Amid an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and other forms of hate in Canada, educators play a critical role in addressing intolerance with their students. FSWC supports educators in this vital work, collaborating with teachers and administrators across the country to focus on antisemitism and other forms of discrimination through innovative professional development programs. Central to this work is Holocaust education, which provides a critical historical framework for understanding where antisemitism can lead when prejudice, propaganda, and indifference go unchallenged. By engaging with the history of the Holocaust and its enduring lessons, educators are better equipped to help students recognize the warning signs of hate, examine their own responsibilities as upstanders, and connect this history to contemporary issues of human rights, social justice, and democratic values.
UNPACKING ANTISEMITISM: A TEACHER'S GUIDE TO AWARENESS AND ACTION
Workshop Designed for Teachers
Program Goals:
• Build teachers’ understanding of antisemitism, past and present, and deepen awareness of its impact on students and school communities.
• Strengthen educators’ ability to recognize and challenge antisemitic attitudes, narratives, and behaviours within classroom settings.
• Equip teachers with curriculum-connected strategies to help students think critically about prejudice, misinformation, and hate.
• Provide clear, practical approaches for responding to incidents and embedding inclusion into daily practice, ensuring all students feel seen, respected, and safe.
Suggested audience: Educators teaching grades 6-12.
Duration: 90 minutes
This interactiveprogram supports teachers in identifying, understanding, and challenging antisemitism in today’s classrooms. Participants explore both historical and contemporary dimensions of antisemitism and its impact on students and school communities. Using a pedagogical approach rooted in the curriculum, educators will learn practical ways to help students think critically about prejudice, misinformation, and hate. The workshop concludes with actionable steps to respond to incidents of antisemitism, embed inclusion into daily practice, and ensure that every student feels seen, respected, and safe.
EXPLORING THE HOLOCAUST: THEMATIC INSIGHTS & BEST PRACTICES
Workshop Designed for Teachers
This workshop explores the Holocaust thematically, examining concepts including justice, hope and the power of individual choice. We delve into aspects of the Holocaust using a framework of best practices, including the critical importance of centering survivor voices. We provide ready-to-use activities and additional resources for post-workshop learning.
Program Goals:
• Apply best-practice principles for teaching the Holocaust in ethical, accurate, and developmentally appropriate ways.
• Use precise historical language and context to address complex questions without oversimplification.
• Incorporate survivor voices and human stories to deepen student empathy and understanding.
• Implement trauma-informed strategies that support students through emotionally challenging content.
Suggested audience: All educators
Duration: 75 minutes
BUILDING INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS TO CONFRONT ANTISEMITISM
Workshop Designed for Teachers
Program Goals:
• Equip educators with practical strategies to help students understand, identify, and challenge antisemitism and hate in all its forms.
• Strengthen teachers’ ability to foster critical thinking, empathy, media literacy, and respectful dialogue within their classrooms.
• Provide ready-to-use tools that support students in recognizing bias, questioning misinformation, and developing a sense of shared responsibility.
• Empower educators to create inclusive learning environments where every student feels valued, respected, and confident in standing up against hate.
Suggested audience: Educators for grades 6-12.
Duration: 90 minutes
This interactive workshop empowers educators to build classrooms that inspire critical thinking, empathy, and inclusion. Participants will explore practical strategies to help students understand and challenge antisemitism and hate in all its forms, while fostering respect and a sense of shared responsibility. Teachers will gain ready-to-use tools that strengthen media literacy, critical thinking, and meaningful dialogue - skills students need to recognize bias and confront misinformation. By the end of the session, educators will be equipped to create learning environments where every student feels valued and empowered to stand up against hate.
HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST:
KEY EVENTS & TIMELINES
Workshop Open to Teachers and Administrators
This interactive workshop offers a chronological overview of the Holocaust, from the Nazi party's rise to power in Germany in 1933 to the end of World War II in 1945. It provides educators with tools to create impactful lesson plans aligned with curriculum requirements, includes classroom-ready activities based on best practices, and offers additional resources for continued learning.
Program Goals:
• Investigate the history of the Holocaust through key dates and events.
• Expand awareness of symbols and language from the Holocaust.
• Discuss best practices in Holocaust education with a focus on providing context and discussing complexities.
Suggested audience: All educators, with option to focus on grades 6 social studies and grade 10 curriculum.
Duration: 75 minutes
TEACHING THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH HEROISM
Workshop Designed for Teachers
Program Goals:
Highlight Heroism: Explore narratives of resistance, compassion, and moral courage that highlight the power of individual and collective action during the Holocaust.
• Deepen Student Engagement: Learn how to use powerful stories to foster empathy, resilience, and understanding among young learners.
• Apply Pedagogical Strategies: Gain practical tools and approaches for teaching Holocaust history with sensitivity and impact.
• Connect History to Values: Help students draw meaningful links between Holocaust events and enduring principles such as courage, moral responsibility, and humanity.
Suggested audience: All educators, with option to focus on grades 6 social studies and grade 10 history curriculum.
Duration: 75 minutes
Grounded in best practices in Holocaust education, the session will offer pedagogical strategies to help students make meaningful connections between historical events and enduring values such as empathy, courage, and moral responsibility.
How can we teachyoung learners about the Holocaust in a way that fosters understanding, empathy, and resilience? This session offers an entry point through the lens of heroism—highlighting the power of individual and collective courage in the face of unimaginable adversity. Designed for educators, this session explores powerful narratives that illuminate acts of resistance, compassion, and moral courage during the Holocaust. Grounded in best practices in Holocaust education, the session will offer pedagogical strategies to help students make meaningful connections between historical events and enduring values such as empathy, courage, and moral responsibility.
TEACHING THE HOLOCAUST LITERARY MEMOIR: NIGHT
Workshop Designed for Teachers
Program Goals:
• Teach Night with historical accuracy and pedagogicalcare, grounded in best practices for Holocaust education.
• Contextualize the memoir within the history of the Holocaust,with particular attention to Auschwitz-Birkenau and survivor testimony.
• Apply literary analysis strategies to explore characterdevelopment, symbolism, and narrative voice in Night.
• Facilitate thoughtful, age-appropriate discussions that engagestudents intellectually and emotionally while addressing themes of humanity,faith, and moral responsibility.
Suggested audience: Educators teaching grades 9-12
Duration: 90 minutes
Grounded in best practices in Holocaust education, the session will offer pedagogical strategies to help students make meaningful connections between historical events and enduring values such as empathy, courage, and moral responsibility.
Elie Wiesel’s Night is widely regarded as a seminal work of Holocaust survivor memoir—and with its haunting beauty, lyrical prose, and emotional depth, it has become a central text in many English classrooms. Written by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, who authored 57 books in his lifetime, Night offers a powerful entry point into Holocaust education through the personal and literary lens of lived experience. This session will explore how to teach Night effectively and responsibly, with attention to both its historical and literary dimensions. Participants will examine best practices for contextualizing the Holocaust, with a particular focus on Auschwitz-Birkenau, the main setting of the memoir. Grounded in principles of Holocaust pedagogy, the session will emphasize the importance of centering survivor voices.
EXPLORING AUSCHWITZ: AN IN-DEPTH AT THE MOST NOTORIOUS NAZI DEATH CAMP
Workshop Designed for Teachers
This immersive professional development program invites educators to explore the historical significance of Auschwitz-Birkenau—the largest Nazi concentration and death camp—and its central role in the Holocaust. Designed to support educators across all grade levels and disciplines, the program offers a comprehensive examination of Auschwitz’s historical context, operations, and the experiences of its victims. Participants will engage with primary source materials, survivor testimonies, and expert-led discussions to deepen their knowledge and build confidence in teaching this difficult history with sensitivity and accuracy.The program not only strengthens historical understanding but also equips educators with practical strategies for fostering critical thinking, empathy, and moral reflection in their classrooms.
Program Goals:
• Explain the historical significance of Auschwitz-Birkenau andits central role in the Holocaust.
• Teach this history with accuracy and sensitivity using primarysources and survivor testimony.
• Apply strategies that promote critical thinking, empathy, andmoral reflection in students.
• Connect the lessons of Auschwitz to contemporary issues ofantisemitism and human rights.
Suggested audience: Educators teaching 9-12
Duration: 90 minutes
ANTISEMITISM PAST AND PRESENT:
INSIGHTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
Workshop Designed for School Administrators
This dynamic session equips school leaders with the insight and tools to recognize and address antisemitism - both its historical roots and its modern expressions. Participants will explore how antisemitism affects individuals and school communities, gaining a deeper understanding of their role in shaping inclusive, respectful learning environments. The workshop emphasizes leadership awareness, cultural competence, and the responsibility of administrators to model allyship and foster belonging throughout their schools.
Program Goals:
• Develop a clear understanding of antisemitism, including its historical roots and modern-day expressions that can appear in school environments.
• Recognize the impact of antisemitism on students, staff, and school communities, and understand why timely, informed responses from leadership matter.
• Strengthen administrators’ cultural competence and confidence in identifying, addressing, and preventing antisemitism within their schools.
• Empower school leaders to model allyship and foster inclusive, respectful learning environments where all students feel a strong sense of belonging.
Suggested audience: Principals, school board staff and administrators.
Duration: 90 minutes
COMBATTING ONLINE HATE:
WHAT TO KNOW, WHAT TO DO
Program Goals:
• Explore social media including gaming platforms and alternative sites.
• Discuss how and where young people encounter hate in online spaces.
• Identify a variety of examples of online hate.
• Introduce strategies to support young people in online spaces.
Program delivery: Virtual
Suggested audience: School administrators and educators teaching grades 5-12.
Duration: 75 minutes
This program examines issues of digital citizenship in an age of online hate. Participants gain insights into the prevalence of online hate using the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Lexicon of Hate searchable database and look at the ways in which anti-Asian, anti-Black and antisemitic content is being spread online. They will also discuss the challenges young people face on popular digital platforms.
FROM UNDERSTANDING TO ACTION:
CONFRONTING ANTISEMITISM IN SCHOOLS AS AN EQUITY IMPERATIVE
Workshop Designed for School Administrators
This workshop moves beyond awareness to action, empowering administrators to build school cultures rooted in belonging and safety. Through a human rights, equity, and anti-oppression lens, participants examine antisemitism as “history’s oldest hatred” and its intersections with other forms of discrimination. The session provides practical strategies to design inclusive school policies, strengthen staff capacity, and respond effectively to incidents of hate. By the end, participants will be equipped to promote authentic allyship and lead meaningful, systemic change across their schools.
Program Goals:
• Build a deep understanding of antisemitism and its intersections with other forms of discrimination, framed through a human rights, equity, and anti-oppression lens.
• Equip administrators with practical strategies to strengthen inclusive school policies and staff capacity, ensuring environments grounded in safety and belonging.
• Develop leaders’ confidence and skill in responding effectively to incidents of hate, including antisemitism, with clarity, consistency, and accountability.
• Empower participants to model authentic allyship and drive meaningful, systemic change that advances equity across their schools.
Program delivery: Available in both virtual and in-person formats.
Suggested audience: Principals, school board staff and administrators.
Duration: 90 minutes
CONFRONTING ANTISEMITISM IN OUR SCHOOLS: BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS
Workshop Open to Jewish Parents, Guardians & Educators
LITERARY JOURNEYS THROUGH THE HOLOCAUST
Children’s literature is an important access point for introducing young people to the Holocaust while building empathy for those who experienced it. This workshop explores key examples of literature aimed at elementary and secondary students that address the history of the Holocaust– picture books, young adult novels and graphic novels – through established best practices. We also provide ready-to-use activities and additional resources for post-workshop learning.
Program Goals:
• Review criteria for selecting Holocaust literature in the classroom.
• Introduce a diversity of stories through a variety of texts.
• Discuss introductory and follow-up literacy activities for students to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust.
Program delivery: Available in both virtual and in-person formats.
Suggested audience: All educators, with option to focus on grades 6 social studies and grade 10 history curriculum.
Duration: 75 minutes
EXPLORING AUSCHWITZ: A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR EDUCATORS
Delve into the history and significance of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, in this immersive professional development program. Designed for educators, the program explores Auschwitz’s role in the Holocaust, its historical context, and the experiences of its victims. Participants will engage with primary sources, survivor testimonies, and expert-led discussions to deepen their understanding and learn strategies for teaching this complex history with sensitivity and accuracy. Equip yourself with tools to foster critical thinking, empathy, and awareness in your students while preserving the memory of those who perished.
Program Goals:
• Deepen Historical Understanding: Provide educators with a comprehensive knowledge of Auschwitz-Birkenau, including its historical context, operations, and impact during the Holocaust.
• Enhance Pedagogical Skills: Equip educators with effective strategies and resources to teach the Holocaust, fostering critical thinking and empathy among students.
• Promote Holocaust Awareness: Strengthen educators' ability to convey the importance of Holocaust education in combating prejudice, hatred, and misinformation.
• Encourage Reflective Practice: Inspire educators to engage in thoughtful reflection on the moral and ethical lessons of the Holocaust and their relevance in today’s world.
Program delivery: Available in both virtual and in-person formats.
Suggested audience: School administrators and educators teaching grades 6-12
Duration: 120 minutes
PROGRAMS
NATIONAL HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CONFERENCE
Every January, in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, FSWC hosts an annual Holocaust conference for educators focusing on best practices and key pedagogical themes for teaching lessons on the Holocaust in the classroom. Bringing together expertise from international and local scholars, the conference is an opportunity for participants from across the nation to come together in Toronto to learn directly from leaders in the field of Holocaust education through seminars, panel discussions and participant-led breakout sessions. Past speakers have included Holocaust scholars Dr. Wendy Lower (Hitler’s Furies, The Ravine), Dr. Edward Westermann (Drunk on Genocide), Dr. Valerie Hébert (Framing the Holocaust); children’s author Kathy Kacer (Two Pieces of Chocolate, The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser); and author Jennifer Teege (My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me).
children’s author Kathy Kacer (Two Pieces of Chocolate, The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser); and author Jennifer Teege (My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me).
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
FSWC has developed specialized one-on-one programs, informed by restorative justice principles, for youth and adults involved in incidents of antisemitism. In partnership with schools and other organizations, we have created engaging programs that foster empathetic understanding and offer opportunities to address and remedy the harm caused, all while adhering to established legal frameworks.
These programs are tailored to each individual case, reflecting the unique needs of the participant and the specific context of the offense.
How do we talk to our children and students about antisemitism—especially when the conversations feel difficult, emotional, or overwhelming? Engaging in Challenging Conversations is a program designed specifically for Jewish parents, guardians, and educators who are navigating complex and often painful discussions about antisemitism in today’s world. This session offers participants the tools to better understand and respond to antisemitism by examining and debunking long-standing antisemitic tropes and exploring the forms that modern antisemitism takes, both online and in real life. In addition to deepening understanding of the issue, the program introduces a brain-first approach to communication—offering guidance on how to regulate emotions, set boundaries, know when to lean in, and when it’s okay to walk away.
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We are available to answer questions and provide additional details. We look forward to your inquiry.
INQUIRE TODAYFounded in 1989, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is one of Canada’s leading human rights organizations combatting antisemitism and other forms of hate. Through our extensive advocacy work and education programs teaching the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, FSWC promotes the principles of tolerance, social justice and democracy. Based in Toronto, FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles, which has an official NGO presence at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament.
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