Holocaust van will take education to students instead of vice versa

By Heidi Gantwerk in San Diego

This past Sunday, we officially launched Spark Interactive, the mobile classroom and flagship program of Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education, to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 400 people – including some of San Diego’s most prominent philanthropists, civic leaders and educators.

Then on Tuesday evening, more than 100 women from throughout San Diego gathered at Brunch Club After Dark, hosted by Women’s Philanthropy, to step inside Spark and experience what we have been building quietly, carefully, and with tremendous intention for the past three years.

As I’ve reflected on this intense and consequential week, I keep returning to a quote from Holocaust survivor Sam Kaltman that has stayed with me:

“The Holocaust manifested the veneer of civilization so thin and fragile that repetition was possible.”

I do not think any of us fully understood how thin that veneer was when we first began imagining this project several years ago. Since then, antisemitism has surged in ways many of us never expected to see in our lifetimes. Hatred and incivility feel increasingly normalized. And in schools, online, and in our most cherished institutions, people, especially young people, are trying to navigate a world where truth itself often feels under attack.

That is why this work matters so deeply.

What began as a simple conversation years ago has become something far more significant and more urgent than we could have imagined.

I still laugh thinking about the day Lee Goldberg, today the generous lead funder of our Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute, called me and said she was considering building a Holocaust museum and asked if I could get together that afternoon. I told her my calendar was totally clear. It wasn’t. I cleared it to be in that room.

What emerged from those early conversations was the recognition that traditional models alone could no longer meet the moment. We realized that if we truly wanted to reach students where they are at scale, we needed to rethink the entire model.

So, we asked: what if, instead of waiting for students to come to us, we brought the experience directly to them?

The answer to that question became Spark Interactive.

Spark is a state-of-the-art mobile classroom that will travel to schools and communities across San Diego County, reaching students of every background, faith, and zip code, free of charge to the schools.

What excites me most is that Spark was intentionally built for the broader San Diego community because we believe every student needs to wrestle with these questions: How does hatred spread? What happens when truth becomes distorted? What responsibility do ordinary people have when they witness injustice?

Most importantly: what kind of person will you be when it matters most?

Some people have publicly questioned whether Holocaust education can truly make a difference. But the research tells a very different story. A national survey conducted through Echoes & Reflections found that students who received quality Holocaust education were significantly more likely to challenge biased or inaccurate information and more likely to speak up when they witnessed intolerant behavior. Students exposed to survivor testimony scored even higher across measures of empathy, civic responsibility, and critical thinking.

At a time when AI-generated misinformation, conspiracy theories, and Holocaust denial and distortion are spreading faster than ever, those skills are not abstract. They are essential.

And Federation is doing this because it is exactly the kind of responsibility we were built to carry.

For nearly 90 years, Federation has existed to identify what the community needs and figure out how to meet those needs. Since the end of World War II, that has included supporting Holocaust survivors, including the nearly 300 survivors still living in San Diego today. But we are approaching the moment when there will no longer be survivors able to stand in front of students and say, “I was there.”

That reality requires us to think differently about how memory is preserved, how stories are shared, and how the next generation learns not only history, but responsibility.

That is what Spark represents.

As Pirkei Avot teaches us: lo alecha ha-m’lacha ligmor – it is not your obligation to finish the work. But neither are you free to walk away from it.

We are not walking away.

San Diego County is home to more than 500,000 K–12 students, yet many school districts still lack structured access to Holocaust education and educator training. By putting this experience on wheels, Spark gives us the ability to change that at scale – bringing this experience directly into schools and communities so students across the region can build the tools to recognize propaganda, challenge misinformation, and resist hatred before it takes root.

But launching Spark Interactive is only the beginning.

We need ambassadors to open even more doors to schools, educators, and community partners. We need people who will help us spread this story and build the relationships necessary to expand Spark’s reach across the region. And we continue to seek philanthropic partners who want to help build this effort for the long term.

As Shabbat begins, I feel profoundly grateful to every person who helped bring this vision to life and to all of you who are helping carry it forward.

Memory alone is not enough. Memory must lead to responsibility. And responsibility must lead to action.

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Heidi Gantwerk is President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.