About HGEN

History

In 1986, the 46-member, non-profit Ohio Council on Holocaust Education was founded by executive order (Executive Order 86-24) of then Governor Richard F. Celeste, with Max Friedman and Dagmar Celeste, as co-chairs. In 2013, the Council voted to amend its name to the Ohio Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education (OCHGE), but the purpose of the Council remained the same as it was the day of its founding–to expand and improve Holocaust and genocide education in Ohio and throughout the country. In 2022 the OCHGE formally changed its name to the Holocaust & Genocide Education Network (HGEN) to better reflect its committment to establishing large-scale connections to Ohio educators.

The administrative operations of HGEN have, at various times, been overseen by staff at educational institutions throughout the state. Currently, HGEN is housed in the Department of History at Cleveland State University.

To accomplish its objectives, HGEN provides educators with accurate, relevant, and useful materials for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide through the its website. The website also offers access to information regarding Holocaust-related events throughout the state. HGEN itself conducts workshops in which teachers learn and discuss how to teach this content. To date, HGEN has trained over a thousand educators at workshops at colleges and universities throughout the state. Demand for these learning events for educators continues, as genocide, war crimes, and human rights violations have not abated in our times.