At the beginning of September 2001, ORT launched its new Holocaust educationresource: Learning about the Holocaust through Art. Concentrating on art works produced within the camps and ghettos, thiswebsite offers a new approach tolearning about the Holocaust. Students can viewhigh-quality images of drawings and paintings and then read thelife-stories of the artists that produced them. Learning about the Holocaust through Art is the result of the collaborationbetween World ORT and Israel’s Beit Lohamei Haghetaot – the GhettoFighters’ House Museum. The museum was established by survivors of theWarsaw ghetto and includes one of the most important collections ofHolocaust-related art. Art works produced during the Holocaust provide a powerful visualtestimony. Despite the harsh conditions, many artists caught up in theghettos and camps were able to continue to create works. Some, like Polish artistHalina Olomucki, felt driven to record their experiences: ‘I never thoughtrationally what I am doing’, she later wrote, ‘but I had this incredibleneed to draw, to write down what was happening. I was in the same conditionas every other person all around me. I saw them close to death but I neverthought of myself close to death. I was in the air. I was outside myexistence. My job was simply to write down, to draw what was happening. Of course there were no paints and colours, but always a pencil and alwaysa piece of paper somewhere.’ Halina Olomucki was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto and later at Majdanekand Auschwitz-Birkenau. She is one of twenty-seven artists included inLearning about the Holocaust through Art. You can view the new website at www.holocaust-education.net. It isin Hebrew and English and includes resources for teachers andstudents. ORT is seeking additional funding to produce versions in Russianand Spanish. The resource is at www.holocaust-education.net For further information please click here to contact us