HOUSTON, TX (Jan. 28, 2010) – Educators from eight Latin American countries will visit Holocaust Museum Houston this winter to take part in the only Holocaust education training program in the United States conducted entirely in Spanish.

The Conference for Spanish and Latin American Teachers of the Holocaust commences Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, with educators from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay attending this year’s six-day conference.

The addition of an educator from Colombia reflects the conference’s growth. It was first held in January 2006 and included educators from Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.

The conference is conducted entirely in Spanish. The only other similar program is conducted by Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust in Israel.

"Latin America played a crucial role in the Holocaust, with many of its victims and perpetrators fleeing there during the war or hiding there afterward. It is critical that those countries continue to teach its lessons to future generations to ensure that the atrocities of the Holocaust are not repeated anywhere on Earth," said Susan Myers, the Museum's executive director.

Featured speakers this year include Dr. Arón Gilbert, second generation author of El ultimo sobreviviente; Mexican artist Bela Gold; Adam Jones, senior book review editor of the Journal of Genocide Research and executive director of  Gendercide Watch; and Anne Wilkes Tucker of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  Presentations will also be given by Nora Gaon of The Ghetto Fighter’s House, Israel; Mariela Chyrikins of the Anne Frank House in The Netherlands; Jaime Monllor of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Jane Denny of Brookdale Community College; and Chris Canter of Poe High School in Atlanta.

This educator training program has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc.; The Wortham Foundation, Inc.; and Alan and Elizabeth Stein; with special thanks to Continental Airlines, official airline of Holocaust Museum Houston.

Holocaust Museum Houston is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors' legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, the Museum teaches the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy.

Holocaust Museum Houston’s Morgan Family Center is free and open to the public and is located in Houston’s Museum District at 5401 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004. For more information about the Museum, call 713-942-8000 or visit www.hmh.org.