Policy and practice of Holocaust education in Scotland

In contrast to the situation in England and Wales, Holocaust education in Scotland is not mandatory and is not delivered to every school student. Still, it is offered frequently. In this article we show how Scotland’s changing curriculum, the introduction of Holocaust Memorial Day, and the Lessons from Auschwitz Project have contributed to the growth of Holocaust education in Scotland over the last decade. We discuss the significance of each of these three factors, the impact of Holocaust education, and the inter-related nature of their practice with relevant references to the English equivalent. We further examine the role of Holocaust education at both the primary and secondary level, consider the challenges for Holocaust education in Scotland, and conclude that although large numbers of students in Scotland are currently engaging with Holocaust education, these three factors continue to play a vital role in its success.     

Holocaust knowledge and Holocaust education experiences predict citizenship values among US adults

This community-based research investigated the relationship among Holocaust knowledge, Holocaust education experiences, and citizenship values in adults residing in the US. This study contributes to the literature an inferential investigation that reports positive civic attitudes associated with Holocaust education. A moderate correlation was identified, with approximately 10% of the variance in citizenship scores explained by Holocaust knowledge. Multiple regression analyses revealed Holocaust knowledge as the strongest predictor of citizenship values, followed by gender, suburban/urban childhood community, and learning about the Holocaust in school, respectively. Of eight unique Holocaust education experiences examined, learning about the Holocaust in school was the strongest predictor of citizenship values, followed by hearing a Holocaust survivor testimony in person or via electronic media, and visiting a Holocaust museum, respectively. Findings can inform Holocaust education policy, research, and practice, including the potential role of Holocaust curriculum in the larger context of moral and civic education.     

Holocaust education in Polish public schools: Between remembrance and civic education

This article analyzes the historical and political context of Holocaust education, and its implementation in Polish schools. Perceptions of the Holocaust continue to change, influenced by Poland’s social and political situation. The Polish historical context is quite specific; it includes the long history of Poles and Jews as neighbours, with local resentments and animosities, and the Polish sense of being special victims of World War II and observers of the Nazis’ “final solution to the Jewish question”. These different types of social awareness have neutralized the remembrance of the Holocaust and its presence in school education. Similarly, the perception of the Holocaust in Polish schools has changed. Initially seen as just one element in the Nazis’ crimes against everyone in Poland, it is now understood as a singular phenomenon, the unparalleled mass extermination of the Jewish nation. From this perspective, I analyze Holocaust education, and its status in the curriculum and in pedagogical practice. I also report on my own research on the practice and meanings of Holocaust education in Polish public schools. Holocaust education should not be limited to the pedagogical transfer of remembrance but should also be associated with transforming social awareness and modern civic education.     

Teaching About National Socialism and the Holocaust: Narrative Approaches to Holocaust Education

The article outlines a deficit in Holocaust education: The motives of the perpetrators and bystanders are often not dealt with. In order to explore these motives, interviews with former Nazis were conducted and evaluated in the Geschichte und Erinnerung (History and Memory) research project; two of the findings are presented here. Subsequently the question of how these findings can be applied in school teaching about National Socialism and the Holocaust is discussed. The author recommends teachers not to expose students to whole narrations of former Nazis, but to use brief excerpts from those narrations in order to develop an analysis of the Nazis’ motives. Ultimately, teaching about the topic of National Socialism and the Holocaust should be integrated with students’ own narrations, with their knowledge of the topic based on family stories, family secrets, and other sources.     

Exploring the relevance of Holocaust education for human rights education

Can Holocaust education be considered a tool for human rights education? If so, to what extent? These questions elicit discussions among a wide range of educators, and interest among politicians, educational planners, and ministries in charge of memorials. At first glance the obvious answer seems to be yes; both educators and students have strong expectations in this regard. But educators in both fields can find it difficult to include both topics in one programme. The article clarifies some basic concepts regarding the traditions of Holocaust education and human rights education, and then makes a distinction among learning about, learning for, and learning within a framework of human rights. This distinction makes it possible to differentiate the possible contributions, and the limits, of Holocaust education as a human rights tool in these three areas. Also, as these two fields evolved in very separate ways, common projects could bring together concepts and experiences from both fields to develop further possibilities.     

Measuring Holocaust knowledge and its impact: A Canadian case study

This article examines the responses of some 1,500 Canadians to a public opinion survey on knowledge of the Holocaust, awareness of genocide, and attitudes towards discrimination and diversity. Based on one of the most detailed surveys conducted to date on Holocaust knowledge, the study found strong correlations between greater reported Holocaust knowledge and concern over genocide, as well as greater recognition of anti-Semitism as a societal problem. Greater reported Holocaust knowledge did not, however, correlate consistently with greater openness towards selected dimensions of diversity. This counterintuitive phenomenon can likely be attributed to what respondents have learned about diversity and the limits of the effect of Holocaust education in this regard. Hence, further research is required on the relationship between the two. Finally, going forward, a case is made for a global assessment of levels of Holocaust knowledge.     

The treatment of the Holocaust in high school history textbooks: a case study from Spain

The Holocaust was one of the most significant events of contemporary history and still has great relevance for current times. This paper analyses the portrayal of the Holocaust in secondary education history textbooks in Spain. As this type of research has grown in the international arena, the need to review critically this event in Spanish textbooks has become ever more evident. This paper reviews what has already been written on this subject in the international arena and makes a number of methodological observations both quantitatively and qualitatively. In the review, a number of deficiencies in the representation of the Holocaust were found. This strongly indicates the need to contextualise the study of the Holocaust and frame it within a structural perspective that would account for its multi-causal origin. Attention is also drawn to the need to improve the content, dispel some myths and improve deficiencies identified in textbooks on the subject.     

Learning Through Literature: Historical Fiction, Autobiography, and the Holocaust

Holocaust education in England and Wales received a major boost in 1990 when, as part of the National Curriculum, it became a mandatory subject of study for all secondary aged students in the maintained sector. Many schools in the United States have also been teaching the Holocaust for some time (usually to students in grades 8 to 10), but in contrast to the United Kingdom the way the subject is taught has aroused considerable opposition. Among the more censorious of the critics was the historian, Lucy Dawidowicz, who examined a range of Holocaust curricula in 24 states and in New York City. Reporting her findings in Commentary in 1990 she castigated the majority of the curricula for their inadequate coverage of the history of anti-Semitism prior to Hitler (particularly its integral link with Christianity), role-play exercises likely to produce trauma, and the drawing of inappropriate parallels with other genocides. She said nothing, however, about the value of literature as a vehicle for learning about the Holocaust—a surprising omission in view of the prominent coverage it receives in the best known of the curricula Facing History and Ourselves. Due to the paucity of research in this area, the editors would welcome letters from teachers who have used Holocaust literature in the classroom.     

Teaching about the Holocaust: a consideration of some ethical and pedagogic issues

The Holocaust is now part of the history curriculum for all 11‐14 year‐olds in maintained schools in England and Wales. This paper directs attention to some of the ethical and pedagogic issues involved in teaching the subject. In particular, concern is expressed at the dangers of teaching it in ways likely to promote anti‐Semitism. Other ethical issues raised include the extent to which freedom of speech should be permitted in the classroom; the merits or otherwise of drawing children's attention to Holocaust denial; the lengths to which teachers should go in introducing children to inherently painful subject matter and the rights of parents to withdraw their children from this part of the curriculum. The question of whether to accord teachers a similar right of withdrawal is also addressed. The chief pedagogic concern of the paper is the failure of existing Holocaust curricula to take cognisance of the way children conceptualise Jewish culture and identity. Findings from some small‐scale research in this area are reported and their implications discussed.     

Developing civic leaders through an experiential learning programme for Holocaust education

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that involvement in an experiential learning programme for Holocaust education had on college and university participants’ worldviews and civic leadership development. Results indicate that involvement in specific elements of the programme did have an impact. The student-focused, experiential learning programme addressed in this study was established in 2000. In 2001, the inaugural group of nearly 270 participants from 22 nations traveled to Poland to familiarize themselves with the Holocaust. Students were exposed to programming on the Holocaust as a means to raise their awareness and understanding of the events and to encourage their involvement in related programmes. The ultimate aim was to develop future civic leaders who would become involved in educating their peers and communities about the tragedy of genocide.     

The Durban Holocaust Centre Educators and the Origins of their Historical and Pedagogical Knowledge

Education at Holocaust museums worldwide often falls to volunteer museum educators. The Durban Holocaust Centre in South Africa is no different. We set out to understand who the educators at the Durban Holocaust Centre were, where their historical and pedagogical knowledge came from, and to examine the connection between the two. The study revealed the diverse nature of the museum educators’ biographies as well as their motivations for guiding. Their knowledge acquisition was generally a blend of formal objectivist and informal constructivist methods. It emerged that the self-learning model was successful as the educators were highly professional and sufficiently motivated.     

Far away and nearby: Holocaust remembrance and human rights education in Switzerland

The article considers how young people in Swiss schools are taught about the history and background of the Holocaust within the wider perspective of human rights education, as an important basis for education concerning democratic citizenship. Given the country’s specific history, for decades the Holocaust was not a matter of great interest in Swiss schools, or a topic that pupils often learned about as a part of their own history. Recently, however, sensitivity about historical incidents and the processes of the Third Reich has increased. Holocaust education has also become more important in the context of Swiss state institutional policy and non-governmental initiatives and has also become an issue in schools. This article includes an overview of relevant Swiss history and the current political situation, and a review of Swiss educational policies and especially of activities related to Holocaust remembrance and human rights education.     

Never Again: The Impact of Learning About the Holocaust on Civic Outcomes

Abstract

Preparing students to be effective citizens is a longstanding goal of public education. Historical content provides illustrative opportunities for civic learning. Teaching about the Holocaust exemplifies this approach. Employing an experimental research design with 865 secondary school students, we analyze effects on civic outcomes from learning about the Holocaust through a school-sponsored trip to a Holocaust museum. We find that lessons about the Holocaust increase students’ support for civil liberties and deepen historical content knowledge, but decrease religious tolerance. High school students and those from college-educated households drive increases in support for civil liberties, and these students are more likely to donate to human rights causes as a result of the intervention. Middle school students and those from less-educated households drive the negative religious tolerance effect. These findings suggest that history lessons can produce meaningful impacts on civic educational outcomes. However, a stronger educational foundation that comes with engaging with challenging political issues may be a vital prerequisite to avoid undesirable consequences.     

Holocaust education in Jewish schools in Israel: Goals, dilemmas, challenges

Research has shown the Holocaust to be the primary component of Jewish identity (Farago in Yahadut Zmanenu 5:259–285, 1989; Gross in Influence of the trip to Poland within the framework of the Ministry of Education on the working through of the Holocaust. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, 2000; Herman in Jewish identity: A socio-psychological perspective, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1977; Levy et al. in Beliefs, observations and social interaction among Israeli Jews. Louis Guttman Israel Institute of Applied Social Research (Hebrew), Jerusalem, 1993; Ofer in Jews in Israel: Contemporary social and cultural patterns. Brandeis University Press, Hanover and London, pp. 394–417, 2004a) and to contribute significantly to Jewish Israelis’ sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Though the Holocaust is a central event in Jewish history, Holocaust education is mandatory in the state education system in Israel, and some research has investigated the impact of this education, the field has not been conceptualized systematically (Blatman in Bishvilei haZikaron 7:15–16, 1995; Feldman in Bishvilei haZikaron 7:8–11, 1995; Ofer in Jewish Educ 10:87–108, 2004b; Schatzker in Int J Polit Educ 5(1): 75–82, 1982). This article attempts to organize the existing knowledge on the subject through a meta-analysis of the foundations and basic premises of Holocaust education in Israel, using the most important literature in the area. It first suggests a conceptual framework, organizing by period the changing attitudes toward the Holocaust in general and Holocaust education in particular. It then describes Holocaust education over the years, and finally analyzes the goals of Holocaust education, along with its major dilemmas and challenges.     

Six teaching orientations of Holocaust educators as reflections of teaching perspectives and meaning making processes

This study explored processes of curricular reinterpretation made by teachers who teach about the Holocaust. We conducted holistic narrative analyses of in-depth interviews with 31 American Holocaust educators. Six teaching orientations were identified: passionate historical, mythologizing-transforming, social-contemporizing, empathic-personalizing, riveting-shocking, and pragmatic-socializing. We offer vignettes for each orientation and compare them to other teaching perspective typologies, highlighting the novelty and utility of the presented typology. The findings demonstrate how narrative identity, meaning-making processes and teaching perspectives interconnect and lead teachers to reinterpret the Holocaust in their teaching. These findings have implications for teaching complex and value-laden topics.     

从《罗莎》和《二手烟》看大屠杀后遗症

二战中纳粹德国针对犹太人的大屠杀是犹太民族史上难以抚平的一道伤疤。许多幸存者在战后仍然挣扎于大屠杀的痛苦记忆中,他们和他们的后代均饱受大屠杀后遗症的困扰。美国犹太作家奥齐克和罗森鲍姆分别在他们各自的作品《罗莎》和《二手烟》中刻画了两代大屠杀后遗症患者的形象,并不约而同地安排了救赎的结局,揭示出往往为人们忽略的一点:对于亲历大屠杀的犹太人及其家庭来说,选择忘却伤痛也不失为一种自我救赎的方式。     

Grasping the Unimaginable: Recent Holocaust Novels for Children by Morris Gleitzman and John Boyne

This discussion explores the role that storytelling and stories might have in leading children towards an awareness of uncertainty and ambiguity in relation to Holocaust representation. It focuses on Morris Gleitzman’s Once (2006), its sequel Then (2008), and John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006) to consider the narrative techniques used to draw young readers into an understanding of the Holocaust. In particular, the discussion examines the role of silence within these narratives to suggest that a meaningful dialogue with silence is a crucial aspect in communicating the fractured nature of Holocaust history. Literature aimed at a young audience engages explicitly with the oft-cited injunction not to forget the Holocaust by setting out to inform a new generation of readers about the horrors of the Nazi genocide. In my analysis of these texts, however, I want to consider whether we should assume that such works do necessarily perform a progressive educative role. The article argues that the blunt didacticism of Boyne’s text might close down possibilities for the child reader’s imaginative engagement with the ungraspable nature of the Holocaust. In contrast, Gleitzman’s novels confront the child reader with a complex set of ideas about the relationship between narrative and subjectivity.     

Education policy as normative discourse and negotiated meanings: Engaging the Holocaust in Estonia

This article uses a socio-cultural approach to analyze the formation and implementation of Estonia’s Holocaust Day Policy, a day of both commemoration for victims of the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity, and education about the Holocaust. It investigates both the multi-level development of the policy in light of external pressure (from foreign advocates and transnational groups including NATO and the Council of Europe) and the ways in which policy as normative discourse was constructed and its meanings negotiated between international sources, the national government, and educators. It draws attention to the multifaceted nature of discourse in a post-authoritarian context where power disparities further complicate an already complex trans-national policy environment.     

Educating Without Overwhelming: Authorial Strategies in Children's Holocaust Literature

This article reviews a number of works of fiction about the Holocaust intended for children and young adult readers and discusses the strategies used by their authors to educate their readers without overwhelming them with highly emotional information. Several popular and effective strategies are highlighted, along with examples of works of literature in this genre employing such strategies. The use of sensitive and age-appropriate literature as an important component in educating children about the Holocaust is emphasized.     

Creating effective Holocaust education programmes for government schools with large Muslim populations in Sydney

Holocaust education can play a role in countering the ongoing problem of prejudice and incitement to hate that can lead to racial tension and violence. This article examines the beliefs of Muslim school children towards Jews in Sydney, Australia. It then discusses efforts to use Holocaust education to combat racist beliefs and hate language, and an alternative approach that illustrates the common values in the Abrahamic faiths. The article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of using various school programmes to counter anti-Jewish feelings amongst Muslim children and ends with a discussion of whether such programmes should be compulsory.