The Meta and John Spiegler Holocaust Education Fund was established in 2007 by Meta Spiegler to provide resources to enrich the education of middle school students as they learn about the European Holocaust of World War II. Mrs. Spiegler's vision was to give students in the Corning-Painted Post School District and at the Alternative School for Math and Science (ASMS) information about what happened during this time in order to teach a curriculum of respect and tolerance.
Past programs include student seminars, a teacher training workshop on Holocaust studies, and classroom visits with survivors. The Corning-Painted Post School District has used these resources to enrich humanities and history classes. ASMS developed and introduced a 7th-grade social studies course that is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore issues of tolerance and intolerance as they are evidenced in significant events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The Spiegler Fund continues to work with educational organizations to provide opportunities to contemplate and discuss the issues raised by the Holocaust.
The Spiegler Holocaust Remembrance Lecture is an annual event, open to the community at large, as part of the Spieglers' bequest to us all.
Meta Spiegler herself was a victim of the Holocaust. She witnessed the horrifying events of Kristallnacht (Night of Shattered Glass), but with her parents, she was able to escape to France and finally to the United States. She settled in Corning, NY in 1950, raised a family, and spent most of her professional life at Corning Community College. During her years in Corning, she was committed to continued learning opportunities for all and was an active participant in many local groups that bettered the community.
John Spiegler fled the Holocaust as a teenager and served in the U.S. military on both the Western and Eastern fronts. He spent his professional life at Corning Incorporated and was deeply committed to the community. He served many organizations, including the Jewish Center and Federation of the Twin Tiers, the Salvation Army, the Kiwanis, the Corning Senior Center, the New York State Office for the Aging, and many other organizations. He worked tirelessly over his last four years to help realize his wife Meta's vision for the Holocaust Education Fund.