UToledo Expert Develops Teacher Education Courses on Holocaust

UToledo Expert Develops Teacher Education Courses on Holocaust

As an expert in modern European history, Dr. Barry Jackisch has long shared his insights into Nazi Germany and the Holocaust with his students at The University of Toledo.

Now he'll also be sharing these insights with students across the country.

Jackisch recently developed two online courses, now available through UToledo Online, that are designed to equip middle and high school teachers to better share the important lessons of this period of history with their young students.

"The Holocaust was a horrific crime against humanity that defines the modern age," said Jackisch, an associate professor of history and the Philip Markowicz Endowed Professor in Judaism and Jewish Biblical Studies. "It's important that we continue to teach the coming generations about what led to the genocide of 6 million European Jews not just because of what it teaches us about the consequences of hate and intolerance in our past but also because of the rising global threat of antisemitism."

Jackisch developed the courses with a grant from the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Educational Commission, which was established by the Ohio Legislature in 2020 to promote Holocaust and genocide education across the state.

The online courses are non-credit and asynchronous, meaning that middle and high school teachers can enroll, engage with the course material and receive a certificate of completion for three continuing education unit credits (CEUs) at any time.

Through written materials, video lectures, interactive activities and straightforward assessments, they will both learn the content themselves and explore teaching strategies and suggested lesson plans to help them to integrate the material into their classrooms.

"Introduction to the Holocaust" explores conditions that led to the rise of the Nazi Party, the outbreak of World War II and the onset of the Holocaust, as well as the circumstances of the genocide through liberation and the end of the war in 1945, while a second course, "Holocaust Memory: Survivor Stories and Sites of Remembrance," explores how and why we remember the Holocaust through survivor experiences, museums and public displays.

Jackisch includes photos and videos he recorded in Europe, including video lectures at historic locations like the Buchenwald concentration camp and a lakeside villa where high-ranking Nazi officials coordinated the deportation and murder of Jews in what became known as the Wannsee Conference in January 1942.

He also highlights local connections, including stories of survivors who rebuilt their lives in Toledo. These include the late Philip Markowicz, whose family supports Jackisch's endowed professorship and an annual lecture at UToledo.

"We're excited to offer these classes to our community through UToledo Online," said Dr. Melissa Gregory, dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education. "Not only is Dr. Jackisch a nationally recognized expert in this field, but he also brings the history home in a way that will be particularly valuable to educators in Ohio and across the Midwest."

In addition to supporting the development of this continuing-education program, Jackisch's Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Educational Commission grant also supported his work on a new minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at UToledo.

This new academic program began enrolling students this fall 2025 semester.