16 | AUGUST 26 • 2021 

“One of the things that we know 
about Holocaust education is that it’s not 
just about teaching the history lesson,” 
Bergman explains. “It’s for students to 
understand that the Holocaust didn’t 
simply happen, but that people made it 
happen.”
In emphasizing the notion of choice, 
Bergman says the museum aims to teach 
youth that people have the ability to stand 
up or speak out when they see hatred and 
can be a “vehicle of change” in their com-
munity. “The Holocaust is a great example 
of when that didn’t happen,” she says, 
“and also when it did happen.”

EDUCATING ONLINE
In the age of COVID-19, when museum 
access was temporarily limited due to 
pandemic restrictions and shutdowns, the 
Holocaust Memorial Center had to think 
outside of the box to create accessible 
ways for teachers and students to access 
Holocaust education. Since the 2016 pass-
ing of the genocide mandate, a pivot to 
virtual education was one of the biggest 
changes.
In pre-pandemic times, the Holocaust 
Memorial Center saw 35,000 students a 
year walk through its doors to learn about 
the genocide. To continue these field trips 
in a COVID-safe manner, the museum 
developed a Virtual Museum Experience, 
or VME, that allows students and teachers 
to learn about the Holocaust from the 
safety or their homes or classroom.
Each VME session lasts 45 minutes 
and is held over Zoom or Google Meet. 
During the session, students watch 
Holocaust survivor testimony videos, 
view artwork created by survivors and 
learn about different artifacts related to 
the genocide. Since launching in January, 
the Holocaust Memorial Center’s virtual 

program has engaged more than 6,500 
students statewide. 
Additionally, lesson plans can be cus-
tomized with different themes that teach-
ers can choose from. These include pro-
paganda, choice and responsibility, resis-
tance, the Final Solution and more. After 
a teacher expresses interest in scheduling 
a VME, a Holocaust Memorial Center 
educator reaches out to discuss learning 
goals and how to tailor the session to that 
classroom.
While the way students receive their 
Holocaust education continues to change 
in an increasingly digital world that is 
now highly mindful of health and safety as 

well, the core lessons stay the same. “The 
lessons about individual responsibility and 
dangers of silence will always be import-
ant,” Bergman explains. “What changes 
sometimes is the delivery system.”
In the five years since the passing of 
Michigan’s genocide education mandate, 
the past year was arguably its most crucial 
throughout a time of rising antisemitism.
“Whether someone is learning about 
the Holocaust virtually or in-person, those 
are all effective ways of having an impact-
ful experience,” Bergman says, “and taking 
those lessons with them through their 
lives.” 

continued from page 15

OUR COMMUNITY

Students from Lansing 
Christian School visited the 
museum to learn about the 
Holocaust.

“THE LESSONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY AND 

DANGERS OF SILENCE WILL ALWAYS BE IMPORTANT.”

— HMC’S DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION RUTH BERGMAN