As the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles, it falls to future generations to ensure their stories remain vibrant and strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
With that in mind, USC Shoah Foundation \u2013 The Institute for Visual History and Education<\/a>\n brought groups of students and teachers from around the world this week\n to Poland to not only participate in Tuesday\u2019s 70th anniversary \ncommemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp, but to give them \nthe a deeper understanding of the horrors of World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group \u2014 teachers from 11 countries on four continents and \nstudents from Los Angeles, Philadelphia and England \u2014 is spending four \ndays traveling from Warsaw to Krakow, meeting survivors, attending \nclasses and touring museums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They came as part of Auschwitz: The Past is Present<\/em><\/a>, a global communications and education program from USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education<\/a> in support of the official anniversary commemoration at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By visiting sites where Nazis murdered some of the 6 million Jews who\n died in the Holocaust, participants were able to see where history \nhappened and speak to people who lived it so they can return home and \nshare what they learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a profound experience for all of us \u2014 students, educators and staff,\u201d said Kori Street<\/a>, USC Shoah Foundation director of education. \u201cIt is an experience none of us will forget any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The days were long and filled with study, but there was also time to \nsee some of the local sites \u2014 ones that helped illustrate the complexity\n of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, students, teachers and staff from the institute and Discovery Education visited the Museum of the History of Polish Jews<\/a>. There, teachers attended professional development programs, while the kids worked on classroom activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day included a trip to a local chocolate factory, but there was a\n lesson there, too. As Street explained, the owner of the century-old \nconfectioner resisted the Nazi invasion, even though he himself was of \nGerman descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhere history happened<\/h3>\n\n\n\n