English-Language Web Sites on the Holocaust and the Second World War
Prof. Hanns-Fred Rathenow
Two English-language web sites originating from the USA have proven to be especially helpful when searching for English-language material on the Holocaust and National Socialism, as they contain a multitude of further links and hints:
- Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust: http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/website.htm
- Remember.org: http://remember.org/educate/index.html
Further Resources
Imperial War Museum
http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00b005006
In the UK, using the link list and information material provided by the Imperial War Museum on a multitude of issues related to National Socialism and the Holocaust, London, will probably be the quickest and most effective way to come to results when working on this topic.
Genocide Documentation Centre, University of the West of England
http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide.htm
This web site provides access to information on genocides and war crimes, especially those committed during the "Third Reich", through a broad selection of links.
ARC-Website
http://www.deathcamps.org/
According to the information provided by its owners, the web site is dedicated to those Jews, Sinti and Roma people who perished in the death camps of Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka. They describe the goals of their ARC web site (ARC=Aktion Reinhard Camps) as follows:
- Who we are: The ARC team mainly consists of private Holocaust researchers. Our task is to uncover the history of the Aktion Reinhard Camps, and to tell the world about all aspects of the extermination of Jewry in East Europe. We are constantly attempting to help the relatives of people murdered in the Aktion Reinhard Camps discover their relatives' fate, and to commemorate them. This work is our long-term commitment to Holocaust history. The website is maintained by Michael Peters (webmaster). Secretary: Chris Webb.
- History: The ARC Group was founded by three private Holocaust researchers in 2002: Peter Laponder, Michael Peters, and Chris Webb. Starting point was a Treblinka model, presented on the internet by Michael Peters. Little by little more interested people joined the group. Meanwhile members in the following states are doing their best to improve the website: Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA.
Holocaust Centre Beth Shalom
http://www.holocaustcentre.net/
Beth Shalom was founded in 1995 as the first British Holocaust memorial and education site. They define themselves as: “…a place of memory of the victims of the Holocaust and as a place to teach future generations about its happening and consequences. The Holocaust Centre signifies a physical and permanent space that conveys a message that if the victims' wasted lives are to have any meaning at all, we must not only learn about what happened, but also learn from it.”
Centre for German-Jewish Studies, University of Sussex
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cgjs/
The Centre for German-Jewish Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton was founded in 1994. It defines itself as a study centre for Jewish history and culture in Europe
“The primary aim of the Centre’s teaching and research activities is the re-evaluation of how the history of Jews in German-speaking lands is studied. The Centre attracts international scholars who actively contribute to scholarship in German-Jewish studies through teaching and research, focussing on political, social, literary and intellectual German-Jewish history.
Given the location of the Centre, another key objective is to research the history of Jewish refugees and their families to the United Kingdom during and after the Second World War. The Centre also focuses on projects related to the history of anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and its effects on post-war history until today.
The Centre's archival collection, located in the University of Sussex Library, is being developed in accordance with these main themes. There is a particular interest in materials documenting the histories of German-Jewish families since the Enlightenment, including diaries, letters, oral testimony, survival narratives and other biographical sources recording the history of refugees.”
The Jewish Museum in London
http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/
One of the most important tasks of the Jewish Museum is to facilitate encounters with surviving eyewitnesses of the Holocaust: “The Jewish Museum offers sensitive and thought provoking Holocaust educational programmes that examine the moral, spiritual and personal dimension, through a focus of accurate and evidence based historical material.
Survivor testimony is a key resource and visitors have a rare opportunity to 'witness the witness' by meeting a Holocaust survivor and hearing them tell their story. The approach is inclusive and draws meaningful links with other groupings and topics such as racism today, refugees from conflict and oppression, citizenship and human behaviour. There is an emphasis on thinking skills, literacy, empathy, interpretation, analysis and spiritual development.”
Leo-Baeck-Institute, London
http://www.leobaeck.co.uk/
The Leo-Baeck-Institute, founded in 1955, was named after the last great representative of German Jewry. Among its study fields are the history of the Jews in Germany and the German-speaking countries starting from the middle of the 18th century until its destruction by the National Socialists. Including its study centres in Jerusalem, London and New York, it sees itself as one of the leading study institutes on Jewish history and culture.
Anne Frank Educational Trust London
http://www.annefrank.org.uk/
This non-profit association was founded in 1991 and "promotes positive attitudes towards differences, particularly in ethnicity, religion and culture, and helps empower people to reject all forms of bigotry, prejudice and intolerance in their daily lives. This is achieved through its major travelling exhibition that tours the UK. The brand new cutting edge, interactive exhibition Anne Frank + You was launched in June 2005 to coincide with the anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth on 12 June 1929. (…) The exhibition is particularly highly valued by teachers and youth workers as a means of teaching citizenship, history and English, and the Trust provides guided tours for school and youth groups. (…) The brand new exhibition Anne Frank + You brings the messages of Anne Frank firmly into 21st century Britain to address the attitudes and behaviours of today’s young people, and challenge them in a thought provoking, interactive and dramatic way. The messages of Anne’s diary are presented through themes such as conflict versus peace, responsibility versus indifference, inclusiveness versus discrimination and personal and multiple identities, and will be a journey of self discovery for young people. Anne Frank + You is already exciting local authorities all over the country and bodies such as the Football Association, Prison Service and Metropolitan Police are developing plans to use it as a force for good."
Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
http://www.mucjs.org/hsstats.htm
This centre provides a comprehensive link list of the British universities offering courses in Jewish Studies, including Holocaust Studies at university level.
