Buffalo State University shares Sophia’s Legacy news!

Standing on a platform as Nazi trains were taking Jews away to concentration camps, a young Sophia Veffer remembers what someone said to her:

“Tell the world what happened to us, so it will never happen again.”

That mission is at the heart of Sophia’s Legacy, a new component of the Anne Frank Project at Buffalo State University. Sophia’s Legacy, named to honor Veffer, a Holocaust survivor, is a professional development program designed to give educators the training and tools to bring lessons about genocide and conflict education into Western New York classrooms.

“While there are many excellent Holocaust and genocide education resources available to unpack the what of these issues, there exists a void in the how to bring these difficult issues into the classroom,” said Drew Kahn, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and founding director of the Anne Frank Project. “This isn’t the teachers’ fault, as it’s not a traditional part of their education as future teachers. This is obviously difficult material to discuss with anyone, let alone students in middle and high school classrooms.

“Sophia’s Legacy will provide the tools and vocabulary necessary for teachers to bring the truth about our world’s atrocities into the classrooms and provide platforms for the students to examine these issues in unique and collaborative ways,” he said. “Current research shows the absence of this type of content in the classroom leads to dangerous outcomes with our youth: false narratives, genocide denial, and silence when informed voices are needed most.”