiring”. – Principal of school that was part of the outreach program

Who We Are

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand (HCNZ) is the nation’s leading organization for Holocaust education and remembrance. Our mission is to inspire and empower action against antisemitism, discrimination, and apathy by remembering, educating, and bearing witness to the Holocaust. By recording, researching, teaching, publishing, archiving, and commemorating the stories of Holocaust survivors, we stress the importance of their impact on New Zealand.

Chris Harris – CEO

Chris Harris joined HCNZ in 2016 as its National Director of Education, bringing 13 years of teaching experience with him, before being appointed to the role of CEO in March 2019. Chris oversees the Centre’s strategic direction facilitating the national and international activities of the Centre and its profile. Chris fosters HCNZ’s mission and vision with all partners, donors, visitors, and volunteers. He strongly believes in Human Rights education and advocacy, and the relevance of the enduring lessons and messages from the Holocaust for modern society.

Deborah Hart – Chair

A former lawyer, Deborah is the past executive director of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand. She is on the Panel of the Human Rights Review Tribunal, is the current director of the anti-smoking group, ASH, and was on the expert reference group for family justice reform. She has served on the government’s Small Business Advisory Group. Deborah has her own business – Deborah Hart Consulting, which specialises in government relations, PR, and mentoring as well as peer reviews and evaluations. Deborah has consistently worked as a community volunteer in various roles including as an advisor to the Wellington Jewish Community Centre, helping to form Crohn’s and Colitis New Zealand and as the Chair of the former Moriah College Trust Board. Deborah brings to the board governance experience both on not-for-profits and commercial boards, experience as a CEO, ample dispute resolution skills, and a passion for working with others on holocaust remembrance and human rights.

Inge Woolf – Survivor and Founding Director

Inge Woolf is a Holocaust Survivor from Austria, former refugee, business-woman and community volunteer. She has accomplished inspiring work as the Founding Director of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. It is also a nod to her other volunteer work, leading Arthritis New Zealand, Zonta, and many other community organisations. In 2004 a Jewish prayer house was burnt down and nearly 100 Jewish graves desecrated in Makara, Wellington. This sparked Inge into action. With a group of committed volunteers (refugees, Holocaust survivors and descendants among them) she was determined to combat racism and antisemitism, to teach tolerance and understanding. She says, “I knew I could use my experience as a Holocaust survivor for good.” The Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre was formed, which quickly became the national organisation, the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. Inge Woolf was the Founding Director and also held the role of Chair during its early years*. Inge Woolf says, “The Centre continues the work we started; with educational programmes, commemorative events, a Human Rights Speaker Series, an anti-bullying ‘Upstander’ campaign, assisting in the publication of the translation of the Anne Frank Diary into te reo Māori, and developed the travelling Children’s Holocaust Memorial, which, with the Anne Frank exhibition, has attracted thousands of visitors.” “Today, the lessons of the Holocaust are poignant to combat increasing intolerance and racism, to teach the value of human rights and the celebration of diversity.” “I am proud to have been a pivotal part of a team which has made a difference in the lives of many young New Zealanders.”

What Do We Do?

Our mission is broken down into four strategic pillars: WITNESS, REMEMBER, EDUCATE, and ACT.

Your support of this campaign will help us achieve all our strategic goals, especially when it comes to the EDUCATE strategy. We create relevant educational content that is New Zealand-centric in context and is, therefore, more impactful to our students. We also develop educational resources for visiting groups, schools, and tertiary institutions (all of which are approved by Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and NZQA.) Additionally, we teach ways to combat antisemitism through campaigns like the #Upstander campaign and provide educators with the proper resources as well as a Yad Vashem Teacher Program.  Finally, we produce exhibitions such as the Children’s Holocaust Memorial, United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day (UNIHRD), Anne Frank ‘Let Me Be Myself’ Exhibition, and more.

Pictured above: Honourable Tracey Martin places button at the opening of Children’s Holocaust Memorial November 2018.

Pictured above: New Zealand educators at Yad Vashem, Israel with three Holocaust survivors

Why Support Us?

Up until today, we have been fortunate to receive grants and donations from an incredible network of charitable members, donors, and organizations. They have allowed us to do the work we do and provide this important service to the people of New Zealand and beyond.

However, we need your help to continue doing this work and more. There is so much more to be done to ensure that every child receives a Holocaust education. Your generosity will help us reach our goal in which every child and every school receives the proper education. Not only will they receive the knowledge, but they will also receive the tools necessary to challenge antisemitic behavior at school, in the community, and online.

One of the ways we have already worked to increase the spread of knowledge was by underwriting and supporting translator Te Haumihiata Mason who translated The Diary of Anne Frank in 2019. The book is called Te Rātaka a Tētahi Kōhine and has had a tremendous response.

“This book is a very welcome addition to the literature of te reo Māori. A strength of the Māori language is that it developed within a story-telling culture. Its many narrative forms lend themselves to stories such as this and the capturing, in Māori, of the authentic voice of the writer.” – Professor Rawinia Higgins, Chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori / Māori Language Commission.

“This book is a gift from Anne Frank to the world and to coming generations of New Zealanders to read it in te reo Māori. I commend Te Haumihiata for the beautiful translation and the publishers who have made this possible.” – Ngahiwi Apanui, Tumuaki/Chief Executive, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori/Maori Language Commission.

Cost Breakdown

From creating the educational materials, to educator salaries, to marketing and producing new exhibitions, the costs pile up. We want to be transparent with you in sharing the costs we have before us (all costs are in US dollars).

• Salaries for Education Director/Professional Educator – three years: $200,000
  • Visit schools, undertake research, develop educational materials for schools, teachers and students, deliver presentations to visiting school groups.
• Travel throughout New Zealand – three years: $40,000
• Significance of the Holocaust to New Zealand exhibition: $10,000
  • Undertake development of this area of need for New Zealand schools. This would allow the gap to be filled with an exhibition that would provide stories of New Zealand’s response to the Holocaust, testimonies of survivors, liberators, and New Zealanders, all linking to the New Zealand curriculum.
• Development of resources and marketing: $75,000
  • Development of educational material that is interactive and appealing. It would also allow the refreshment of key display areas within the centre. Marketing would enable us to reach areas in New Zealand that have not been visited previously or not had contact with the centre before.

Feedback from Our Students

“The world is a small place and all have a valuable part to play, thank you Holocaust Centre of New Zealand for allowing us young people to be exposed to amazing, sad but strength building stories”.
– Student peer guide for Anne Frank and Children’s Holocaust Memorial

“The experience that this man had was truly unbelievable, he went through so much but still has a positive outlook on the world, thank you HCNZ for allowing to visit and meet this important person in World History”. – Student on meeting Holocaust survivor Steven Sedley, Aged 16

“I now feel the confidence to be the Upstander and not the bystander.” – Student who visited the Children’s Holocaust Memorial, Aged 18

“I would be hard pushed to find a group of people or an organization more committed to fulfilling their vision and mission.” – Tina Smith, Yad Vashem Graduate, 2019

Timeline

Pictured above: Jack Harris lights a candle to represent the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 2020.

With every new generation arrives a new group of young people that decide to take on the challenges of the world. They are the ones that will shape the future for all of us. They will shape the safety, longevity and well-being of our Jewish people. Without the proper education and resources, these influential people will not have the tools needed to protect and strengthen Jewish life. With your help, we will be able to provide all the necessary tools. We will help spread the truth, commemorate our history, and prevent an atrocity like the Holocaust from ever happening again.