Examining the Holocaust and World War II: Teaching with The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, March 2025

This course will deepen student understanding of the Holocaust through The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, examining America's response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century and its role in World War II.

Participate in this asynchronous online course for a guided, facilitator-led exploration of resources centered around clips from The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, that support teaching about the intersections of the Holocaust and World War II. Participants will explore topics such as antisemitism, immigration, xenophobia and the Final Solution. This course was developed in collaboration with Echoes & Reflections, Florentine Films, PBS LearningMedia and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We applaud your commitment to teaching this topic and are eager to support you to ensure your students are able to engage in thoughtful, engaging, and historically accurate learning.  This course is appropriate for secondary educators teaching European, World and US history as well as other disciplines where the Holocaust is addressed.

Course Details

• Program includes three interactive modules; approximately 6 hours to complete in total – at no cost

• Program includes a ready-to-use lesson plan that incorporates film clips from The U.S. and the Holocaust

• Participants proceed at their  own pace each week, are supported by an instructor, and enjoy asynchronous interaction with other educators

• Educators complete all three modules for a 6-hour certificate

• Graduate credit available through the University of the Pacific. Please visit their site for more information.

Course Schedule:

• Course opens Monday, March 10th and will remain open through April 6th.

Program Outcomes:

• Apply sound pedagogy when planning and implementing Holocaust lessons. 

• Understand how the Nazi ideology of racial antisemitism and territorial expansion led to and shaped World War II and the Holocaust.

• Analyze America’s response to the Holocaust within the context of World War II.

• Identify and construct activities that build context around clips from the film The U.S. and the Holocaust

Click here to return to the Echoes & Reflections website.

In addition to Echoes & Reflections, your registration details will be shared with our partners at USHMM and PBS Learning Media. If you would like to opt out of sharing information with these two partner organizations, please email jwarsaw@adl.org and request that your information not be shared.