NEW ORLEANS (September 20, 2018) – San Francisco-based Taube Philanthropies has pledged $2 million to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans for the development of the Taube Family Holocaust Education Program, which will ensure public remembrance of the atrocities that led to the genocide of more than six million European Jews during World War II. The gift will support ongoing Holocaust educational initiatives at the Museum, including free public programming presented annually on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as distance learning programs that help students across the nation explore individual and collective responsibility in the Holocaust.
“Many initiatives of Taube Philanthropies focus on World War II, the deep and powerful effects of which continue to influence world events," said Tad Taube, Founder-Chairman of Taube Philanthropies. “The new Holocaust Education Program is critical as Americans are remembering less and less about the war and the lessons of the Holocaust.”
The Taube Family Holocaust Education Program will be overseen by an Advisory Committee of scholars, who will provide guidance on educational content that focuses on the historical significance of the Holocaust, its lasting impact on society and the lessons of pertinence in our world today. Public events will include lectures, symposia, film screenings, and programs highlighting recent research and personal accounts of the Nazi genocide. The programming will also be streamed nationally and archived online for future viewing.
The Advisory Committee is comprised of renowned Holocaust experts, including Daniel Greene, PhD, Historian and Adjunct Professor, Northwestern University; Wendy Lower, PhD, John K. Roth Professor of History, Claremont McKenna College; Samuel Kassow, PhD, Charles H. Northam Professor of History, Trinity College; Robert Citino, PhD, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National WWII Museum; and Shana Penn, Executive Director, Taube Philanthropies.
Additionally, the Museum’s WWII Media and Education Center offers Holocaust education to middle and high school students throughout the nation through two distance learning programs – The Holocaust: One Teen’s Story of Persecution and Survival and When They Came for Me: The Holocaust. The Taube gift will allow the Museum to expand its current program content, update technology needed to support online education and provide additional staffing resources.
“As the WWII generation passes away, The National WWII Museum has been entrusted to continue telling their stories to future generations – especially the important story of the Holocaust,” said Stephen J. Watson, President & CEO at The National WWII Museum. “The gift from Taube Philanthropies makes it possible for the Museum to expand its teachings about the atrocities of the Holocaust and why we should all stand together against future genocides.”
To kick off the expanded Holocaust education initiative, on October 25, the Museum will host a screening – and an accompanying public symposium – of “Who Will Write Our History,” a feature-length documentary examining how Polish Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum rallied a secret group within the Warsaw Ghetto to chronicle the lives of thousands of Polish Jews as they starved, suffered and ultimately were deported to death camps. Ringelblum and his team buried their documents in milk canisters and metal containers, with the hope they’d be found after the war and to ensure their voices and culture would live on. The documentary is based on the book of the same title by Samuel Kassow with Roberta Grossman as Producer/Director and Nancy Spielberg as Executive Producer.
About Taube Philanthropies - For more than 30 years, Taube Philanthropies has been a leader in supporting diverse educational, research, cultural, community, and youth organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Poland, and Israel. Founded by businessman and philanthropist Tad Taube in 1981, and now led by Tad and his wife Dianne Taube, the organization works to ensure that citizens have the freedom and opportunity for advancement of their goals and dreams. www.taubephilanthropies.org
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today—so that future generations will know the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America’s National WWII Museum, it celebrates the American spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifices of the men and women who fought on the battlefront and served on the Home Front. The 2018 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards ranks the Museum No. 3 in the nation and No. 8 in the world. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit nationalww2museum.org.
