Suzanne Swartz has been chosen to participate in the Lipper Intern School Partnership Program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in lower Manhattan. Swartz is one of 16 interns who will teach 20th century Jewish history and the Holocaust to young people during the Spring 2012 semester. Since the Lipper program started in 1998, interns have worked with more than 50,000 students from around the Northeastern United States.
Swartz, a PhD student in the Department of History, has studied the Museum’s exhibitions, heard testimony from Holocaust survivors and attended seminars led by Museum scholars. “Lippers” then begin sharing the knowledge they have obtained with their communities’ schools by giving presentations on Jewish heritage and the Holocaust.
“Training was informative and supportive, but on another level personal and moving,” said Swartz. “It fully prepared me to begin working with students, and I am also taking new perspectives and insights with me about the importance of education and remembrance.”
After introductory sessions and classroom visits, the interns will bring groups of middle and high school students and their teachers to the Museum, where lessons are complemented by tours of the Museum’s Core Exhibition. Lippers return to the schools to discuss the material and encourage students to share their reactions and insights. Swartz is looking forward to dedicating her time to Holocaust education. “I have realized how important it is to make sure that younger generations are learning history,” she added.
The Lipper Internship Program is made possible by a generous grant from the EGL Charitable Foundation. The Museum’s exhibitions educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the rich tapestry of Jewish life over the past century — before, during and after the Holocaust.
Current special exhibitions include: Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles, on view through December 2012; and Let My People Go!: The Soviet Jewry Movement, 1967-1989, on view through April 29, 2012. It is also home to the award-winning Keeping History Center, an interactive visitor experience, and Andy Goldsworthy’s memorial Garden of Stones. The Museum offers visitors a vibrant public program schedule in its Edmond J. Safra Hall and receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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