Arizona groups and organizations are the first in the country to be offered the opportunity to experience a live tour of Auschwitz in a unique and personal educational experience.
The Center for Holocaust Education, a division of the East Valley JCC (EVJCC) has partnered with a long-time Auschwitz-Birkenau tour guide to bring this two-hour live seminar and interactive tour from Poland, directly to the classroom.
This partnership is one of many the EVJCC offers in its mission to educate current and future generations about the Holocaust.
In 2019, 2.4 million people visited Auschwitz. That experience came to an end with the global pandemic until tour guide Dr. Jerzy Wójcik reimagined how to educate the world by taking his experience, images and education and creating an interactive walk-through of Auschwitz. The East Valley JCC entered into an exclusive partnership with Dr. Wójcik to offer the two-hour event throughout the United States and Canada.
“The Holocaust is a universal plague, and while it disproportionally affected Jews, it also affected disabled people, peaceful dissenters, gays and lesbians, and citizens of countries throughout the world,” says Rabbi Michael Beyo, EVJCC CEO. “Hundreds of millions of people were affected by WWII and this human historical phenomenon, and my greatest fear is the day that it is reduced to a few lines in a textbook.”
The tour is available to groups with a minimum 25 people for $30 per person. Discounts are available for multiple tours and schools. This includes an hour-long pre-tour seminar, and the personal, live tour with Jerzy Wójcik, and a question and answer session. The EVJCC is also developing partnerships with businesses that would like to participate or sponsor tours.
Tours are available throughout the U.S and Canada, but Arizona groups are currently being given priority due to the long relationship of support for Holocaust education efforts in the Valley and throughout the state. For details and to schedule a tour visit: Auschwitz Virtual Tour.
