By Kathleen Gianni, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

Two Pittsburgh-area teachers were among 22 middle and high school Holocaust educators from across the United States and Poland selected for an in-depth academic program sponsored by The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

Rebecca Baverso from St. Bede’s School and Michele Russo from Seneca Valley Intermediate School were chosen for the 2024 Alfred Lerner Fellowship.

As a part of the fellowship, the educators attended an intensive five-day Summer Institute for Teachers course in Elizabeth, New Jersey, from June 22-26. The program helped fellows consider new ways to think about and teach the Holocaust.

Baverso and Russo had the opportunity to become Lerner Fellows after being nominated for the program by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. After submitting their applications and being selected for the program by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, the Holocaust Center supported the local fellows’ trip to the Summer Institute through funding from an anonymous donor and the Jack Sittsamer Holocaust Endowment Fund for Teacher Training, according to Emily Loeb, the director of programs and education at the Holocaust Center.

At the Summer Institute for Teachers, the fellows heard from three or four expert Holocaust speakers daily, including authors, professors and other scholars. The course explored antisemitism’s history, the Holocaust and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.

Among this year’s speakers were Volker Berghahn of Columbia University, Holocaust historian and exhibition curator Paul Salmons, author Alexandra Zapruder and American Jewish Committee U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism Holly Huffnagle.

Baverso and Russo said they were particularly impacted by Doris Bergen, a Holocaust historian and University of Toronto professor. Bergen’s presentations focused on anti-Judaism and antisemitism and instruction on how to teach the topics in engaging and meaningful ways.

“All of the Lerner Fellows have some level of expertise on the Holocaust, but each of the speakers was able to take that knowledge and present it in new and challenging ways,” Baverso said. “I think it would be safe to say that everyone benefited from and appreciated looking at the subject in a new way.”

“Thinking through the history, topics and how to make connections with these scholars on many occasions made many of us say, ‘Wow, I never thought of it that way,’” Russo added.

Fellows met in small groups at the end of each session to discuss their takeaways from the presentations. Russo said that she was able to consider new angles to teach the Holocaust, a subject she has taught for the last 27 years as an English teacher.

“The memoir ‘Night’ has always been part of our curriculum, but as I develop as a teacher, specifically since the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, my teaching has developed into more than just the studying of the memoir and the history behind it, but more about hate and antisemitism and understanding this in the world today,” Russo said.

Baverso often relies on resources from the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh when teaching about the Holocaust, she said. She brings in Generations Speakers — the children and grandchildren of survivors — to share their families’ stories, and collaborates with the center on the “CHUTZ-POW! Superheroes of the Holocaust” comic book series.

“I find it rewarding to see my students understanding a complex time in history, but even more, I find it incredible that they can relate so profoundly to the individual stories of the Holocaust,” Baverso said. “It’s why survivors and Generations Speakers are so important to utilize. They make a real difference in the lives of students today.”

Baverso plans to continue expanding her teaching materials, telling the stories of the Holocaust through new artifacts and online resources inspired by the Summer Institute, she said.
Aside from developing methods for teaching students, the fellows gained a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.

“There are a lot of scary things happening in the world, and I think if this Summer Institute taught us anything, it’s that we need to be aware, and we need to be able to make meaningful choices about the way we treat each other and about the way we interact with our neighbors,” Baverso said.

Russo said that she hopes studying the Holocaust helps her students develop into better versions of themselves, learning from historical mistakes.

“Understanding our history and making connections to today is essential to making any future changes,” Russo said. “It is rewarding to know that maybe I have made students understand the importance of critically thinking, so that when they are making choices, which may be how they treat others, vote or how they raise the next generation, hate isn’t perpetuated.” PJC

Kathleen Gianni is a student at George Washington University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns. Kathleen will be interning with the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and can be reached at kgianni@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.