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Society for the History of Education

"Who Will Tell Them after We're Gone?": Reflections on Teaching the HolocaustAuthor(s): Donald SchwartzSource: The History Teacher, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Feb., 1990), pp. 95-110Published by: Society for the History of EducationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/494918Accessed: 17/12/2008 00:40

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"WhoWill Tell Them After We're Gone?":ReflectionsOnTeachingthe Holocaust

Donald SchwartzCaliforniaState University,LongBeach

IN LOSANGELES,auniquegroupof individualsregularlymeettosharecommonexperiencesof almost five decadesago.They are victims of theHolocaust,dedicated o preserving hememoryof themost terribleeventof this century. As eyewitnesses to history, they frequently addressstudents n elementaryandsecondaryschools to testifyaboutthe Jewishexperience in Hitler's Europe.But the numbersof survivorsare dwin-dling, andtheirgreatestfear is that with theirpassing, the memoryandlessons of the Holocaust will be lost to succeeding generations.Thisarticle,herfore,ddressesssuesrelatedoteaching bout heHolocaust.It seeks to establisha rationaleorincludinghisinfamous pisode n asocialstudies urriculum,nd o illustrateowastudyof theNaziatrocityholdsuniversalessonsfor students t allgradeevels.The concerns xpressedby thesurvivorseemsunjustified,orit isinconceivablehat hehorrors fHitler's eath ampswillnotbe transmit-ted to futuregenerations,ven withoutbenefitof first-handestimony.Thevisualrecord f theovens, hecattle rains,hegaschambers,nd hebutchery,learlydocumentednnewsreels ndphotographs,ndoubtedlywilletch he essonsof theHolocaust ermanentlynto heconsciousnessThe HistoryTeacher Volume 23 Number2 February1990

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Donald Schwartzof a futuregenerationof students.Yet there is ahuman endencyto recallthepastselectivelyand o erasepainfulmemories.Nations, oo,seektodismissordistortnglorious istoricalpisodes.Forexample, onsider-ablecontroversy asgeneratedythe sanitized ccounts f Japan's oleinWorldWar IastheyappearednJapaneseextbooks.DescriptionsftheVietnamWar,written yAmericanextbook uthors,requentlymitreferenceoAgentOrangeorthat heconflictresultednadefeat ortheUnitedStates).Thehistoryof theThirdReich s alreadybeingre-evaluatedn WestGermanyndelsewhere.Onemight asilydismissneo-Naziandpseudo-academicgroups,such as the Institute or HistoricalReview whichmaintains hattheHolocaustwasnothingmorethana hoax.However,respected cholarshave also begunto reassess he significance f thehorrorserpetrateduringhatnfamousra. n1986an ntellectual attleeruptednWestGermanyver he nterpretationf theNaziperiod. omeconservative istoriansn the FederalRepublicargue hatfortoo longGermans ave beenobsessedwithguiltandshameoverthe recentpast.Thoseacademiciansavebegun oreassessheHitler ra nanattemptofostera morepositive dentificationwith the German ast.Thateffortfueleda debateknown nGermanys theHistorikerstreit,he warof thehistorians. hecontroversyas thus arfailed o uncovernewevidenceaboutNazi Germany,but it holds great significanceforGermannationalconsciousness.'ErnstNolte, a leadingprotagonist n the Historikerstreit, hargesthatthe Nazi periodhas been turned nto a "negativemyth," argelybecausethehistoryof the ThirdReichhas beenwrittenbythevictorsinWorldWarII.ProfessorNolte maintains hatHitler'sattemptedannihilationof Jewsdiffered little from Stalin's terror ntheSoviet Union."Wasn't he GulagArchipelagomoreoriginalthanAuschwitz?,"asks Nolte. "Wasn't classmurderby Bolsheviks logically andactually priorto 'racialmurders'bytheNazis?"2Fellow historianJoachimFestsupportsNolte in arguing hatit is onlythetechnology f death hatdistinguishes aziatrocities rommass killings perpetrated y Russiansin this century.3Otherconservative scholarsin the FederalRepublichave joined thecontroversy. DiplomatichistorianAndreasHillgruber s uncomfortablewith the attentiongiven to the atrocities committedin Nazi Germany.Hillgruber nsiststhatthedestructionof the GermanReich was asgreatatragedyas the Holocaust.He thereforeurgesthatthe focus of studyshiftto the sufferings of German soldiers who fought on the Eastern frontduringWorldWarII.Hejoins Nolte incontending hat heNazi genocidewasrelativeo otherwentieth-centuryorrorsuchasthemassmurder fArmenians,he nnumerableeaths esultingromStalinisterror,nd hemassacre f CambodiansythePol Potregime.4

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The new revisionist argument hus characterizes he slaughterof theJews as an unexceptional chapterin the grim catalog of persecutionsthroughouthistory.The questionof theuniquenessof the Holocausthasseriousimplicationsfor the Germannation and the Germanpsyche.If theFinal Solutionis comparable o othergenocides, thenGermanycouldbeconsideredno worse thanothernationswho havecommittedsuchcrimes.But if the Holocaustis deemed exceptional, then the Germanpast andperhapseven the Germancharactermay forever be tainted.5Tragically,this centuryhas witnessedoppressionin every partof theworld.Governmentshave killed theirown citizens on a mass scale in theOttomanEmpire,in the Soviet Union, in SouthAfrica, in Indonesia,inCambodia,andmostrecently,onthestreetsof Beijing.But the destructionof European Jewry was different, qualitatively if not quantitatively.EberhardJackel,an authorityon the ThirdReich from the UniversityofStuttgart,notes that,

The Nazi murderof Jews was uniquebecause never before had a statedecided and announced,on the authorityof its responsibleleader, thatitintended okill in itsentirety,as faraspossible,aparticular roupof humanbeings including ts oldpeople, women, children,andinfants,and thenputthis decision intoactionwitheverypossible instrument f poweravailableto the state.6Thehistorians'conflict continues n WestGermany.Criticsregard herevisionists as apologists who shamefully distort history in order torehabilitate he Germanpastand restoreGermannationalism.7Neverthe-less, Nolte,Hillgruberandotherconservativehistorianshave wonsupportinpoliticalcircles and ntheresponsibleGermanpress.ReinterpretingheNazi period is hardlythe exclusive domainof the Germanright.ArnoMayer,a historian n the UnitedStates who identifies with thepoliticalleft, argues hatNazi anti-semitismwas littlemorethanaby-productof thegreaterantipathyagainstBolshevism.Inarecentlypublishedworkon theHolocaust,Mayerseems to minimize or overlookNazi attackson Jewsthatoccurredapart rom the contextof anti-Bolshevism.8The Nazipasthas beenre-examinednotherquarters swell.The ultra-conservative French presidentialcandidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, whoreceivednearly15percentof thevote in theApril1988 nationalelections,has dismissed the Nazi death camps as a "minorpoint" in history.9Additional evidence of distortedmemories of the Nazi period abound.

Fifty years after Anschluss, many Austrianspersist in depicting theirnation as the "firstvictim" of Nazi aggression.Infact, Austriansgreetedtheir German"conquerors"with unrestrained nthusiasm,thousandsofAustriansservedin elite Nazi fightingunitsduringWorldWarII,and 40

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percentof all Nazi deathcamps were staffedby Austrians.The currentpresidentof Austriaapparently uffered alapse of memoryoverhis ownserviceo NazismduringWorldWar I.President eagan's nderstandingof thatperiodof historywas called ntoquestionwhenhehonored hoseburied ttheGermanmilitary emetery tBitburgwhich ncludedorty-seven membersof Hitler'sSS troops.Reaganseemed to corroborateHillgruber'sersionof thepastby equatinghe fallenSS with hosewhoperishedntheovensandgaschambers. hePresidentsserted,[TheSS]werevictims,ustassurelyas the victims nthe concentrationamps."?1Suchmisconstruction,ntentional ndunintentional,s alarmingo thosewho hope that the recollectionof the Holocaustwill remain n thecollective consciousness.One reporterwho recently nvestigatedhatperiodnhistory bservedhat"Europeansldenoughorememberhoseyearshave not forgotten hepast,butoftenremember t too well andtheydeeplyresentbeingreminded f it.""Itcouldbearguedhat uchmanifestationsreexceptional,nd hat helessonsof the Holocaust refirmly mbeddednpopular onsciousness.Butthismaynotbe thecase.Lessthanagenerationollowing heendofWorldWarII,a numberof citizensinMilwaukeewerequestioned orjuryselection in a case againsta local chapterof the NationalSocialist WhitePeople's Party. Of twenty-three randomlyselected individuals, all ofwhom were alive during World War II, virtuallynone knew anythingaboutNazism nor did theyassociateNazism with thekilling of 6 millionJews.'2Thereis undoubtedlya widerunderstanding f the Holocaustinthis decade; nevertheless,a recent survey of 8000 seventeen-yearoldsrevealed thatnearlya quarterof those intervieweddid not know that theterm"Holocaust"referred o the Nazi persecutionof JewsduringWorldWar II. Of blackchildren ncludedin thesurvey,fewer thanthreein fivecould correctlydefine the Holocaust.'3

Clearly,theneedforteachingthelessons of theHolocaustgrowsmoreurgent and compelling as the Nazi nightmaredims in the collectiveconsciousness. There was anuneasysilence about he Holocaustfor morethan two decades following World War II, and the subject was barelytouchedupon nschoolsthroughoutEuropeandtheUnitedStates.Interestwas revived in the shadow of the Eichmanntrial and the turmoil of the1960s.Holocauststudiesbeganto appearn college andsecondaryschoolcurriculaby the mid-seventies,althoughsome criticsfelt thatthe subjectwasgiven inadequate reatment.'4 ublicinterest ntheHolocaustcontin-ued to growby the later 1970s, and the subjectwas particularlypopular-ized in 1978 by theNBC- TV presentation,Holocaust.Holocaustcenterswereestablished n Philadelphia,New York,Los Angeles, andSt. Louis.Courseson thesubjectproliferated ndby 1980,school districts ntwenty-

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five states included a studyof the Holocaust n theircurricula.More than140 institutionsof higher learning offered such courses and studentsreportedthat they felt a strong emotional impact and that the subjectstimulated nterestandexcitement nlearing.'5 Ahighschool senior fromWillmar, Minnesota,reflected the heightenedinterestin the Holocaustthusly:"When six million people arekilled, and we forgetaboutit, thenwe've lost the meaningof life."'6But what has been the state of Holocaust studiesin recentyears?Hastheenthusiasmand nterestmanifested ntheearlypartof this decadebeensustained?And what of thequalityof those courses?The answers o thesequestions resomewhat iscouraging. nthesurfaceatleast, t appearsthat a studyof theHolocausthas beenintegratedntothestandardhistorycurriculum.New York, California,andotherstateshave includedunits onthe Holocaust in requiredEuropeanand worldhistorycourses, usuallyofferedin thetenthgrade.Some districts ntroduce hesubject n courseson humanrights,while othersoffer elective courseson the Holocaust.Yet,by 1983 fewerthan1percentof the nation's30,000 secondaryschoolshadincorporatedHolocauststudies intothecurricula.17Althoughthe subjectis commonly covered in worldhistorycourses, in a few days at best, arecentstudyby theNationalEndowment orthe Humanitiesrevealedthatthirty-fourstates do not require any courses on world history in theirpublicschools.18 Evidencealsosuggeststhat hequalityof teachingon thesubject is questionable. Many school systems offering courses on theHolocaust failed to provide adequateteacher training in content andpedagogy. Consequently, t wasreportedhatsuch courses acked focus.19Ina 1983surveyof twelveschools nnortheastennsylvania,5percentof respondantsnsweredNo to the question:"Do you thinkthat theHolocaust eceivesadequateoveragen yourschool'scourses?"20Textbooks sed nAmericanchoolsdo little oenlightentudents ndclarifyissues related o the Holocaust.A 1987 study2l concluded hatmostsocial studies textbookson theelementary choollevel makeonlypassingreferenceto the Holocaust. Ofnine books examined,there was a total ofninesentences related o the Naziatrocity.Theauthorsof thesurveyfoundthat while manyAmericanhistorytextbookscontainedsome descriptionof the Holocaust,theyuniformlyfailed to containanyexplanationon thecauses of those events.Treatmentof thetopic in secondaryworldhistorytexts was more extensive thancontainedin Americanhistorytexts, butagain, there was little informationabout those factors responsible forbringing aboutthe destructionof EuropeanJewry.The Holocaust wasmentionedin only one of ten secondarygovernmentand civic textbooksexaminedin the study. Coveragewas similarly acking in sociology andgeography textbooks. History texts on the college level were found

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inconsistentn their reatment f thesubject.Onemightexpectthat hemost extensivetreatment f the Holocaustwouldappearn Westerncivilization extbooks,which covermajordevelopmentsn Europeanhistory.Nevertheless,hesurveyound overage f theHolocaustnthosetexts"spotty ndsuperficial."22

Considerableontroversyas beengeneratedvertheissueof Holo-caust studies.Does the Holocausthold a special place in the schoolcurriculum?What is the responsibility f educators n teachingthesubject?s itappropriateopresenthismostunpleasanthapternmodernhistoryto school-agedchildren?The Holocaust does not deserve special attention,some criticsmain-tain, when history is everywhere replete with injustice, suffering andhumanmisery.TheHolocaust s thereforeregardedby some as littlemorethan anotherepisodein asequenceof atrocitiescommittedagainsta smallnumberof people. Why, theyask, should schools mandateanessentiallynarrowsubject that is of concern to but a small segment of the entireAmericanpopulation?Some critics chargethatthe Holocaust has beenoveremphasizedand tslessonsovergeneralized;heyinsist thatthe worldhas taken sufficient noticeof the slaughterof millions of Jews, and that

suchatragedycould neverhappenagain.Othersobjecton thegrounds hatthe enormityof the crime renders t incomprehensible or studentsof allages, or thatthe topic is too gruesome o expose to impressionableyoungsters. ome educators itepractical roblems ssociatedwith theteaching f theHolocaust,uchas inadequateextbook overageon thetopicanda curriculumhat s already vercrowded.heypointout thatoverburdenedeachersarerequiredo cover an enormousamountofcontentnworldhistory oursesand naddition,reasked o stress killsdevelopmentnreading,writing, ndcriticalhinking. omeschoolsalsoinsist that each socialstudies essonemphasize aluesandcitizenshipeducation.Addingauniton theHolocaustnlycompoundsheproblem.Thoseobjections otwithstanding,he rationaleorteaching bout heHolocaustscompelling ndoverwhelming.t s basedontheassumptionthathistory an each essonsuseful o future enerations. sasubjectorstudy,theHolocaust is both universalandunique.The universal mplica-tionsof theHolocaustarefirmlygrounded n a world wheredictatorship,terrorism,and nuclear technology make future Holocausts a distinctpossibility. As the ultimate consequence of bigotry, intolerance,andhatred,the Holocaust raises significant and disturbingquestions aboutpeople, nations, the use of science and technology, and the humancondition. It is a subject deeply rootedin the Europeanpast and can beunderstoodonly within the context of therelationshipbetween Christians

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andJewsinhistory. Againstthecharge hat tis too narrowasubject, t canbearguedhat heHolocausts no morepeculiaro Jews han s thestudyof slaveryto blacks.23The Holocaust is more thanjust the experienceofEuropeanJewry; it is a seminal event, one which altered the flow ofhistory.Asone observertated: The ubject oesto theveryheart f therelationshipbetween man and state in the twentiethcentury."24Unlikeothergenocides in thiscentury, he destructionof the Jewswas aproductof western cultureand has left an indelible scar on the collective con-sciousness of that civilization. "Like the fall of Rome or the FrenchRevolution,"writes historianHenryFriedlander, theHolocaust s one ofthose historicalevents thatrepresentsan age."25

Indeed, the subjectof the Holocaust is too importantnot to teach toyoungsters.Althoughthemagnitudeof theHolocaust strains helimits ofcomprehension, t holds lessons so universalthata school districtwouldbe remiss nnotincludinghetopic n its courseof study.Awareness ftheHolocaustanheighten student'sensitivityosuffering nd njus-ticeeverywhere.t canhelpyoungsters ecognizehose endenciesnoursocietythatproduceprejudice, cts of bigotryandanti-Semitism. heHolocaustholds essonson the darker ide of humannature ndon theimmoralityof indifference; t has much to presenton the effects of peerpressure,individualresponsibility,and the process of decision-makingunderthemost extremeconditions.It holds lessons on moralchoices andmoral reasoning,encouragingstudents to reflect upon an individual'sresponsibilityto others and to the society as a whole. Furthermore,tteaches the ultimateconsequenceof racismandthe dangersof extremenationalism.

Certainly,the Holocaustis an unsettling subject,one that seriouslyquestionsbasicassumptionsaboutoursocietyand its values. Itchallengesour faith in progress,technology, and education.Taught correctly,thesubjectshouldconfuse,disturb,andfrustrate tudents. t shoulddispellthetidy but inaccurateimpression that Wester civilization has steadilyprogressed hrough heages, thattechnologyhasalwaysserved the causeof progress,andthat those who perpetratedhe crime were uneducatedhooligans. It raises the questionof whether,afterAuschwitz, it is stillpossible to maintain aithin progressand belief in God. Studentsshouldbedisturbed olear thatHitler's exterminationpolicy wasmadepossibleonly by employing the tools of modem technology, thatamongHitler'saccompliceswerearchitects,doctors, awyers,andpsychiatrists,and thata large percentageof those responsiblefor the deathcamps held Ph.D.degrees. Youngsters should question how such destruction could bewrought by a society that was a product of the Enlightenment.TheHolocaust stands as a challenge to those nations, including the United

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States, which stood passively by and even contributed o the horrorbyrefusingto acceptEurope'sJewishrefugees.Itrepresentsa challengetothose who openly collaboratedwith the Nazis, and to survivorswho arereluctant o confrontandrecollect the traumaof theexperience.To be sure, the subject can be horrifyingand traumaticfor someyoungsters. The teacher must take precautionagainst overwhelmingimpressionableminds with frightful depictions of piled corpses andendless statisticsattesting o the masskillings.Such anapproach an numbandde-sensitizestudents,ormayeven proveentertainingo afficianadosof horror ilms. On the otherhand,underplayingheatrocitiesmightservethe cause of those who seek to minimize or deny the inhumanity.Thechallenge is to strike a balance to sensitize-not traumatize-studentsabout human behavior and the forces that produce genocide and theHolocaust,in particular.A studyof the Holocaust s relevant o themajor ssuesin social studieseducation today. It is generally accepted that schools should strive toimbue students with thinkingskills. BarryBeyer, an authority n socialstudies skills education,maintainsthat such skills are best taught andreinforcedwhenpresented n thecontext of thesubjectmatterrather hanas isolated lessons on thinking.26A study of the Holocaust confrontsstudentswith issues thatrequirereflection,analysis,conceptualizing,andeven decision-making.It would be impossible, forexample, to considerthe consequences of stereotyping, bigotry, ethnocentrism,and blindobedience to authoritywithoutemployingthethinkingskillsof inference,problem-solving,evaluating evidence, distinguishing act fromopinion,detectingbias, identifyingunstatedassumptions,amongothers.Itis also relevant o the current ontroversyovertheteachingof moralsand values. Over the past few decades critics have equated valueseducationwithindoctrination, ndconsequently,schools havede-empha-sized the teachingof values. Recently, however, there has been a risingtide of supportfor schools once again to promotea moral climate thatelicits respectforhonesty,honor, ustice and truth.Emile Durkheim, heearly championof a moraleducation,identified as fundamental hosevalues thatupholdhumandignityandtheprotectionof life. Hefurtherheldthat it wasthe responsibilityof schools to reinforce hose values.27Thosevery ssues-humandignity nd hesanctity flife-are atthecoreofanyHolocaust urriculum.heHolocaust aises ssuesof consciousness ndmoral esponsibility,ndcaneasilyserveasaspringboardordiscussionsonjustice,survival,olerance, ndcivicresponsibility.Manysocial studies educators egardcitizenshipeducationas theprimaryoncer ofthesocialstudies.28heyurge hat very ocialstudiesclass containsome messageconcerning ivic responsibility. chools

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should teachconstructiveways of confronting rejudiceand shouldprepare tudents o live in harmonywith an increasinglypluralisticsociety.However, esearchuggests hatmerelyexhorting ndpersuad-ingstudentso act nademocraticndhumanemanneroes ittle oreduceprejudicenddiscrimination.29ccordingoGlennS.Pateof theCollegeof Education t ArizonaUniversity,tudents ftenfeel manipulated yanti-prejudiceessonsandhuman elationsraining, ndtheexperiencecan be superficial. Ifstudents reto studyprejudice,"aysPate,"theapproacheshouldbe scholarly ndcognitive.Thestudymaybepartofa sociology,history,anthropology,rpsychology eachingunit."30atesuggeststhat studentswouldrespondmorepositivelyto lessons onprejudiceeductionf theywere o studybehaviorrom heviewpoint fan objectiveoutsider.So removed, laimsPate,studentswill not feelmanipulatedrpersonallyhreatenedytheissues raisednthe essons.It follows thatstudents an learnmuchaboutbigotry,ntolerance,nddiscriminationy studying he Holocaustsince the phenomenon fprejudices central o theattemptedestructionf European ewry.Theres disagreementver hequestion f whenyoungstershouldbeexposed othesubject. omesuggesthat tudentsmustattain degree femotionalmaturitynd ntellectualophisticationnorder ocomprehendtheenormity ndmagnitudef thegenocide.However, oungstersttheearliestgrades anrelate o a subjectmatterwhich ncludes bedience oauthority,ndividual esponsibility,ndthepressureo conform.OtherissuescentralotheHolocaust,articularlyhose ntheaffectivedomain,haverelevanceo children t allgradeevels.Forexample, hildren ftenfeelvictimized ywhatsperceived s irrationaluthority;heymayhavefelt themselves he targetof intolerance r discrimination.tudentsnprimarygradesmightbe able to empathizewith the victims of theHolocaustftheteacher an ouchssues ntheir ivesthatrelateopower,authority,ndassertingneself narepressiveituation.Moraldilemmas,inherentn any studyof theHolocaust, realso useful nteaching boutissuesrelatingo theHolocaust.Youngstersftenconfront roblems fethics, uchas whethero tellthetruth nd ace heconsequences,rtolie;whether rnot to cheatonexaminations;hetheroreportoauthoritiesonmisdeedsof theirpeers.Whilesuchchoicesarenotnearlyasdifficultasthosewhich oncentrationampnmates ad oconfront,oungstersohave a senseof grapplingwithmoral ssuesunder tressful onditions.There s a morepowerful eason orintroducingomeaspectsof thesubject ttheearliest rades.Research asdemonstratedhatattitudesreformedn theearlyyearsof life. Eventheyoungest choolchildren reaware fethnic, eligious, ndracialdifferencesmongpeople.Onestudymaintainshat the elementarychoolyearsarecrucial n determining

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attitudesand feelings towardsvarious social groups,and thatthoseattitudes reunlikelyochangeunlesschildren reencouragedo rethinkandanalyzehosebeliefs.31 studybytheAnti-DefamationeagueandtheUniversity f CaliforniatBerkeley oncludedhat welve-yearldshad alreadydevelopedstereotypes boutthe majorracial,ethnicandreligiousgroupsn theUnitedStates.Thereport itedthe socialstudiesclassroom s theappropriatelaceto reduceandcounteractrejudicialattitudes.32ccordingly, indergarteneachersan ntroduceoungsterstothe deaof"insider"nd"outsider,"ndwhywemight earpeoplewhoarenot like us. Students an thenbeginto understandoncepts uch asprejudicendscapegoating.hiswillprovide foundationorwhat heywill later ear about hetreatmentf theJew,the "eteral stranger"nEuropeansociety.33Somemightobjectthatthe Holocaustwas a European roblem,anepisodeof inhumanity hichholds no relevancyor life in the UnitedStates oday.But studieshave shownthatunder ertain ircumstances,Americanshave provenvulnerableo blindobedience.PsychologistStanleyMilgram1963)found hatvolunteerswerewilling o administersevere lectric hock ohumanubjects,merelybecauseexperts' irectedthem to do so.34 In another ase, a classroom imulation f a prisonscenariohadto be aborted ecause tudent"guards" ereso willingtomete out punishmento student"prisoners."35A teachern Palo Altorealized hathisstudentsouldnotseparateoleplayingandrealitynanattempto simulate fascistmovementalled heThirdWave.Someof theyoungsterswerequicklyattractedo the fascistattitudes nd rappingsfthemovement, nd heteacher ad o abortheexperiment.36mericansarealsosubjecto anotherspectof theHolocaust, ystanderpathy.Themost amousllustrationf thatphemenonccurrednNew Yorkn1964,whenthirty-eight eoplerefused o respondwhileKittyGenovesewasbrutallytabbed o death.Studiesby B. LataneandJ. M.Darley 1968)further estified to thepassivityof bystanders n emergencysituations.37Thus he essonsof the Holocaust avemeaningorsocietieswiththemostdeeplyrooteddemocraticraditions.But simply introducinghetopicto students s not sufficient,ortheimpactof teachingabout heHolocaustcan be lost withoutappropriate ttention o curriculumdesignand teaching methodologies. In many school districts the Holocaust isintroducedaspartof a unit on humanrights, n whichthesubject s taughtalong with other atrocitiesand injustices in history.The comparativeapproachenables studentsto draw insights concerningconditions thatgive rise tomasskillings,andhelpsthemunderstandomethingabout hebehaviorof theperpetrators nd victims of inhumanities.But thatdesignalsotends toremove each case from tshistoricalcontext, eavingstudents

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seem uncomprehensible.43Art helps youngstersconfront theirfeelingsand can serve as an outlet for self-expression. Students can connectemotionallywith the victimsby studyingthe artproduced n theconcen-trationcamps.44 Anotherway to promoteself-expressionis to encouragestudentsowriteabout arious spects f the opic.Theuseofrole-playingis aneffective trategyorgetting tudentsoidentify ndempathizewithindividuals nvolved n the Holocaust.The subjectalso lends itself toclassroom seofmoraldilemmasnwhich tudentsmustdecidewhatheywoulddoina givensituation.nonescenario,orexample, Jewishgirlbegsherbestfriend o hideherfrom heGestapo.45hould hefriend,aChristian,iskherownsafetyand hatof herfamily?The teachermightwantto use a cooperativeearning pproach y breakinghe class intogroupswhichwill thenreporton how it would resolve the moraldilemmaunder xamination. nother ffectivedevice obringhesubjecto lifeisto inviteHolocaust urvivors ndthosewholiberatedhe concentrationcamps o share heirexperienceswithschool-aged oungsters.TheHolocaust,withallitsirrationalitynd nhumanity,analsobeanuplifting nd nspirationalubject.Theteacherhouldnotfail to discussthoseepisodes hatbrought ut the heroic n thehuman ondition.Thepeople of Denmark,for example, refused to allow Danish Jews to beroundedup and deported,and consequently,95 percentof the Jews inDenmarksurvivedWorld WarII.The Holocaustis also the storyof theFrenchvillagersofLe Chambon urLignonwhogaverefugeto thousandsof Jewsinthe face ofNazi threats.Students houldbe told of theresistanceto Nazism as demonstratedby the WhiteRose in Munichandby under-groundmovementsinoccupied Europe.Theuniton the Holocaustshouldemphasize the heroism of 'Righteous Gentiles' such as the SwedishdiplomatRaoul Wallenbergand Tibor Baranski who saved the lives ofthousandsof HungarianJews, and German ndustrialistEduardSchulte,who firstinformedthe world aboutthe Holocaust. It shouldpuncture hemyth of Jewish passivity by highlighting the uprisings in ghettos inWarsaw andin Byelorussia,as well as the revolt in the Treblinkadeathcamp. It shouldfamiliarize studentswith the non-violentforms of resis-tance to the Nazi program.It should stress the indominatabilityof thehumanspiritby telling the stories of those who managedto survivethehorror.46In summary,here s clearlya needto teachyoungsters t all gradelevelsaboutheNaziprogramgainst ews. t simportantohelpstudentsrealize hat heHolocaustwasnota freak ccurance,utratherheproductof deep-seated rejudice,heoutgrowthf philosophical,olitical,andsocial currents ooted n the European ast.A courseor unit on theHolocausthouldmeetthefollowingobjectives:

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a) to disseminatefactssurroundinghesystematicdestructionof theJews, particularlyn light of neo-Nazi literature hat denies the atrocity;b) to help students understandhow a highly cultured and highlyeducatedsociety could perpetrate rimesagainst humanity;c) to help studentsrecognizesources of prejudice,hatredand intol-erance,andthe ultimateconsequenceof anti-Semitism;d) to help studentsrecognizethe ultimatedangerof blind obedienceto a statethat fostersunethical andimmoralacts;e) to make studentsaware of the individual's responsibilityin ademocraticsociety;f) to have studentsreflecton issuesof conscienceandmoralrespon-

sibility; andg) to encourage studentsto recognize the danger of apathy andthereby preventthe possibilityof a futureHolocaust.Teachingabout heHolocaust s amissionof thehighestorder,one thatwill assurethe survivorsthat the lessons will be rememberedong aftertheyaregone.A decadeago,Elie Wiesel addressed heissue against hosewho denyor minimize the importanceof the event. "Shouldthe teachersfail,"said Wiesel,shouldthese desecrators ucceedin erasingthe memories of theirvictims,only thenwill we feel andexperience omethingworsethanwhat weexperiencedhen.Weshallfeel shamebecausewewillhavebetrayedhevictims for the last time, we will have completedthekiller's work.47

Notes1. Forsourcesonthecontroversy, ee KarenJ.Winkler,"GermanScholarsSharplyDivided Over Place of Holocaust in History,"and Wanda Menke-Glukert,"GermanHistorians Debate 'Revisionist' View of the ThirdReich,"in The Chronicle of HigherEducation,May27, 1987,6; GordonA. Craig,"TheWar of theGermanHistorians,"NewYorkReviewof Books (January15, 1987), 16-19; Geoff Eley, "Nazism,Politics and theImageof the Past:Thoughtson the West GermanHistorikerstreit 986- 1987,"Past andPresent 121 (November 1988), 170-208;CharlesMaier,The UnmasterablePast (Cambr-idge,MA, 1988).Foradiscussionof themethodologicaldimensionsof theHistorikerstreit,see RichardJ.Evans, The New Nationalismand he OldHistory:Perspectiveson the WestGermanHistorikerstreit,"ournalof ModernHistory59 (1987), 761-97.2. Emst Nolte, "Vergangenheit,die nicht vergehen will: Eine Rede, die ges-chrieben,aber nicht gehaltenwerdenkonnte,"FrankfurterAllgemeineZeitung(June6,1986); reprintedin "Historikerstreit":Die Dokumentation der Kontroverse um dieEinzigartigkeitder nationalsozialistischenJudenvernichtung Munich, 1987), 39-47,cited in Eley, "Nazism,Politics andthe Imageof the Past,"p. 173.

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3. Maier,The UnmasterablePast, p. 67.4. Andreas Hillgruber,Zweierlei Untergang:Die Zerschlagungdes deutschenReiches und das Endedes europaischenJudentums,Berlin:1986.5. Maier,The UnmasterablePast, p. 2.6. Eberhard ackel,"Die elende Praxisder Untersteller:DasEinmaligedernation-alsozialistischen Verbrechen asst sicht nicht leugnen,"Die Zeit (September12, 1986),quoted in Evans, "The New Nationalism and the Old History," p. 782. For a broaderdiscussion on the differencesbetween theHolocaustandothermasskillings,see Maier,TheUnmasterablePast, pp. 66-99.7. LeonBotstein,"HauntedBy History,"TheNewRepublic April3, 1989),38-40;Winkler,"GermanScholarsSharplyDivided OverPlace of Holocaust nHistory";Menke-Glukert,"GermanHistoriansDebate 'Revisionist' View of theThirdReich".8. Aro J.Mayer,WhyDid theHeavensNotDarken?TheFinalSolutioninHistory,New York:1988.9. The New YorkTimes,September16, 1987, 3.10. GeoffreyH.Hartman,Bitburg nMoralandPoliticalPerspective,Bloomington,Indiana:1986, p. xiv.11. JudithMiller,"Erasing hePast,"TheNew YorkTimesMagazine,November16,1986, VI, 30.12. RogerSimon,"A HorrorErasedFromMemory,"ChicagoSunTimes, 976,citedin TeachingAbout theHolocaustand Genocide:Introduction,The HumanRightsSeriesVol. I, State EducationDepartment f New York, 1985, pp. 2-3.13. Diane Ravitch andChester E. Finn,Jr.,WhatDo Our 17-Year-OldsKnow? AReporton the FirstNationalAssessmentof HistoryandLiterature, New York,1987),61-63. 14. HenryFriedlander, TowardaMethodologyof TeachingAbout theHolocaust,"in Teachers College Record, 80, February1979; Glenn S. Pate, "TheTeaching of theHolocaust History: Inadequacies n Textbooks,"Patterns of Prejudice, 12, September/October1978.15. MaryT. Glynn,etal.,AmericanYouthandthe lolocaust: AStudyofFourMajorHolocaust Curricula,National Jewish ResourceCenter,New York, N.Y., 1982; CharlesW. Sydnor,Jr.,"How Can YouBearTo StudytheHolocaust?How Can We Not?," n TheChronicleof Higher Education,September16, 1987, p. A52.16. Quotedin William F. Borth,"HolocaustStudies: We Need To Do More,"inClearingHouse, 56, April 1983, p. 346.

17. Borth,"HolocaustStudies,"p. 345.18. New YorkTimes,March23, 1988, p. B10.19. Friedlander,"Towarda Methodologyof TeachingAbout the Holocaust,"pp.520-522.20. RobertGerrityandRobertClarke,"HolocaustStudies:An Approach o Peace,"in Momentum,14, December1983, pp. 36-37.21. RandolphL. Braham,ed., The Treatmentof the IHolocaustn Textbooks:TheFederal Republic of Germany, srael, The UnitedStatesofAmerica,(New York, 1987).22. Ibid.,p. 308.23. "Teachingthe Holocaust,"New YorkTimes(September11, 1987).24. ClaireHirschfield,"Teaching he Holocaust:A ConceptualModel,"inImprov-ing College and UniversityTeaching,29, Winter1981,p. 24.25. Friedlander, Toward MethodologyofTeachingAbouttheHolocaust,"p. 522.26. Barry K. Beyer, Practical Strategiesfor the Teaching of Thinking,(Boston,1987).

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27. EmileDurkheim,MoralEducation:AStudy ntheTheoryandApplicationoftheSociology of Education,(New York, 1961).28. Robert D. Barr,JamesL. Barth,and S. Samuel Shermis,Defining the SocialStudies,Bulletin 51, (Arlington,Virginia, 1977).29. Nina HerschGabelko,"PrejudiceReduction n SecondarySchools,"in SocialEducation,52, April/May1988, pp. 276-279.30. Glenn S. Pate, "Researchon Prejudice," n Social Education,52, April/May1988, 287-289.31. P.A.Katz,"DevelopmentalFoundations f GenderandRacialAttitudes,"n TheChild's ConstructionofSocial Inequality,editedby R.L.Leahy,(New York,1983),41-78.32. FrancisM. Sonnenschein,"CounteringPrejudicedBeliefs andBehaviors:TheRole of theSocial StudiesProfessional,"nSocial Education,52, April/May1988,p. 265.33. For a useful bibliogrphy on Holocaust materialsuitable for primarygrade

students,see RobertColes, "The HolocaustandToday's Kids,"Learning,12, November1983, pp. 43-46; for books appropriateor students n middle andsecondaryschool, seeBarbaraEllerman,"MoreBooks AboutWarand theHolocaust,"Learning, 12,November1983, p. 46.34. StanleyMilgram,"BehavioralStudyof Obedience,"nJournalofAbnormalandSocial Psychology, 67, 1963, pp. 371-378.35. C. Haney,C. Banks,andP.Zimbardo,"Interpersonal ynamicsin a SimulatedPrison," n InternationalJournalof CriminologyandPenology, 1973, 1,pp. 69-97.36. Roselle Chartock,"TeachingAbout theHolocaust," nToday'sEducation, 68,Feb./Mar.1979, pp. 34-37.37. B. Latane and J.M. Darley, "GroupInhibitionof BystanderIntervention nEmergencies," n Journalof Personalityand Social Psychology, 10, 1968, pp. 221-225.38. MartinGilbert,TheHolocaust,New York:1985, p. 19.39. LucyS. Dawidowicz,TheWarAgainst he Jews 1933-1945, (New York,1976),29. For further examples of Luther's anti- Jewish rhetoric, see Raul Hilberg, TheDestructionof the EuropeanJews, (New York, 1961), 9-10.40. Maurice Ogden, "The Hangman,"1959, reprintedin Teaching About theHolocaust andGenocide,pp. 9-10; Elie Wiesel, TheTownBeyondthe Wall,(New York,1964).41. ArthurD. Morse,WhileSixMillionDied, (New York,1968);DavidS. Wyman,The Abandonmentof theJews, (New York, 1985).42. JerzyKosinski,The PaintedBird, (Boston, 1976).

43. For a selected bibliographyon Holocaust literatureby grade evel, see BarbaraC.Ganz,"HolocaustLiterature:OurHopeforUnderstanding,"aperpresentedatAnnualMeeting of the Easter Regional Conferenceof the InternationalReadingAssociation,Boston, MA (December2-5, 1982).44. For a collection of poems and drawings by Jewish children in the Terezinconcentration amp,see I Never SawAnotherButterfly, New York, 1978).45. "Helga's Dilemma,"taken from EdwinFenton,et al., Teacher'sGuide or theShaping of WesternSociety:AnInquiryApproach,(New York, 1974), 183-185.46. Recent books on the topicof resistanceandrescueinclude:LindaAtkinson,InKindlingFlame: TheStoryof lIanna Senesh, 1921-1944, (New York, 1985); Leo Gold-berger,ed., TheRescueof the DanishJews, (New York, 1987); Douglas K. Huneke,TheMoses ofRovno, (New York,1985);WalterLaqucurandRichardBreitman,BreakingtheSilence, (New York, 1986); PrimoLevi, If Not Now, When,(New York, 1985); CarolRittner and SondraMyers, eds., The Courage to Care: Rescuers of Jews During theHolocaust,(New York,1986);NechamaTec,WhenLightPierced heDarkness:Christian

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RescueofJews inNazi-OccupiedPoland, Oxford,1986);SusanZuccotti,The ItaliansandtheHolocaust:Persecution,Rescue,andSurvival,(New York, 1987).47. Elie Wiesel, "Thenand Now: The Experiencesof aTeacher," n Social Educa-tion, 42, April 1978, p. 269.