Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, Neighbor

The Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC), formerly known as both the Westchester Holocaust Education Center and the Westchester Holocaust Commission, was founded in 1990 to memorialize the victims of the Holocaust, and to honor the survivors, rescuers, and liberators.

The first phase of our work was completed in 1992 with the creation of the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial and sculpture garden on Martine Avenue in front of the County Executive's office in White Plains. Then, in 1994, when New York State passed legislation requiring all state schools to include the Holocaust, slavery, and other human rights issues in the curriculum, our mandate was broadened. Because New York State provided no guidelines for funding, curriculum content, or teaching strategies, HHREC took the initiative to develop education and training programs that would enable teachers to treat this complex subject sensitively and confidently.

Our programs are recognized nationally for making history's lessons applicable today, and for helping combat the ignorance, fear and distrust that breed bigotry, hate, and violence.