Holocaust Education: Issues and Approaches

During the last few decades, courses on the Holocaust, as well as curricula, teachers' guides, and resources on the subject, have proliferated. Contending that Holocaust education has to address the "whys" rather than focus solely on the "whats, " discusses some crucial problems in teaching about the Holocaust. In designing a good curriculum, the educator must first examine the students' knowledge base and then choose the topics for discussion. Deals with common misconceptions and inaccuracies that plague Holocaust teaching, e.g. widespread belief in the reality of an "Aryan race" and a "Jewish race." Warns against over-simplification; advocates "complicating" the students' thoughts and helping them to synthesize and reflect on what they have learned. Expresses skepticism concerning simplistic Holocaust lessons, and suggests avoiding cliches like "never again." Objects to teaching about the Holocaust to young children. Pp. 171-192 contain a selected bibliography.