Steven Howell realized how important it is to teach the Holocaust when he encountered anti-Semitism in his own classroom.

He had just begun teaching at James A. Garfield High School, a small rural school in Garettsville, Ohio, when he found that the students had not read The Diary of Anne Frank. He taught them the historical context of the book, which they knew little about, but after two weeks he walked into his classroom to find a cross with two swastikas, on which was printed “Back off.”

Lyndsay Fleming teaches sixth grade social studies at East Cobb Middle School in Marietta, Georgia.

I first learned about IWitness from Jane Moore during a professional learning day. I was interested in using the website in my classroom because of the primary and secondary sources and interviews of Holocaust survivors. One of the major benefits of the website is the premade lesson and activities as well as being able to create your own.