Holocaust Legacy Fellows
Teen Fellowship Opportunity
Holocaust Legacy Fellows is designed to create an empowered community of critical thinkers who will illuminate the world with hope, respect and responsibility. The Fellowship accepts twenty high school juniors who demonstrate leadership and want to make the biggest difference in their community. This program prepares teens to be the conduit for the memory and lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. Highlights of the program include: Fellows hearing first-hand testimony from survivors before their trip; monthly classes about the Holocaust; a memorial trip to death camps and other Holocaust sites; and a post-trip project. Fellows are prepared to serve as Holocaust peer educators at their schools and a resource for communities when they need to address anti-semitism. Teens from all Jewish backgrounds are encourage to apply.
Holocaust Legacy Fellows is not just about remembering the Holocaust but learning from it and becoming self aware. Learning through discovery can promote a positive impact. The Holocaust Legacy Fellows give us great hope that not only do they understand the horrors of the past, but the experiential education through travel means they will be the ones who will step up in the future and challenge prejudice and hatred which paved the way to those railway lines at Auschwitz.
Reflections
Jennifer Bloom
Jennifer Bloom Lynnfield, MA The Academy at Penguin HallBoston to Berlin is approximately 3,702 miles, and Boston to Poland is roughly 4,010 miles. If anything, these numbers do not discourage me, or clearly...
Alan Chak
Alan Chak Middleton, MA Masconomet Regional High SchoolThe ability to reason is the one and only characteristic that separates us from any other form of life on the planet. Reason is what gives us our...
Maxwell Foltz
Maxwell Foltz Newburyport, MA Newburyport High SchoolAfter going on the Holocaust Legacy Fellows trip to Germany and Poland and further throughout the entire experience of classes and meetings it is no doubt...
Holocaust Legacy Fellows is a youth leadership program designed to educate Jewish teens about the Holocaust as a watershed event in Jewish history and in the history of humanity. The intent of the fellowship is to broaden their world views and empowering them to positively impact the community and world. Holocaust Legacy Fellows offers an immersive experience for a dedicated cohort who will pledge to take responsibility to actively preserve and perpetuate the memory and lessons of the Holocaust for future generations.
Twenty teens from the greater Boston area are selected yearly based on their leadership aptitude and commitment to taking an active role in addressing anti-semitism. These teens stand out as the ones who demonstrate leadership and want to make the biggest difference in their community. Fellows accepted into the program must participate in a series of mandatory monthly meetings through the 2022 year and agree to fulfill all the program requirements.
This unique Fellowship will include meeting and hearing testimonials from Holocaust survivors. Holocaust Legacy Fellows travel together to Poland, where they will learn on site at historical locations. Upon return, the teens will be expected to share their experiences with the community.
The Fellowship year begins in January 2022. Applications are available online. Interviews are conducted in the fall of 2021. The cohort is announced in December 2021.
Dates of the trip to Poland: TBD
The trip will be staffed by Holocaust Legacy Foundation’s Co-Directors, Jody Kipnis and Todd Ruderman, three adult counselors, and an experienced Holocaust tour guide.
HLF Reflections – 2019
Gallery – 2019
Applicants will need a completed application and two references in order to schedule an interview. References should be from non-related adults or friends who can attest to your character and leadership skills. One must be from a school official or teacher. Please note: the only type of references accepted are ones listed on the reference form.
Can I participate in Holocaust Legacy Fellows?
Applicants to the program must:
- Demonstrate leadership skills
- Commit to full participation in all required pre and post-trip meetings
- Be in the 11th grade during the cohort year
- Be a Jewish teen residing in the Greater Boston area
- Previously participated in an organized teen Israel experience
- Have not previously participated in an organized Holocaust educational trip to Poland
- In consideration of Covid-19, some participation restrictions are subject to change.
What are the Fellowship requirements?
Holocaust Legacy Fellows commit to:
- Attend 5 Sunday afternoon pre-trip educational meetings
- Attend 1 trip orientation meeting for Fellows and parents
- Participate on the 10 day trip to Poland
- Complete two pre-trip assignments
- Journal writing/sharing during educational meetings and trip
- Write a post-trip reflection essay of the experience
- Prepare a post-trip presentation on the memory and lessons of the Holocaust
- Attend 2 post-trip programs (Graduation and Project Sharing Reunion)
- 1 presentation project about the experience and memory and lessons of Holocaust
- Participate in the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 26 or 27, 2023
- Serve on the Holocaust Speakers Bureau
- Pledge to transmit the memory and lessons of the Holocaust for future generations
Cost
The trip to Poland will be fully subsidized. A $500 refundable deposit is required upon teen’s acceptance to the program. Participants will be responsible for the $200 cost of medical/travel insurance and tips for staff in Poland.
A $500 refundable deposit is required upon participants acceptance to the program. In order to receive the $500 refundable deposit, the participant and parents are expected to fulfill the requirements of the Holocaust Legacy Fellows program.
If you have any questions, please contact Jody Kipnis at 617-655-2176 or email jody@holocaustlegacyfoundation.org
2022 Holocaust Legacy Fellow Calendar
Informational Meetings For New Applicants:
To receive the ZOOM link contact Jody Kipnis at jody@holocaustlegacyfoundation.org
Monday, October 11, 2021
6:00 pm
Sunday, October 17, 2021
6:00 pm
Application Deadline:
November 21, 2021
Acceptance to the program will be announced by:
December 22, 2021
Attendance at all educational sessions and events listed are mandatory. Failure to attend an educational session and trip orientation will result in forfeiting the Poland trip. Please check your calendar carefully to make sure you can commit to all required pre and post trip dates! The $500 refundable deposit will be refunded when all of the program requirements are filled.
Dates and Times are subject to change.
Educational Sessions:
- Sunday, January 23
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, including dinner - Sunday, February 6
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, including dinner - Sunday, March 13
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, including dinner - Sunday, April 3
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, including dinner - Sunday, May 15
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm, including dinner
Poland Trip Orientation for Teens and Parents:
Sunday, June 12
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Trip to Poland:
July 31 – August 9
HLF 2022 Graduation:
Sunday, September 11
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Fellowship Reunion and Project Share
Sunday, October 23
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Holocaust Remembrance Service
January 26 or 27, 2023
Check your calendar to make sure you can commit to all required dates.
How do I apply?
Candidates must submit an application along with two letters of recommendations from a teacher or mentor to be considered. Recommendation letters from family members or friends will not be accepted.
Applications are due November 21, 2021.
You will be notified to schedule an interview once all paperwork is submitted to the Holocaust Legacy Foundation. Please refer to the section ‘A COMPLETE APPLICATION INCLUDES’
Applications are available online.
A complete application includes:
- Program application
- Application questions (must be answered by teen applicant)
- A recent headshot picture of applicant emailed to info@holocaustlegacyfoundation.org
- 2 letters of recommendation
- Student in Good Standing Form
Applications are due November 21, 2021. Holocaust Legacy Foundation will not be accepting late applications due to the high interest of the Holocaust Legacy Fellows program. Please send all materials to info@holocaustlegacyfoundation.org or mail to
Holocaust Legacy Foundation
Post Office Box 170123
Boston, MA 02116
Once the application is complete, applicant will be contacted to schedule an interview. The interview process will be forfeited if all application forms are not submitted to the Holocaust Legacy Foundation by November 21, 2021.
The Holocaust Legacy Fellowship and the 10 day experience through Poland is fully subsidized through the Holocaust Legacy Foundation. A $500 refundable deposit is required upon participants acceptance to the program, and will be returned after the participant and parents fulfill the requirements of the Holocaust Legacy Fellows program. Participants will be responsible for the $200 cost of medical and trip cancellation insurance and tips for staff in Poland.
Holocaust Legacy Foundation reserves the right to cancel the trip or change the itinerary at any time for any reason.
The application is only complete when all forms are submitted to the Holocaust Legacy Foundation by November 21, 2021. You will receive an email confirmation when the complete application is received.
For more information contact Holocaust Legacy Foundation at info@holocaustlegacyfoundation.org or 617-655-2176.
What is the Poland part like?
Holocaust Legacy Fellows are challenged to engage in critical thought and personal growth with the complicated topic of examining basic moral issues the Holocaust provides. This includes but not limited to the experiential education, meaningful memorial visits to Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Majdanek Death Camps, Jewish Heritage tour of Warsaw and the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, tour of Oskar Schindler’s Factory and learn of other non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
This Poland trip is unique in that it affords Fellows an opportunity to tour historic Holocaust sites throughout Poland while also exploring current events. Fellows will spend time each evening examining the days experience through group discussions as they develop the values of Holocaust Legacy Fellows core: personal growth, empowerment and deep connections.
Fellows will spend time each evening discussing the days experience as they develop the values of Holocaust Legacy Foundation’s core: personal growth, empowerment and deep connections.
Jillian Lederman
“To me, keeping a journal was not only my way to express all of the emotions that I was experiencing, but it was also an outlet for me to record every piece of information, every statistic, every story that I learned about that struck me as vital to remember throughout the time I spent in Poland and Germany. With each year that goes by, fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors remain to tell their stories firsthand. Soon, all the survivors will have passed on. Soon, memory will be all we have left. Soon, forgetting will be easier than remembering. By writing in my journal, I was able to make remembering easier for myself. Now, I have a record of all that I experienced so that I can do my part to accomplish the vital task of passing the memories of the Holocaust on to as many people as possible”.
Danny Richmond
“Don’t stress too much about whether or not the trip is going to be too emotionally heavy for you. The staff all do a great job being there for you, and the people around you will constantly be there for support. This trip was one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced, if not the most powerful. Through all the sadness and anger I felt at times on this trip, I know it was worth it because of all the lessons, stories, and more I brought back with me”.