About
The Holocaust Educational Foundation was established in 1976 by survivors, their children, and their friends in order to preserve and promote awareness of the Holocaust of European Jews. In 2013, after many years of cooperation, HEF joined Northwestern University, where it is now a division of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (WCAS).
The Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University (HEFNU) is dedicated to providing resources for college- and university-level educators who teach or want to teach courses about the Holocaust in a range of fields including history, literature, Jewish studies, film studies, and psychology. HEFNU also supports faculty and graduate students whose research is focused on the Holocaust. HEFNU’s contributions to the work of educators and scholars take several forms:
- The Lessons & Legacies of the Holocaust Conference (L&L) is the premier intellectual gathering in Holocaust Studies. Since 1989 it has offered scholars the opportunity to present their latest work and interact with colleagues in the interdisciplinary field of Holocaust studies. HEFNU hosts L&L biennially in North America, and every four years in Europe. HEFNU also hosts a quadrennial L&L conference for emerging scholars.
- Research and teaching grants provide financial support to scholars who wish to conduct research on the Holocaust and to educators who want to create or expand Holocaust-focused courses at an institution of higher education.
- Holocaust Studies Institutes at Northwestern University, regionally in the US, and in Europe offer intensive seminars with top scholars in the field. These seminars are intended for faculty and graduate students and provide fellows a strong grounding in the latest research and teaching methodology about the Holocaust and Jewish Civilization.
- Lectures on Northwestern’s Evanston campus bring distinguished visiting scholars to campus to discuss the newest research in the field of Holocaust studies, allow Northwestern students and faculty to share their own work, and educate students and community members about the Holocaust.
- HEFNU hosts a variety of other programming including online roundtables, book talks, film screenings, and workshops for emerging scholars.
- Educators in Holocaust studies can visit the Holocaust Educational Foundation’s list of Resources for more information about teaching the Holocaust, our Virtual Speakers Bureau to find experts in the field of Holocaust Studies to visit your classroom remotely
- Junior scholars can use our Virtual Mentors Program to book "one-off" meetings with distinguished scholars in the field of Holocaust Studies.
- Northwestern undergraduates interested in in-depth study of the field may apply for the Certificate of Achievement in Holocaust Studies.