In late January of 2015, USC Shoah Foundation and the World Jewish Congress co-supported the official observance of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with “Auschwitz: The Past is Present,” a global communication and education program. As part of the program, 100 survivors of Auschwitz, the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, traveled to Poland to attend and participate in the official observance of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 2015.

In the education piece of the program, the Institute partnered with Discovery Education to bring 25 middle and high school teachers to Poland for a four-day workshop designed to deepen their understanding of the historical landscape of Poland before, during and after the Holocaust and increase participant knowledge of authentic sites including Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The teachers and the survivors were among the people who attended the official ceremony, held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, in a tent erected at the infamous red-bricked Death Gate.