The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI) Empowering teachers to make Holocaust and Human Rights education relevant for today’s students.
Support Us
Best Practices in Holocaust Education
TOLI is recognized for its transformative professional development programs in Holocaust studies and human rights education, offering in-person seminars at no charge to educators. Participants learn how to teach the complex subject of the Holocaust through inquiry and writing and become a part of TOLI’s international network of Holocaust educators.
Submit your students’ artwork by March 17 2026 Art Exhibition
Submit or View
TOLI’s Impact
The mission of the Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights is to educate students in the United States, Mexico, Europe and other parts of the world about human rights and social justice through the lens of the Holocaust and other genocides so that such atrocities may never again take place. To accomplish its mission, TOLI provides professional learning seminars for educators in the US and abroad that link the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides to current world events, thereby working with teachers to promote a human rights and social justice agenda in their classrooms. CLICK THE THUMBNAIL TO HEAR FROM OUR TEACHERS.
TOLI in Action
APPLY TO ATTEND US SEMINARS
Our 2026 US Seminars will take place in Idaho, New Mexico, Kentucky, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Minnesota, Washington, and Florida. Applications are now being accepted! Read More and Apply.
International Seminars to Commence in March
Our 2026 International Seminars will take place in Albania, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Mexico, Georgia, Slovakia, Italy, Croatia, Moldova, Czech Republic, and Ukraine. Read More.
Transnational Seminar Took Place in Dachau, Germany
30 dedicated educators from 13 European countries came together for last year’s transnational European Leadership Seminar, “Teaching the Holocaust and Human Rights at Historical Sites,” which took place at Dachau in Germany on May 22-26. Read More.
TOLI Catholic Educators Seminar Featured in National Catholic Reporter
TOLI’s seminar for Catholic School teachers was featured in this National Catholic Reporter article, titled “Holocaust survivor’s NYC home becomes place of transformation for Catholic teachers.” Read More.
Why I Became a TOLI Teacher
I didn’t just learn content and teaching methods – this conference encouraged us to grapple with the “why” of teaching what we do, and learn from each other. This was an emotionally challenging but deeply valuable week. TOLI is an outstanding resource, and I am grateful for all of the support this organization has given me through the years.
Jennifer Reeder
Michigan Seminar Participant
Blue Springs, Missouri
Recorded Programs
TOLI presents live and virtual programs, featuring scholars, writers, journalists, and other professionals on topics relating to our mission of Holocaust education, human rights education, countering antisemitism and racism, and strengthening democracy and pluralism. They’re free and open to the public. View all Recorded Programs here.
Welcoming New Board Members to TOLI
This year, we welcomed two new influential members to our Board of Directors.
Alex Bruner
Alex Bruner is a child of Holocaust survivors from Yugoslavia who remained in Europe after World War II. He is a former principal gifts fundraiser and management consultant. He was the North American director for an agency that assisted early-stage Israeli companies. Alex lectures on various topics relating to Israel, the Middle East, and antisemitism. Alex was instrumental in publishing the English version of his uncle’s memoir, “Cold Crematorium” (National Jewish Book Award finalist and one of New York Times Book Review’s “10 Best Books of 2024”), originally written in Hungarian in 1950, and now available in 19 languages.
Kathrin Meyer
Kathrin Meyer served as the Secretary General of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) for seventeen years. During her tenure, IHRA grew to thirty-five members and seven observer countries, and is now the world’s leading inter-governmental organization in Holocaust education, remembrance, research, and fighting antisemitism. As a result of her leadership, governments now recognize antisemitism and Holocaust distortion as security issues — influencing how these concerns are understood in policy and in practice.
Impact Grants put TOLI seminar graduates’ new learning into action by funding innovative projects with their students Impact Grants
Explore
Your Donation Makes A Difference
Donations to TOLI allow teachers to attend our seminars at no cost and provide them with impact grants to support their classroom projects. To date, these grants have reached over 47,000 students, with nearly 10,000 in eight countries last year.
Grants support research, field trips, and multimedia projects that help students learn about the Holocaust and human rights.