Washington DC, 25 Sept. 1998
Summary of the Meeting of the Working Group of the Task Force, 25 September, 1998, in Washington, DC
Chairmanship of the Task Force was passed from Sweden to the United States, and the Task Force welcomed Germany and Israel as members. Agreement was reached on a discussion paper outlining the purpose and goals of the overall initiative. The Working Group agreed on a set of concrete projects, some of which would be works in progress, to be presented to the Washington Conference on HolocaustEra Assets. They would include:
- a directory of organizations involved in Holocaust education as a preliminary step toward completing a comprehensive survey/catalogue of Holocaust education efforts underway worldwide, to be prepared by Sweden and the United States;
- an insert to the Swedish book Tell Ye Your Children..., demonstrating how an international version and individual national versions of the book can be created, to be prepared by Sweden;
- a guide to finding and using archival material, to be prepared by the UK and the U.S.;
- a set of suggested Holocaust education guidelines, to be prepared by the UK;
- a proposal for an International Day of Remembrance, to be prepared by the UK;
- Task Force declaration on archival openness, to be drafted jointly by the U.S. and the UK;
- Task Force declaration on promoting Holocaust education, to be drafted by the U.S.
Each respective lead nation will work with relevant NGOs and other participating governments to prepare material for the Washington Conference. Subject to final agreement among the five governments, those projects and other supporting materials will constitute the report of the Task Force to the Conference.
Concept Paper
A Swedishinitiated "discussion paper" on the work of the Task Force was adopted by the Task Force governments. Progress reports were given by each of the lead nations on projects for which they are responsible.
Washington Conference Plans
USA representants briefed the group on plans for the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets. Museum officials described the showcase idea, explaining that Task Force materials and other educational material would be displayed at the Museums tile wall, while sessions on different aspects of Holocaust education would take place in the classrooms. They said the aims were to demonstrate the topic's importance, to persuade attendees that they could implement Holocaust education programs, and to make lasting contacts that lay a foundation for future cooperation.
Declarations on Promoting Holocaust Education and Archival Openness
The Task Force decided to produce working drafts of declarations on promoting Holocaust education and archival openness. While the Conference is not a governmental decision-making event, it would be useful to put before the Conference serious nonbinding declarations on these subjects.