For almost 30 years, Owatonna Middle School social studies teacher Scott Noet has helped students understand history. This summer, Noet went beyond the classroom to visit some of history’s darkest places.
Noet was one of the 21 teachers from 15 states who participated in the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas and the Humanus Network’s Power of Place: 2026 European Summer Institute for Holocaust Educators. This professional development program brought teachers from the United States to Lithuania, Poland, and the Netherlands to deepen understanding of the Holocaust, antisemitism, and Jewish life.
“It is truly powerful to be where history happened,” said JCRC trip leader Susie Greenberg. “To stand on sacred ground, to be in the context of where this occurred – to see the surroundings and better grasp the communities that existed, the culture and traditions that lived there at one time.”
Trip participants met with historians, who explained that many of the places educators visited were once vibrant Jewish communities before the Holocaust.
Noet, who will begin his 30th year teaching, shared that he was particularly drawn to the diary of Ilya Gerber, a 17-year-old diarist in the Kovno Ghetto.
“Seeing the pages of a young person’s diary filled with colored pencil and hearts and his girlfriend’s initials – it looked like something one of my students would have at their desk,” Noet said.
Noet will continue this education by working with an English teacher to develop a unit that focuses on youth voices in the Holocaust, expanding beyond traditional stories like Anne Frank.
Another touching experience for Noet was a visit to Ponar, a forest in Lithuania where thousands of Jews were executed.
“Sitting out there in the woods, where all this stuff happened, taking something that I find to be regenerative and having it flipped on its head – that was something,” he said.
According to Greenberg, creating personal connections is one of the most important aspects of the experience.
“Being able to humanize a story creates a doorway for audiences to better understand the individuals who were victimized in the Shoah,” Greenberg said. “Not only is it important for teachers to relay how and why this happened, but it is also important to identify and see who this happened to, and the mechanisms that made it possible.”
The Power of Place trip also challenged educators to not only connect with historical antisemitism, but to think about the issues facing Jewish communities today.
“Our conversations as a group addressed many of these challenges and helped teachers think more deeply about how to hold space for these discussions in their classrooms,” Greenberg said.
Noet hopes that his students recognize that history is not just something to study, but an agent for teaching kids their role in shaping the future.
“All this stuff happened gradually,” he said. “I’m hoping students see that they have agency. Maybe they see something they don’t like or want to change, and they’ll actually take action. That’s what we need – engaged citizens.”
Greenberg said: “Place is also about memory and those whose spirit is still there. Being physically present in a space can change the way you see history – and how you relay it.”
The interest form for Power of Place 2027 is open, with applications beginning in October. JCRC is also offering a Foundations Course: Holocaust History & Pedagogy to help educators meet the 2026 Minnesota Holocaust Education mandate.