State Education Department Releases Online Platform: Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides

The New York State Education Department has developed an online resource platform for educators: Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides, dedicated to supporting instruction and engaging students on complex historical topics. The resource guide is a collection of primary resources, case studies, and learning activities, as well as supplemental materials and pacing guides, created in partnership with the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust. It was organized for ease of use by educators and designed to be in alignment with the Social Studies Framework and Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies.

Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said, “It is imperative that educators and students have access to a wide range of primary sources that offer perspective and drive conversation when studying these tragic, global atrocities. Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides is a compelling collection of historically grounded materials, curated to support educators as they promote critical thinking, empathy, and civil discourse. Ultimately, this resource encourages productive dialogue, helping prepare students for engagement on difficult topics both in and out of the classroom.”

Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides is an invaluable resource that will support educators in their teaching of the most difficult chapters in human history. Its value lies not only in the rich content it provides, but also in the meaningful connections it makes to human rights, social-emotional learning, and responsible citizenship. This online guide will serve as a foundation for formative lessons, helping students explore themes of courage, resilience, and moral conviction through the lived experiences of Holocaust and genocide victims, their families, and communities.” 

Highlights of the online resource platform include:

• Teacher Flexibility: A range of resources are provided for teachers to choose from that best fit their courses and programs, and meet the needs of diverse students.
• Teaching Considerations to Support Students: Additional support is provided to teachers engaging in classroom lessons on this topic, including social-emotional considerations, considerations for ENL students, and considerations for students with disabilities.
• Suggested Pacing Guides: Supplemental materials provide educators with pacing guides that break the material down into lessons that can be completed in three, four, or five class periods.
• Inclusion of Other Genocides: A module is dedicated to support students in studying other genocides, including learning activities, case studies, and readings.
• Additional Resources: Additional resources include literature guides, an annotated bibliography and videography, key terms/key people pages, information on a range of camps and ghettos, and a Teacher’s Guide on Selecting Holocaust Fiction to Avoid Misinformation.

Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides was created to provide students with the opportunity to examine these events through multiple perspectives, and to engage in reflective and future-focused thinking through historically accurate content. It was also compiled to build in connections to NYSED’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) Education Framework and Social-Emotional (SEL) Learning Benchmarks.  

The platform was presented to the Board of Regents at the September 2025 meeting after thorough review and vetting through NYSED, BOCES, and local experts, and is being disseminated through multiple channels across the state. The materials available through the platform support §801 of NYS Education Law, which requires school districts to provide courses of instruction that include topics of citizenship and human rights issues, with a focus on the study of the inhumanity of genocide and the Holocaust. Anyone interested in learning more about the resource guide can visit the Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides website.

About the State Archives Partnership Trust

The Archives Partnership Trust, a 501(c)3 organization, works to advance New York State History by making the voices within over 350 years of records accessible, relevant, and heard. Education, preservation, and outreach programs unite scholars, students, and the interested public in the discovery, interpretation, and promotion of our shared history. Programs created and supported by the Trust include: ConsidertheSourceNY.org; Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program; Student Research Awards; countless preservation projects to help stabilize and rehabilitate fragile records; and outreach programs such as New York Archives Magazine, the Empire State Archives and History Award, and other public education programs. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive timely updates.