Holocaust Resource Center Events
Upcoming Events
Personal Items Drive
January to April 2025
Join Kean University's HREC, SREI, Center for International Studies, Career Services, and Wellness Center in this Personal Items Drive. Drop off areas include: HREC (NTLC 2nd Floor), Career Services (CAS 201), Office of Student Retention (CAS 123), and Kean Wellness Center (Downs Hall).
For any questions, please email: hrc@kean.edu or vitolac@kean.edu
Elementary & Middle School Leadership Conference
March 14, 2025, at 9:30-1:00pm at Kean University & via Zoom
Join us for this conference to encourage leadership and activism in elementary and middle school students. Amya Meekins, a NJ-based teen author, will be the conference's keynote speaker. This event is for students grades 4-8 and their chaperones
For more information, please contact Sarah Coykendall at coykends@kean.edu
Virtual Guided Tour of Majdanek Concentration and Death Camp
Monday, March 24, 2025 at 9:00-11:00am EST via Zoom
Located near Lublin, German-occupied Poland, Majdanek was a Nazi concentration and death camp that operated from 1941 to 1944. Approximately 78,000 people died at Majdanek, a symbol of Nazi brutality and genocide. The virtual guided tour for students grades 9-12 will explore the many original structures at Majdanek, one of the best preserved Nazi camps of World War II.
For more information, please contact: hrc@kean.edu / (908) 737- 4632
1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda Commemorative Event featuring Providence Nkurunziza
Wednesday, April 2, 2025, first at 10am EST & later at 3pm EST via Zoom
The 10am Zoom is intended for students, especially if teachers want to have the viewing during class.
Providence Nkurunziza is an author, inspirational speaker, and women and children advocate. As a genocide survivor, she believes there is a responsibility to bear witness to save the next generation from falling into the same trap of experiencing such sinister events, since nobody is immune to the genocide.
Click here to register for 10am!
Click here to register for 3pm!
General Assembly Meeting: Teaching about the Nazis' LGBTQ+ Victims
Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 4:30pm via Zoom
In this session, award-winning historian and educator Dr. Jake Newsome will equip participants with the knowledge and tools they need to confidently teach about how and why the Nazi regime targeted LGBTQ+ people during the era of the Holocaust. The session will include a keynote lecture that provides an overview of the history, an introduction to educational resources, including a primary source activity for the classroom, and a forum with representatives from the Pink Triangle Legacies Project discussing terminology, challenges and opportunities, and alignment with state mandates. Participants will receive exclusive access to digital educator resource packets curated by the experts at the Pink Triangle Legacies Project.
For more information, please contact Sarah Coykendall at coykends@kean.edu
Film Screening: Aurora's Sunrise
Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 4:30pm EST via Zoom
Join us for our Armenian Genocide Commemoration as we watch the true story of how a fourteen-year-old girl escaped the slaughter, and embarked upon an odyssey that took her to the heights of Hollywood stardom. Director Inna Sahakyan will be joining for a Q&A session at the end.
Professional development hours and co-curricular credits will be provided.
For more information, please contact: hrc@kean.edu / (908) 737- 4660
Yom HaShoah Commemoration
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 5:00pm EST via Zoom
Please join the Holocaust Resource Center for our annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration. Co-presented by the Holocaust Council at Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ and Saint Elizabeth University's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education.
This year's program is a film screening of Monument followed by a talkback with the filmmaker, Michael Turner. Turner is a grandchild of Holocaust survivors.
Leading with Knowledge: Holocaust & Genocide Education for Administrators
Monday, May 5, 2025 at 9:00am to 3:00pm in the Liberty Hall Academic Center, Kean University
Presented in partnership by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, Holocaust Resource Center of Kean University, and the Community of Holocaust Education Centers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this one-day conference provides Curriculum Supervisors and Chief School Administrators with the tools and techniques to help support teachers in meeting the NJ Holocaust and Genocide Education Mandate.
Participants will explore strategies, resources, and lesson plans to create age-appropriate, NJSLS-aligned curricula that promote critical thinking, empathy, and understanding of genocide. Administrators will also learn about new resources and program offerings from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and HRC. Each participant will receive free classroom resources.
6 professional development hours, refreshments, and a light lunch will be provided. For questions, please contact the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education at holocaust@doe.nj.gov or Holocaust Resource Center at hrc@kean.edu.
Pre-College Program: Human Rights in Action
Monday, July 21 to Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 9:00am to 3:30pm
Encourage your grades 9-12 students to take part in creating a more just and inclusive world. This summer, Kean University's Human Rights Institute and the HREC are hosting Human Rights in Action---a unique program tailored to high school students. Through this opportunity, participants will gain the tools to become effective advocates and allies.
*Districts that register directly will receive a discounted rate*
To pay by purchase order or for more information, please contact the Human Rights Institute at humanrights@kean.edu