About Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center

 

        

Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center(Kokoro) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1998 at the initiative of a small group of friends including teachers, historians, and mothers. 

 

History of the Holocaust has important universal lessons for students in Japan as well as elsewhere in the world. We are aiming at giving them opportunities to learn what discrimination, prejudice and intolerance could lead to and how important it is to appreciate differences and be respectful with each other to make this world a better, more compassionate place.

 

Kokoro’s activities started with private donations and we have organized a series of exhibitions and lectures by Holocaust survivors.

 

“Hana’s Suitcase” is one of the major educational projects Kokoro has developed. It is an exhibit on loan from the Auschwitz Museum since 2000. Hana Brady, the owner of the suitcase, a Czech-born Jewish girl ended her life at the age of 13 at Auschwitz. After a year-long research, we were able to find Hana’s brother, George Brady, the only surviving members of the family, in Toronto, Canada.

 

This story was put together by Canadian author Karen Levine in 2002. The Japanese translation of the book was published in the same year and was selected as one of the recommended readings for elementary school students.

 

The story is also included in three different English textbooks for high school students in Japan. The book is now being available in more than 45 countries and widely read among children and adults as a good introduction to the Holocaust.

 

In order to meet the requests from many schools, Kokoro closed its display room in 2003 and started focusing on outreach programs. Hana’s suitcase has visited more than 1,000 schools and reached more than 200,000 students. It has also visited schools in Canada, US, Germany, Mexico, Israel, Australia, South Africa, and Scotland.