Literature Review on Genocide Pedagogies and Curricula: 1980-Present
Prepared by Liz Airton for the Life Stories in Education Working Group
July – December, 2009
Contents
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 2
Process Taken ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Notes for the User ................................................................................................................................. 3
On the Colour Coding Scheme ............................................................................................................. 4
SCHOLARLY SOURCES ........................................................................................................................ 5
Journal Articles ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Journal Special Issues ......................................................................................................................... 65
Books .................................................................................................................................................. 66
Book Chapters ..................................................................................................................................... 83
Conference Papers............................................................................................................................... 86
Research Reports................................................................................................................................. 90
Encyclopaedia Entries ......................................................................................................................... 92
Theses.................................................................................................................................................. 94
Other.................................................................................................................................................. 103
CURRICULAR RESOURCES ............................................................................................................. 105
Online Resources .............................................................................................................................. 105
Curriculum Guides in Print ............................................................................................................... 117
1
INTRODUCTION
Although there are hundreds of sources on education and genocide, there is no one ‘body of
literature’ on genocide pedagogies and curricula insofar as a ‘body’ of literature comes from a broad
network of scholars who cite and build on each other’s work. There is copious literature on how to
adapt particular pedagogical techniques (e.g. simulations, reader-response, etc.) to teaching about one
genocide or another genocide, but usually from the vantage of political science, sociology or high
school social studies (i.e., one particular curriculum) and not studies in genocide pedagogies/curricula
(with a notable exception being the work of Samuel Totten – see below). As expected, this review is
overwhelmingly (+/- 70%) constituted by literature on Holocaust pedagogies/curricula; the degree to
which pedagogical/curricular suggestions can be extracted from this corpus for teaching on other
genocides varies greatly depending on the degree of historical specificity characteristic of a particular
source. Most of the scholarly work in print (i.e., books, journal articles, etc.) that applies to genocide is
directly focussed on the Holocaust whereas curriculum guides (print and online) as well as online
sources are more diverse with respect to their foci. Therefore, the Scholarly Sources section is far less
diverse than is the Curricular Resources section.
As above, there cannot be said to be trends in a ‘body of literature’ on genocide pedagogies in
cases other than the Holocaust, where there are clear patterns. To this end, much debate has occurred
around the question of whether one should use a moral (Stern Strom, FHAO, Tritt) or historical
(Illingworth, Salmons, Kinloch) approach. Many authors point to the importance of maintaining the
uniqueness of the Holocaust, while many more do not given that many other genocides have before and
since occurred. Indisputably, contextualizing the Holocaust firmly within the history of European antiSemitism seems to be the norm; however, at least one author (Stotsky) insists that Holocaust education
should take account of living Jewish history as well. In terms of direct pedagogical approaches, the us
of fictional literature and non/fictional first-person narratives abounds as a strategy (e.g., Danks, Drew,
Ducey, Totten 1998b, etc.) – including the use of graphic novels (Adams, Christensen) – as does the
use of online resources (e.g., Brown, Davis et al., Wrenn, Street & Stang, etc.). A particularly thorny
controversy has erupted regarding whether or not simulations (role plays) are an appropriate means
through which to teach the Holocaust (Scheweber vs. Totten). In addition, many scholars offer insights
on how to encounter Holocaust denial in the classroom (e.g., Friedrichs, Lindquist 2009, Petropoulos,
Short 1994b, Millen et al. 1996, etc.). These discussions are often not framed as scholarly debates or
interactions, but as the observations of individual educators or researchers.
Once again, on teaching genocides other than the Holocaust there is not a sufficiently developed
field such that one could point to trends and debates. Any curriculum on the Armenian genocide or the
Holodomor1 (most widely represented) seems to have been developed not by educational authorities (as
with the Holocaust, although these have been found to contain problems: see Totten & Riley, 2005;
1
Soviet man-made famine in Ukraine, 1932-1933.
2
Riley & Totten, 2002) but by nationalist groups; many such curricula have not been favourably
reviewed (see Totten, 1991). As above, scholarly work forms very little of the available body of
resources on teaching about genocides other than the Holocaust, but online sources to this end are fairly
abundant. Aside from seemingly one-off publications wherein a scholar thinks about a genocide as a
case study for showcasing a pedagogical method (e.g., Brown 2007, Christensen 2007, etc.), the only
consistent scholarly work on genocide pedagogies and curricula apart from the Holocaust are
associated with Samuel Totten. His work is an excellent place to begin exploring, particularly the
following:
Social Education 55(2) – Special Issue on Teaching Genocide. (1991). Guest edited by Totten.
Totten, S. (Ed.). (2004). Chapter 7. In Teaching About Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and
Resources. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.),
Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
Process Taken
Overall, the review involved the following. I began with a complete and multi-term ERIC
Search with reference tracing, and this yielded approximately thirty pages of references and abstracts
on genocide pedagogies and curricula. The remainder of the sources herein were located as follows:
individual journal keyword searches in SCOPUS, JSTOR, Web of Science, Social Sciences FullText,
Ovid Current Contents; searches on Google Scholar, Amazon and WorldCat; and a detailed survey of
several dozen books; all with complete reference tracing.
Notes for the User
This review largely excludes texts on teaching after the fact in countries or regions that have
experienced genocide (including Israel), as well as the effects of genocide on the delivery of education
in these countries. Also, the emphasis here is on secular public education. This means that pedagogies
and curricula expressly created for Jewish schools were not spotlighted nor were the challenges
particular to doing Holocaust education in Christian/traditional schools. The focus here is on genocide
pedagogies and curricula in conventional educational contexts.
Where abstracts were not provided, I have endeavoured to obtain hard copies of all sources in
order to write original descriptions; however, this was not possible in every instance. Where my initials
(“LA”) appear following an abstract or description it was written by me; where “” appear, the abstract
came from the cited source (either ERIC, an annotated bibliography, scholarly review, online source
such as Amazon or World Cat, or the publisher website); and where no initials nor “” appear the
abstract was provided by the author or journal service in keeping with common scholarly practice
(mostly in the case of articles). Any entries without abstracts/descriptions were inaccessible.
Please bear in mind the following when using the review:
3
 the BOOK CHAPTERS section covers relevant chapters in otherwise irrelevant books;
 and the BOOK section documents entire books about genocide pedagogies and/or curricula and
only under the editor(s)’ name(s) (i.e., relevant chapters are not also indexed by individual
authors in the BOOK CHAPTERS section).
On the Colour Coding Scheme
Cambodia Armenian The Holocaust Sudan Rwanda
Former Yugoslavia Indigenous Peoples Holodomor
Entries in the review are categorized by publication type (e.g., articles, books, book chapters,
theses, curricular materials, etc.). However, many entries are also colour-coded in order to identify,
where applicable, a focus on teaching a particular genocide. Some entries have several colour codes
indicated in the description or abstract, whereas those exclusively focused on teaching one genocide
have only the author’s name colour coded. If an entry has no colour codes anywhere it is – most
often – broadly applicable to teaching on genocide. In some cases where genocide is referenced as a
phenomenon in an otherwise lengthy annotation, this information is underlined.
Please note that this categorization is not intended to serve as any kind of definitive list of
which atrocities were, in fact, genocides. Certain atrocities that are widely considered to be genocides
(such as in East Timor or the mass killing of Bengalis during the partition of India and Pakistan) are not
colour-coded here simply because there is an insufficient number – likely zero – of resources identified
as pertaining to their direct instruction. The above colour-coded genocides were selected by virtue of
their prevalence in the reviewed literature. Genocides other than those colour coded above that appear
at least once in the review are: East Timor, Bangladesh, Iraqi Kurdistan (1988), Indonesia (1965-66),
and the Hutu in Burundi. These can instead be located using any document search function.
Finally, there are certainly problematic aspects to including all genocides of indigenous peoples
under the same colour code; however, given the relatively widespread references to teaching on the
many genocidal acts perpetrated against disparate indigenous peoples throughout the world, I have
chosen to opt for this grouping in the review in order to facilitate its use by educators interested in
post/anti-colonial pedagogies and curricula.
4
SCHOLARLY SOURCES
Journal Articles
Abowitz, D. A. (2002). Bringing the sociological into the discussion: Teaching the sociology of
genocide and the Holocaust. Teaching Sociology, 30(1), 26-38.
Discusses the necessity and challenge of integrating sociology and sociological insight into teaching
and research on genocide and the Holocaust in the 21st century. It is posited that the absence of a
strong and recognized core of sociology (and sociologists) in Holocaust and genocide studies (more
broadly), limits how much people have learned and can learn about these phenomena, past, present, and
future. What sociology can contribute, it is argued, is the theoretical foundation for analyzing these
events and situating them in sociohistorical context. Sociology has the theoretical tools necessary to
begin to put the pieces together, and to integrate research, teaching, and learning in this area. A
sociology of genocide and the Holocaust is needed, one grounded in the study of collective behavior
and social movement theory, social groups and group dynamics, interaction of structure and agency,
and the social construction of race in the 20th century. That is what has been missing; it can be
achieved only by bringing the "sociological" back into the discussion and by bringing the sociology of
genocide and the Holocaust into curricula.
Adalian, R. (1987). How and why to teach the Armenian Genocide: Seeking a humanist perspective.
Armenian Review, 40(1), 69-77.
The author offers some suggestions for teaching the Armenian genocide in some detail, with much
consideration for the politics of memory and humanism. His suggestions are: the genocide must be
understood as a living issue and not simply a past occurrence; and that the larger political,
philosophical, sociological and moral issues pertaining to genocide must be addressed and incorporated
(he goes into these in turn as they apply to the Armenian genocide). Emphasizes the personal
connections of Armenian people to the genocide today. (LA)
Adams, J. (1999). Of mice and manga: Comics and graphic novels in art education. International
Journal of Art and Design Education, 18(1), 62-75.
A justification for the inclusion of graphic comic art in post-14 art education following the
development of graphic novels in Europe, Japan and the USA. in recent years. The case is based on the
visual dynamics of the medium and the potential for a critical realism which can be exploited in
students' studio practice and research. Particular attention is given to the Holocaust novel Maus and
selected Japanese 'Manga' comics which have made an impact in the west, such as Barefoot Gen and
Adolf. The article analyses the various innovative visual forms that these graphic novels utilise and
considers their effectiveness as a vehicle for practice and research in the institutional art curriculum.
5
Adams, J. (2008). The pedagogy of the image text: Nakazawa, Sebald and Spiegelman recount social
traumas. Discourse, 29(1), 35-49.
The paper discusses the pedagogy of the image text, a term that encompasses the graphic novels of
Nakazawa and Spiegelman and the heavily illustrated novels of Sebald. Increasingly, artist-authors
have turned to the image-text medium to represent catastrophic social events, and these three authors'
works are discussed as seminal documents of cataclysmic societal events, such as the bombing of
Hiroshima or the Holocaust. All have provided a narrative visual framework that attempts to inform us
of the lived experience of these traumatic moments, insofar as their medium will permit, and these
methods are discussed and compared. The pedagogic impulse - the desire to inform a contemporary
audience of such major historical events - is evident in all three selected authors' works. Their diverse
yet comparable visual methods, and the ways in which they seem to imbue us with authentic vicarious
experiences arguably constitute a visual pedagogy of social crises.
Albrecht, T. L., & Nelson, C. E. (2001). Teaching the Holocaust as an interdisciplinary course in
psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 28(4), 289-291.
Teaching the Holocaust in psychology provides an important opportunity to explain to students how
social prejudice, hate group activity, and even genocide are grounded in explanatory concepts of bias,
social prejudice, and language. At the same time, research on prosocial behavior helps explain the
motivations and actions of rescuers. The subject of the Holocaust creates a powerful cognitive and
emotional impact on students, provides a powerful illustration for studying important aspects of human
behavior, and readily illustrates several key concepts in social psychology.
Alexander, J. (2008). Teaching with Holocaust narratives. Use of English, 59(2), 127-138.
Explores how two recent children's novels, Morris Gleitzman's "Once" and John Boyne's "The Boy
in the Striped Pyjamas", provide an opportunity to review the use of Holocaust narratives within
schools. Argues that though the arguments for and against the use of fictional accounts are powerful, it
is possible that the classroom dialogue stimulated by reading these novels is itself of value as the
English teacher's contribution to the educational task in relation to comprehending the Final Solution.
Allen, R. (2000). Springboards into Holocaust: Five activities for secondary social studies students.
Southern Social Studies, 25(2), 17-29.
Explains that in a study of the Holocaust teachers must connect the stories of the Holocaust to the
lives of their students. Provides five activities about the Holocaust that focus upon teaching tolerance.
Addresses the children of the Holocaust, difference versus deviance, social identity, and The Night of
Broken Glass.
Baker, R. W. (1989). Facing History and Ourselves: Curriculum produces political debate. Curriculum
Review, 28(6), 4-10.
“A detailed and fascinating article about the purpose and methods as well as the controversy
surrounding the Facing History and Ourselves program, a teacher training and curriculum organization
6
that provides service for teachers and students for addressing issues of prejudice and intolerance in
twentieth century history (with a special focus on the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust).”2
Bardige, B. (1981). Facing History and Ourselves: Tracing development through analysis of student
journals. Moral Education Forum, 6, 42-48.
Baron, L. (2003). Not in Kansas anymore: Holocaust films for children. The Lion and the Unicorn, 27,
171–200.
An extensive overview of available Holocaust films for children with analyses of the film genre and
the devices used by the filmmakers. Several films are discussed in detail: A Friendship in Vienna, The
Island on Bird Street, The Devil’s Arithmetic. The author concludes by discussing The Apt Pupil and
Life is Beautiful as appropriate movies to screen for children about Nazism and the Holocaust.
Bartov, O. (1998). The lessons of the Holocaust. Dimensions: A Journal of Holocaust Studies, 12, 1320.
Bartrop, P. R. (1985). “Hitler would’ve known how to deal with the Asian invasion”: The Holocaust
and Australian education. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 31(1), 147-153.
Bartrop, P. R. (1997). Comparative Genocide Studies at the University of South Australia: A report on
a course. International Network on Holocaust and Genocide, 12(3), 10-12.
Beer, M. (2005). Voices from Rwanda: When seeing is better than hearing. Teaching History, 120
(September), 54-57.
Where were you when you last witnessed history being formed? How did you know that the events
you had witnessed would turn out to be significant? The missile attack on a plane in Rwanda on 6 April
1994 passed Martyn Beer by at the time. It was later that he came to see that this event, or more
specifically the genocide which followed it, as both significant and worthy of study. Beer did not stop
merely at studying it He began to teach it to his students, and then to plan one of the most ambitious
field trips ever attempted by a school history department. This article is not really about the trip,
though. Instead, Beer argues that the Rwandan genocide is worthy of study, and that it both illuminates
and is illuminated by the other genocides of the twentieth century. He provides some initial resources
to teachers who would like to teach about Rwanda but do not really know where to start, and guidance
on where to find further resources. Most importantly of all, he provides a genuine rationale for varying
the Key Stage 3 curriculum in response to recent events.
Belloni, R. (2008). Role-playing international intervention in conflict areas: Lessons from Bosnia for
Northern Ireland Education. International Studies Perspectives, 9(2), 220-234.
Role-playing is a useful exercise in overcoming some of the limits of traditional lecture-based
teaching. While lectures presuppose the existence of a knowledgeable professor transmitting
2
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
7
information to overall passive students, role-playing requires both the redefinition of the
professor/student relationship and the active and purposeful involvement of students. This paper is an
initial attempt to assess a role-play designed to achieve three main results: Support students to take a
more active role and ownership of their learning process; develop students' research, writing and
presentation skills; and apply their knowledge to a specific case. Substantively, the exercise aimed at
investigating the dynamics of conflict management and intervention in conflict areas by addressing a
crisis situation in a Bosnian town. Because this exercise took place in an area (Northern Ireland) with a
long history of conflict, all students had very personal and direct knowledge of inter-communal
tensions and clashes. Role-playing gave them an opportunity to investigate critically the dynamics of
conflict management and the limits of external intervention.
Ben-Bassat, N. (2000). Holocaust awareness and education in the United States. Religious Education,
95(4), 402-423.
Experimentation in Holocaust education began in American schools in the mid-1970s. After
construction of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the subject
gained momentum. The last two decades have seen continuous development. In five states, Holocaust
education is required at all school levels; in sixteen others, it is highly recommended. Serious teaching
of the Holocaust started in earnest only long after World War II, when the horrors were at a distance
and survivors started breaking the silence. Only then did systematic research begin. Teaching about the
Holocaust developed as a result of Holocaust consciousness and of the growing feeling of its relevance
to American culture. Such instruction also developed against a background of ongoing public debate
concerning the Holocausts uniqueness, a controversy that has found its way into various teaching
programs.
Ben-Peretz, M. (2003). Identifying with horror: Teaching about the Holocaust – A response to Simone
Schweber's “Simulating Survival”. Curriculum Inquiry, 33(2), 189-198.
Presents a response to an article about the teaching of Holocaust through simulation. Comments on
the impact of Schweber’s article, reasons for teaching the Holocaust and implications for teacher
education.
Berger, J. (2003). Teaching history, teaching tolerance: Holocaust education in Houston. The Public
Historian, 25, 125-131.
A historian reviews the Holocaust Museum Houston’s educational programs, describing the
programs in great detail in terms of materials and pedagogy. The testimonies of Holocaust survivors
living in Houston are part of the exhibits and included in the programs. The programs are described as
successfully portraying the many resistance efforts, as well as conveying a contemporary message
about not being a bystander while injustice and/or atrocity occur. The author finds the programs to be
incredibly effective. (LA)
Berlak, A. (1999). Teaching and testimony: Witnessing and bearing witness to racisms in culturally
diverse classrooms. Curriculum Inquiry, 29(1), 126-127.
8
This article is an effort to understand some patterns of student response in four sections of a cultural
diversity course I taught during two subsequent spring semesters. I wanted to understand why students
in one of the two sections each semester were quite receptive to the multicultural and antiracist
perspectives of the course, and the tone and feeling in those sections were quite positive throughout,
while in the two other sections both I and most of the students, from the outset, experienced the course
as a difficult, somewhat aversive, ongoing struggle. I also wanted to understand why students in both
the difficult and receptive second semester sections were much more satisfied with and impacted by the
course than were their first semester counterparts. I wondered if I had learned something about teaching
this course that I did not yet understand. I, a woman of European descent, explore these questions in
terms of a framework explicated in Testimony, a book that seeks to understand surviving victims',
perpetrators', and bystanders' way of thinking and not thinking about the Holocaust. My effort is to
make sense of my experiences and the experiences of the White students and the small minority of
Latino, Asian American, mixed heritage, and African American students by looking at them in terms of
witnessing institutional and personal racisms and bearing witness to them both outside and inside our
classrooms, and the powerful forces that militate against our knowing and our telling.
Betten, N., Allen, R., & Waddell, C. (2000). Designing a Holocaust institute for educators:
Opportunities and problems. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 25(2), 69-79.
Considers the development of the Holocaust Institute at Florida State University, addressing its
subject content and various problems. Describes how the Institute enables teachers by providing
direction and examples to integrate Holocaust material into their school curriculum.
Bischoping, K. (2004). Timor mortis conturbat me: Genocide pedagogy and vicarious trauma. Journal
of Genocide Research, 6(4), 545-566.
Genocide instructors in the social sciences speak little of how their pedagogy should address
students' emotions, and even less of their own emotional states. I provide a personal narrative about my
teaching experiences that illustrates the issues that instructors may face and the significance of
addressing them. The narrative is analyzed using three concepts from social and clinical psychology-burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization--with which instructors should familiarize
themselves. These concepts are also employed to identify characteristics of genocide studies that
increase the burden on instructors, including the isolation in which many work, the historical
persistence of genocide, and the discourse of obligation in genocide studies. I propose that, were
genocide researchers to cast a much wider net as they select cases for comparison, some of the burdens
of their fearful topic would be alleviated.
Bischoping, K., Dodds, C., Jama, M., Johnson, C., Kalmin, A., & Reid, K. (2001). Talking about
silence: Reflections on `race' in a university course on genocide. Reflective Practice, 2(2), 155-169.
This example of a reflective dialogue was written by a university instructor and five students who
had completed her Sociological Understandings of Genocide class. In this dialogue, they identify
numerous ways that silences about race affect relations among course participants, curricular choices
and the field of genocide studies. The authors also suggest means of dispelling such silences, including
naming racism when it occurs, mandating curricular change at an elementary school level, and using
9
critical genealogy and other means of encouraging students to see how racism is an immediate problem
for all. In taking up their common concerns, the authors' voices often diverge in ways that may be
indicative of their various identities and social locations (e.g. as teachers or students, as White or Black
women). Moreover, their voices sometimes depart from dialogic exchange into tangents, repetitions,
and monologues that, through their complex form, illustrate the complexities and disjunctures of the
topics being addressed.
Bigelow, W. (1992). Once upon a genocide: Christopher Columbus in children’s literature. Language
Arts, 69(2), 112-120.
Reviews several children's biographies of Columbus and challenges the image of Columbus
portrayed in these books. Calls upon educators to be more critical when having elementary school
students read about Columbus.
Blondo, R., & Burroughs, W. (1993). Correspondence urging bombing of Auschwitz during World
War II. Social Education, 57(2), 150-155. [ERIC 469 691]
“Presents a classroom lesson utilizing primary sources, including two letters confronting the issue
on whether or not Allied planes should have bombed Auschwitz. Includes seven teaching strategies and
identifies additional resources.”3
Blum, L. A. (1995). The Holocaust and moral education. Report from the Institute for Philosophy &
Public Policy, 15(2+3).
Blutinger, J. C. (2009). Bearing witness: Teaching the Holocaust from a victim-centered perspective.
History Teacher, 42(3), 269-279.
A fundamental problem faced by anyone who wishes to teach the Holocaust, or any other mass
slaughter, is the tension between the desire " to allow the dead their voices to make the silence heard,"
and a historical narrative that often deals almost exclusively on perpetrator actions. This bias in the
narrative derives from the tendency in history, particularly in classroom teaching, to focus on historical
actors. In the case of the Holocaust, this results in teaching the event from a German-centered
perspective. This perpetrator-based discourse not only mirrors Nazi language, it exacerbates the image
of Jews as going passively to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter. The solution to this problem is
deceptively simple: to teach the Holocaust both from a victim-centered perspective, as well as from a
perpetrator-based perspective. Both are essential in order to give the students a fuller understanding of
the issues surrounding this event. This means giving voice to the victims, all the victims, and treating
their experience as something of historical value in itself. Yet, almost all the discussion of how to
construct a victim-centered narrative has been theoretical. How then can and should an instructor teach
this subject from a victim-centered perspective? Survivor testimonies should play a central role in
creating such a narrative, but these in turn raise distinct problems for the instructor. These include
finding appropriate material to use in the classroom, particularly due to the disparity between the
wealth of memoirs on the Jewish experience and the relative paucity of accounts written by non-Jews,
3
Risinger, C. F. (1995). ERIC/ChESS: Teaching about the Holocaust. Canadian Social Studies, 29(4), 163.
10
but also the methodological problems inherent in this sort of material, namely the atypical experience
of the survivor and distortions of memory that can creep into their memoirs.
Boersema, J. R., & Schimmel, N. (2008). Challenging Dutch holocaust education: Towards a
curriculum based on moral choices and empathetic capacity. Ethics and Education, 3(1), 57-74.
We analyse the way in which the Holocaust is taught in The Netherlands, with an emphasis on
critically examining the content of secondary school textbooks used to teach Dutch students about the
history of the Holocaust. We also interview Dutch educators, government officials and academics
about the state of Dutch Holocaust education. Our findings indicate that Dutch students are
underexposed to the Holocaust and lack basic knowledge and conceptual understanding of it.
Fundamental concerns regarding the civic obligations of citizens in a democracy and basic principles of
human rights that are raised by the history of the Holocaust in The Netherlands are often ignored or
examined superficially, sometimes because of ambivalence about the extent of Dutch involvement in
the genocide of Dutch Jewry. Little attention is paid to the complex moral choices that Dutch citizens
faced during the Second World War and the life-or-death implications such decisions had for Dutch
Jews. Finally, Jewish history and culture and the history of European anti-Semitism are rarely
addressed in textbooks and history lessons about the Holocaust, undermining efforts to sensitise
students to the implications of the Holocaust for The Netherlands and for Europe as a whole. In our
conclusion, we offer some models of Holocaust education that could significantly improve the quality
and content of Dutch Holocaust education.
Brabeck, M., Kenny, M., Stryker, S., Tollefson, T., & Stern Strom, M. (1994). Human rights education
through the Facing History and Ourselves program. Journal of Moral Education, 23, 333-347.
This study examined the effects of the Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO) human rights program
on moral development and psychological functioning. The FHAO curriculum significantly increased
8th grade students' moral reasoning (Rest's 1979 Defining Issues Test) without adversely impacting on
their psychological well-being (scores on depression, hopelessness or self-worth inventories). Girls
were more empathic and had higher levels of social interest; boys had higher global self-worth scores;
there were no differences between boys and girls in their moral reasoning scores and no gender
differences in the psychological impact of the course. This study adds to the literature which suggests
that human rights education positively affects students' moral development. [Study gives an overview
of FHAO content including the Holocaust and the Armenian and Cambodian genocides.]
Brabham, E. G. (1997). Holocaust education: Legislation, practices, and literature for middle school
students. Social Studies, 88(3), 139-142.
Presents a brief examination of Holocaust education legislation, and points out limitations in
existing practices for using literature to teach the history of the Holocaust and discuss examples of
Holocaust literature. Holocaust education legislation and practices; Holocaust literature, non-fiction
and fiction type; Importance of legislation, practices and literature for teaching the history of the
Holocaust.
11
Braiterman, Z. (1999). Teaching Jewish studies in a radically gentile space: Some personal reflections.
Religious Education, 94(4), 396-409.
In this essay, I reflect on the challenges faced by professors teaching Jewish studies in a Catholic
university system. The essay records my experiences teaching two courses, "Judaism and the
Holocaust" and "American Judaism: Thought and Culture," at Santa Clara University as an adjunct
lecturer during the academic year 1994-95. The essay touches on broader questions concerning "the
dialectics of difference" that inform cross-cultural education and exchange. Teaching Jewish studies in
any Gentile space (Catholic, Protestant, or secular) entails a constructive tension between trust and
suspicion, candor and reserve.
Brenner, R. F. (1999). Teaching the Holocaust in academia: Educational mission(s) and pedagogical
approaches. Journal of Holocaust Education, 8(2), 1-26.
Examines approaches to teaching the Holocaust with focus on the testimony of survivors. Ethos of
affirming optimism; Reader-response theory; Reassessment of ethics of post-Holocaust reality.
Brown, J. G. (2007). Teaching about genocide in a new millennium. Social Education, 71(1), 21-23.
The "Darfur is Dying" website was the winning entry of a contest called Darfur Digital Activist,
launched by MTV's 24-hour college network (mtvU). The site describes the winning game as "a
narrative-based simulation where the user negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her
refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of what it is like for the more than 2.5 million who have been
internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan." In this article, the author expresses his views on the
appropriateness of using computer-based simulation as a way of teaching students about genocide. The
author stands by his position: the use of the "Darfur is Dying" simulation was inappropriate. His hope
is that the way new technologies are used will help students to access authentic information from
primary sources. Placed within the context of multiple authentic experiences, game-like simulations
may aid the process of dialogue and subsequent critical consciousness that leads to action. Even the
best simulations require great care, lest they become mere entertainment.
Brown, M., & Davies, I. (1998). The Holocaust and education for citizenship: The teaching of history,
religion and human rights in England. Educational Review, 50(1), 75–83.
The importance of the Holocaust is undeniable. It seems that this truism has long been accepted by
teachers and education policy makers. A superficial prediction would be that the Holocaust will
continue to have both a high profile and a high status in the schools and colleges of England and Wales.
However, on the basis of small-scale work using data from teachers' perceptions, we draw attention to
certain problems in learning about the Holocaust and begin to suggest issues which should be
investigated further. The issues which need further investigation are related to the possibilities that
there may be too little time devoted to teaching about the Holocaust; the events of the Holocaust may
sometimes be used as a mere context for understanding World War Two; teachers may not perceive the
Holocaust as being significantly unique; teachers may not collaborate effectively; there may be a lack
of clarity about the nature of the affective and cognitive aims of such work.
12
Buckley, J. (2004). Using Holocaust literature to teach values. School Libraries in Canada , 23(4), 1620.
The article focuses on the need to model and teach open and accepting values and attitudes towards
others and this need will be fulfilled by the use of Holocaust literature. It also suggests the need to let
children know the terrible consequences of allowing hatred to fester in society. The Jewish Holocaust
during the World War II was such a consequence. Teaching about the Holocaust can support the
teaching of acceptance and tolerance and an end to racism. On April 5, 2004, the United Talmud Torah
elementary school library in Montreal, Quebec was bombed in an act of vicious anti-Semitism. An
important message brought home by this terrorist act is the need for Canadian educators to do more to
combat racism and anti-Semitism.
Burtonwood, N. (2002). Holocaust memorial day in schools – Context, process, and content: A review
of research into Holocaust education. Educational Research, 44(1), 69-82.
The Holocaust was officially remembered in Britain for the first time on 27 January 2001. This is to
be an annual event and it is intended that it will provide a focus for work in schools. The paper reviews
the findings of research into Holocaust education and discusses the implications for teachers intending
to respond to this important initiative.
Caplan, R. B. (2001a). Teaching the Holocaust: The experience of Yad Vashem. Teaching History, 104
(September), 24-27.
In this article Richelle Budd Caplan offers guidelines for teachers, based on its unrivalled
experience. he demands that our teaching of this subject should aim to restore the identities of the
victims. To do this appropriately, we should not start with destruction; our students need to be made
aware of the richness and complexity of Jewish life and civilisation before the war. Using examples
from the Baltic states, particularly Latvia, Richelle Budd Caplan suggests ways in which we can help
our students to understand that Jews, no less than Germans, were people who had both ethical and
practical decisions to make. They were not simply passive victims -- they interacted with the world
they found. Teachers must help students to interact with the material they are given, in all its
complexity, and restore humanity to the nameless.
Caplan, R. B. (2001b). An educational legacy: Pedagogical approaches in teaching about the fate of
Jewish children during the Shoah. Journal of Holocaust Education, 10(2),
This article focuses on pedagogical approaches in teaching the Holocaust, placing a particular
emphasis on the fate of Jewish children during the Shoah. The author accepts that an intensive study of
this complex and difficult subject matter is not an easy task for reachers and their students, and argues
that the Shoah, a human story with universal implications, should be taught utilising archival material
rather than fiction or composite characters. The author includes extracts from the testimony of child
survivors and briefly explores themes that might usefully be drawn out in classroom study. [Also
contains a bibliography of work covering child victims and survivors.]
13
Carpenter, R. C., Lundell, V., & Rubin, B. (2007). Serious games in the global affairs classroom:
Student impressions of Pax Warrior as an active learning tool. Journal of Information Technology
and Politics, 4(2), 117-129.
Online simulations are becoming increasingly popular in international affairs education, and a new
wave of social learning games or serious games are now being marketed to global affairs instructors.
While few studies empirically evaluate the effectiveness of such games in augmenting traditional
classroom methods, it is often assumed that such use of IT significantly enhances students’ engagement
with political and social issues. We explored this assumption through a qualitative analysis of student
Blackboard commentary after playing the game Pax Warrior as a supplement to a genocide prevention
module in a graduate policy classroom. Student comments were coded for evidence of substantive
engagement, for whether the game tended to engender critical thinking or cynicism, and for student
reactions to the game itself. While evidence is mixed and further study is necessary, on balance our
analysis suggests that online simulations such as Pax Warrior may indeed provide a valuable means to
encourage active learning in the global affairs classroom.
Carrington, B., & Short, G. (1997). Holocaust education, anti-racism and citizenship. Educational
Review, 49(3) 271–82.
In this paper we assess the potential of Holocaust education as a medium for developing 'maximalist'
notions of citizenship among students of secondary school age. Particular attention is given to the
contribution that such teaching can make to the realisation of anti-racist goals. Because of the dearth of
published work in the UK on the effects of learning about the Holocaust, we present the findings of a
case study of 14 and 15 year olds' perceptions of this aspect of curricular provision. The case study,
which forms the empirical core of the paper, was undertaken in 1996. The sample, comprising both
males and females from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, was drawn form six secondary schools in
South East England. The discussion focuses upon: (i) the impact of Holocaust education on the
students' understanding of racism (and, in particular, their ability to recognise and deconstruct
stereotypes); (ii) the students' opinions on the value of Holocaust education in preparing young people
for active citizenship in a participatory pluralist democracy. We conclude by exploring the pedagogic
implications of the study.
Cesarani, D. (2001). Does the singularity of the Holocaust make in incomparable and inoperative for
commemorating, studying and preventing genocide? Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day as a case
study. Journal of Holocaust Education, 10(2), 40-56.
This article is a response to the controversy surrounding the first national Holocaust Memorial Day
in Britain, held on 27 January 2001. The discussion is centred on the British experience, but it is
intended to have a wider resonance and relevance. It begins by summarising the aims of Holocaust
Memorial Day and then looks at some of the significant interventions in the nationwide debate about it.
Much of the discussion was informed by the work of the American historian Peter Novick, so the
article examines his influential argument about Holocaust commemoration and education. It concludes
with an attempt to answer the question set out in the title, showing briefly that researching an teaching
14
about the Holocaust as well as the work of remembrance and memorialisation are crucial to
commemorating, studying and preventing genocide.
Chalk, F., & Jonassohn, K. (1991). Genocide: An historical overview. Social Education, 55(2), 92-96.
Exploring the historical origins of genocide, finds it has been practiced worldwide throughout
history. Points out that genocide is the ultimate violation of human rights. Outlines legal definitions and
identifies twentieth-century genocides. Examines common features of ideological genocides and
presents questions for class discussion.
Christensen, L. L. (2007). Graphic global conflict: Graphic novels in the high school social studies
classroom. Social Studies, 97(6), 227-230.
Graphic novels are standalone stories told in comic book format. In contrast to superhero comic
books, graphic novels are more serious, often nonfiction, full-length, sequential art novels that explore
the issues of race, social justice, global conflict, and war with intelligence and humor. The visual
component of graphic novels supports text comprehension, making the stories accessible to readers at
all levels. Graphic novels are extremely popular with teenagers, and using a few selections in the social
studies classroom is an enjoyable way to stimulate critical conversations about their world. The author
summarizes and suggests discussion questions for nine graphic novels that richly describe political and
social conflicts in Bosnia, Palestine, Iran, Sudan, and Holocaust Germany.
Clements, J. (2005). A very neutral voice: Teaching about the Holocaust. Educate, 5(1), 39-49.
Retrieved 12 October 2009 from:
http://www.educatejournal.org/index.php?journal=educate&page=article&op=view&path[]=60&pat
h[]=56
This paper is concerned to address the question of ‘What are The Lessons To Be Learnt in the study
of the Holocaust?’ Very little research has been done in this field, although both the literature and
classroom teachers tend to cite rationales from countering racism to promoting engagement with
Citizenship issues. Research in related areas, together with the experience of the teachers themselves,
indicates that such grand outcomes are unlikely. This paper suggests that the main outcome of
Holocaust Education is the enabling of a re-examination of pupil discourses about humanity and
society. The relationship between teacher and pupil in the course of these lessons, issues of shared
language and a lowering of the barrier of emotional restraint all contribute to produce this outcome.
This paper further suggests that, while the facts of the events themselves are important in terms of
historical understanding, the main value of the lessons comes not from these but from an experience of
empowerment as both teachers and pupils engage with the concept of ‘difficult knowledge’.
Colt, L., Connelly, F. and Paine, J. (1981). Facing History and Ourselves: Excerpts from student
journals. Moral Education Forum, 18-35.
Cowan, P., & Maitles, H. (2000). Feature or footnote: Teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of the
Holocaust in primary schools in Scotland. Scottish Educational Review, 32, 78–87.
15
The question of teaching controversial and difficult issues in primary schools remains itself
controversial. This article discusses the area of teaching the Holocaust in primary schools in Scotland
by examining its relevance to the primary curriculum and reporting on survey and interview research
amongst a sample of primary teachers in Scotland. Based on limited research, this paper suggests that
the Holocaust is appropriate for primary pupils, provides insight into the reactions of parents and
colleagues and shows that Holocaust history in Scottish primary schools is set firmly within the
contexts of Anne Frank and World War Two. We find that there are significant barriers to its teaching,
yet these mostly can be successfully overcome.
Cowan, P., & Maitles, H. (2002). Developing positive values: A case study of Holocaust Memorial
Day in the primary schools of one local authority in Scotland. Educational Review, 54(3), 219-229.
Many schools and local authorities saw the initial Holocaust Memorial Day as an important stimulus
to develop lessons and events in Holocaust history amongst young people of vital importance for today.
The focus of this paper is to examine the potential for Holocaust education in the primary curriculum in
Scotland and whether the instance of Holocaust Memorial Day and the undertaking of a serious
commitment to it by a local authority had an impact on the teaching and raising of Holocaust issues in
the primary schools in that area. The authors previously argued (Maitles & Cowan, 1999) that there
needed to be a major commitment from the Scottish Executive and/or local councils to encourage
teachers and schools to coordinate or introduce Holocaust education in the schools. To test this, the
field research for this survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire to every primary school in the
local authority and achieved a 91% response rate. Strong national commitment to Holocaust
educational activities, backed up by commitment from the local authority in terms of staff development
and teaching materials, ensured a quality of experience as well as the quantity. Linked to this was an
effective structure in the schools, with a designated Holocaust education coordinator and the
involvement of the wider community. This led teachers in schools to imaginatively develop pupil skills,
knowledge and understanding and informed attitudes in Holocaust history which potentially has a
resonance in the wider citizenship area.
Cowan, P., & Maitles, H. (2005). Values and attitudes—positive and negative: A study of the impact of
teaching the Holocaust on citizenship among Scottish 11-12 year olds. Scottish Educational Review,
37(2), 104-115.
Previous research on teaching the Holocaust, notably case studies in the primary or the secondary
sectors, suggests that Holocaust education can make a significant contribution to citizenship by
developing pupils’ understandings of justice, tolerance, human rights issues, and the many forms of
racism and discrimination. Yet, there have been no longitudinal studies into its impact on primary
pupils. This paper, reports on the first stages of ongoing longitudinal research (sponsored by the
Scottish Executive Education Department), and concentrates on the relevance of Holocaust education
to citizenship, by comparing the attitudes of primary 7 pupils before and after Holocaust teaching using
data from questionnaires. Results show an improvement in pupils’ values and attitudes after learning
about the Holocaust in almost every category related to minority groups, ethnic or otherwise. One
significant finding was a deep anti-English feeling and this in itself the need for further investigation.
16
Cowan, P., & Maitles, H. (2007). Does addressing prejudice and discrimination through Holocaust
education produce better citizens? Educational Review, 59(2), 115-130.
Previous research on teaching the Holocaust, primarily case studies in either the primary or the
secondary sectors, suggests that Holocaust education can contribute to pupils' citizenship values in a
positive way. Yet, in common with other initiatives, this evidence focuses exclusively on the short term
impact of Holocaust education. Our ongoing longitudinal research is concerned with both the
immediate and longer term effects of Holocaust education on pupils' values and attitudes. Initially
focused on primary pupils aged 11-12 years, it has followed them into the first year of secondary to
examine whether the general improvements in attitudes found in the first stage of the research has been
maintained. Further, we are able to compare their attitudes with pupils in their year who did not study
the Holocaust in their primary schools. This article draws conclusions from this study.
Crampton, J. W. (1999). Integrating the Web and the geography curriculum: The Bosnian Virtual
Fieldtrip. Journal of Geography, 98(4), 155-168.
This article analyzes and evaluates how World Wide Web resources (exercises, labs, data browsing
and synthesis) can be integrated into the curriculum. The resources consist of an integrated site called
The Bosnian Virtual Fieldtrip (BVF), written by two geography department faculty members prior to
the semester of use. The target audience of the BVF is diverse, and includes both off-campus and
residential students. The site is fairly large but completely modular in order to allow educators to
integrate the materials into their own courses. Students navigate and synthesize information (e.g., maps,
pictures, glossary) and are challenged to construct meaning via role playing and opinion forming and
justification. Outcomes include timeliness and relevance of materials (the Dayton Peace Accords were
signed during the semester), a facilitation and exemplification of geographic concepts to students and
the public, and incorporation of the World Wide Web into the curriculum. It is concluded that the
resources are worth disseminating, but are not an end in themselves.
Danks, C. (1995). Using Holocaust short stories and poetry in the social studies classroom. Social
Education, 59(6), 358-361.
Reports on the use of Elie Wiesel's `Night' an autobiographical account of life during the Holocaust
to secondary school history students. Narrative and historical presentation of facts; Presentation of
geographical, historical and familial aspects; Student reaction. [Suggests thematic approaches to
incorporating short stories/poetry, makes several suggestions of appropriate selections. ~ LA]
Davies, I., Gregory, I., & Lund, A. (1999). Teaching and learning about the Holocaust through visiting
an exhibition. Multicultural Teaching, 17(3), 43–8.
Evaluates a teaching initiative that aimed to teach about the Holocaust through a traveling exhibit on
Anne Frank. Data from 10 case study schools show the success of the approach and some ways in
which the teaching relevance might have been strengthened.
Davis, H. B., Fernekes, W. R., & Hladky, C. R. (1999). Using internet resources to study the
Holocaust: Reflections from the field. Social Studies, 90(1), 34-41.
17
Describes two action research studies examining the effectiveness of online resources in Holocaust
instruction. Building partnerships for site-based research; Learning and change by teachers and
students; Questions for study of the Holocaust; Results from the action research in 1995-1996 and
1996-1997; Proposal for using action research as a professional development experience; Conclusion.
[A study carried out with teachers to assess the effects of online Holocaust materials on their own
students and their own instruction. Extensive discussion of professional development benefit. ~ LA]
Dawidowicz, L. S. (1990). How they teach the Holocaust. Commentary, 90(6), 25–31.
Outlines an examination of the ways in which the history of the murder of the European Jews is
being taught in American secondary schools. Examples of different curricula discussed; Lack of
precision in curricula; Political exploitation of the subject. [Note: Contains an annotated list of 13 statesponsored Holocaust-related curricula dating prior to 1990.]
Day, L. E., Vandiver, M., Janikowski, W. R. (2003). Teaching the ultimate crime: Genocide and
international law in the criminal justice curriculum. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 14, 119131.
The rapid expansion of international law and the establishment of an international criminal court
have resulted in new justice institutions that should not be ignored in criminal justice curricula.
Genocide, as the focal point of an entire course or a unit within other courses, provides instructors with
an organizational framework for addressing a wide variety of topics related to international law. This
paper discusses how the crime of genocide can be integrated into criminal justice curricula and the
opportunities it provides for examining international law, history, current events, and the
interdependence of criminal justice system components. A course on genocide taught to advanced
undergraduate and beginning graduate students is described and evaluated.
Deckert-Peaceman, H. (2003). Teaching the Holocaust in the USA: A German perspective.
Intercultural Education,14(2), 215-224.
This paper is based on a doctoral dissertation that examined various aspects of Holocaust education
in two societies: the United States and Germany. This cross-national, ethnographic study attempted to
shed light on the way in which the history of the Holocaust is taught in Germany. The observations
made in this study are based on a longitudinal study of a 3rd grade classroom in a New Jersey school.
Rather than concentrating on the results of the dissertation, this paper discusses issues related to crossnational studies such as: analyzing US Holocaust Education as a German researcher (an outsider),
communication between a German researcher and a US Teacher, and the relevance of the American
Experience for German elementary school pedagogy.
Donnelly, M. B. (2006). Educating students about the Holocaust: A survey of teaching practices. Social
Education, 70(1), 51-54.
More than half a century has passed since the horrific events of the Holocaust took place, but images
of the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany
are no less shocking than they were 60 years ago. Any discussion of the Holocaust inevitably leads to
18
questions not only of how and why this event occurred in the modern era but, more importantly, how
the legacy of the Holocaust can continue to raise international awareness of human rights abuses and
genocide. One way of achieving this awareness is by providing holocaust education to the nation's
young people. While this objective has obtained widespread support, there has been an absence of
reliable nationwide information on how the Holocaust is actually taught in U.S. schools. This article
attempts to fill that gap by presenting the results of a yearlong study commissioned by the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum of teaching practices in Holocaust education in the nation's
secondary public schools in 2003-04. The study assessed secondary teaching practices in middle and
high schools in the field of Holocaust education, and investigated teachers' rationales for teaching about
the Holocaust.
Drew, M. A. (1991). Merging history and literature in teaching about genocide. Social Education,
55(2), 128-129.
Delineates the difficulties of teaching about genocide. Suggests literature helps students understand
atrocities as real events affecting individuals. Claims literature reflects deep historical truths, whereas
history provides the perspective for placing individual tragedy in larger context. Includes suggestions
for recommended reading for children and young adults.
Drew, M. A. (1995). Incorporating literature into a study of the Holocaust: Some advice, some
cautions. Social Education, 59(6), 354-356.
Using young adult literature to teach the Holocaust is widespread but often these works fail to
convey the scope or historical context of the Holocaust given the child/youth first-person perspective of
many such accounts. Interdisciplinary planning with social studies teachers in advised in order to give
students historical background prior to studying the literature. “[Anne Frank’s] diary becomes
Holocaust literature only when readers are able to put it into historical perspective with knowledge that
they have brought to the book.” Advocates using stories of rescue and resistance, but not in isolation
from stories of horror and genocide. Identifies Elie Wiesel’s Night as a rare book that is both history
and literature. (LA)
Dror, Y. (2001). Holocaust curricula in Israeli secondary schools, 1960s-1990s: Historical evaluation
from the moral education perspective. Journal of Holocaust Education, 10(2), 29-39.
This article deals with the 'curriculum history' of Holocaust studies in Israeli secondary schools,
from the 1960s to the 1990s, with an emphasis on the moral perspectives of pedagogy. It analyses the
complex relations between the Israeli (Jewish) society and its educational frameworks, in comparison
to some of the studies on the impact of the Holocaust on Israel. The article discusses eight findings,
which raise controversial moral questions about the way in which the Holocaust is taught in Israel.
These include, for example, the contentions that Holocaust curricula stimulate deep emotions, without
enough balance being given to the cognitive and emotional aspects of learning, and that Holocaust
studies are compulsory, while other important parts of the Jewish heritage remain unknown to the
majority of non-religious students.
19
Ducey, K. A. (2008). Using the 1994 Rwanda genocide to integrate critical criminology and liberation
sociology. Critical Criminology, 16(4), 293-302.
This article explores the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and its educational ramifications in terms of
linking critical criminology to liberation sociology and giving greater exposure to Genocide as a
criminological issue. The article provides practical advice and theoretical insights on teaching
Genocide Studies in the undergraduate classroom. I start by exploring critical criminology and
liberation sociology. I then introduce the reader to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and resources used in
my classroom. I explore the implications for (critical) criminology of these materials. Finally I discuss
issues that arose during the class.
Ducey, K. A. (2009). Using Simon Wiesenthal’s “The Sunflower” to teach the study of genocide and
the Holocaust. College Teaching, 57(3), 167-176.
The author discusses a project called "The Sunflower" Symposium," named in honor of Simon
Wiesenthal's "The Sunflower" (1998). The project was a catalyst for discussions on legalized
discrimination, the infringement of civil rights, (in)justice, (in)tolerance, and civic responsibility,
influencing students to connect the Holocaust to other world events. It proved an effective pedagogic
method for examining critically and taking action on important global issues. Evidence of the
effectiveness of this message is presented and suggestions for integrating literature into courses are
offered.
Ellison, J., & Pisapia, J. (2006). The state of Holocaust education in Illinois. Idea: A Journal of Social
Issues, 11(1), n.p. Retrieved 8 September 2009 from
http://www.ideajournal.com/articles.php?id=41.
The state of Illinois was the first state to mandate the teaching of the Holocaust in 1990. This article
reports the results of a study of Holocaust education practices at the high school level. At present, it
represents the largest study of Holocaust education practices ever conducted in the United States. The
study produced eight major findings: (a) Most teachers of the Holocaust are white, Christian, hold
degrees in history, and have been teaching it for less than ten years or more than twenty one years; (b)
A wide array of topics such as death camps, anti-Semitism, Hitler’s rise to power, non-Jewish victims,
creation of the state of Israel, and the U.S.’s response to the Holocaust is being taught in Illinois high
schools; (c) Most students receive Holocaust education in American History in the junior year,
however, students taking advanced placement classes receive appreciably less instruction on the
Holocaust than those in the regular program; (d) Teachers use traditional methods of discussion,
lectures, and questions on the final examination to deliver and test their lessons on the Holocaust; (e)
Schindler’s List, the course textbook, the Diary of Anne Frank, Night are the most widely used
materials by teachers teaching about the Holocaust; (f) Teachers teach about the Holocaust because of
its importance, its part of the curriculum, personal interest to a much greater degree than because it is a
state mandate; (g) Teachers believe learning about the Holocaust is a important for the lessons it
imparts to students regarding discrimination, stereotyping, critical independent thought, and the human
capacity for evil; (h) Most teachers favored mandates, believed that their school was in compliance
with the state mandate in Illinois, and believed teaching of the Holocaust would continue if they retired.
20
Faber, M. (1996). Teaching a multidisciplinary course on the Holocaust and German culture. Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, (548), 105-115.
The absence of any direct study of the Holocaust - or, indeed, of the Nazi period - in most traditional
U.S. university and college German department curricula begs the question of the relationship of
German culture (as opposed to politics or economics) to those events. A course at Swarthmore College
that juxtaposes the key forms of German culture, particularly Romanticism, with the phenomenon of
the Holocaust raises that fundamental question in recurring forms, namely: Could the Holocaust have
happened anywhere else, and is there something peculiar to German culture that resulted in the
Holocaust? This article outlines the structure of the course that addresses these questions and concludes
that pre-World War II German cultural forces - those that encouraged a culture that looked inward,
sought abstract ideals, and longed to merge with an overarching whole - may possibly have contributed
to the ensuing dehumanizing, genocidal racial policy.
Fallace, T. D. (2006). The origins of Holocaust education. Holocaust and Genocide Studies,20(1), 80–
102.
Many scholars depict the rise of Holocaust education in American public schools as a natural
outgrowth of the overall rise in Holocaust consciousness. This consciousness, they believe, was spread
through the activities of Jewish organizations and religious elites, as well as through television shows
and events in popular culture. Although all of these factors were influential, the author believes that
scholars tend to overlook the educational context in which the first teachers of the Holocaust worked.
In this article, he presents evidence that the first teachers of the Holocaust—who introduced the subject
in their schools during 1973–1975—were drawing upon an emerging body of educational and cognitive
research. He then links this context explicitly to the design of three of the most influential Holocaust
curricula in the country.
Fallace, T. D. (2008). Playing Holocaust: The origins of the Gestapo simulation game. Teachers
College Record, 109(12), 2642-2645.
The writer discusses the origins of a controversial Gestapo Holocaust simulation game. The game
was a product of its sociocurricular context. The design of the game, copublished by Rabbi Raymond
Zwerin and Audrey Friedman Marcus in 1976, was aligned with much emerging Jewish educational
theory. The writer argues that the curriculum was created by an educator who was informed by
contemporary research and responded to his students' and community's needs.
Farkas, R. D. (2003). Effects of traditional versus learning-styles instructional methods on middle
school students. Journal of Educational Research, 97(1), 42-51.
The author examined the effects of teaching through traditional versus learning-style instructional
methods on an urban sample of 105 heterogeneously grouped 7th-grade students' achievement,
attitudes, empathic tendencies, and transfer skills in response to lessons on the Holocaust. Dependent
variables for this investigation were gain scores on achievement and empathy posttests, scores on an
attitudinal survey, and weighted average scores obtained from transfer tasks. The independent variable
was the instructional method. The author administered the Learning Style Inventory (R. Dunn, K.
21
Dunn, & G. E. Price, 2000) to determine learning-style preferences. The control group was taught
about the Holocaust with a traditional teaching method (lecture, group discussion, visual resources),
and the experimental group was taught the same content with the Multisensory Instructional Package
(R. Dunn & K. Dunn, 1992). The data that was subjected to statistical analyses supported the
implementation of a multisensory rather than a traditional approach for teaching lessons concerned
with emotionally charged events. The t tests revealed a positive and statistically significant impact on
achievement test scores (p < .001). When students were taught through a multisensory approach, gain
scores on the empathy scale revealed significance (p < .001). Furthermore, students indicated
significantly more positive attitudes when instructed with a multisensory rather than a traditional
approach (p < .001), and performance was higher (p < .001) on the transfer of skills when students
were instructed with a multisensory instructional method rather than with a traditional approach. Large
to resounding effect sizes were revealed for each of the dependent variables.
Farnham, J. F. (1992). What is the value of teaching the Holocaust? Journal of General Education, 41,
18-22.
Reflections from a college instructor on student reactions to the Holocaust. Discusses reactions, as
well as the limitations of having as a rationale the idea that ‘this will never happen again.’ Argues that
studying the Holocaust can lead one to develop greater empathy, and that this is its value. (LA)
Fernekes, W. R. (1987). Authority and liberty in conflict: Genocide in Argentina, 1976-1983 – A Unit
for Study. Social Science Record, 24(2), 84-88.
Explores questions raised in discussions of genocide and reviews ways in which the topic can be
investigated. Argues that no matter what the outcome of student inquiry, it is essential that schools
carefully and comprehensively include the study of genocide in social studies curricula as a means of
reducing the potential for its occurrence.
Fernekes, W. R. (1991). Defining genocide: A model unit. Social Education, 55(2), 130-131.
Outlines a teaching unit, appropriate for grades seven through college, that helps students
understand the nature of the United Nations definition of genocide. Questions the adequacy of that
definition. Provides four classroom teaching scenarios for a cluster of five to eight class periods,
culminating with students writing an essay about genocide.
Fine, M. (1993). Collaborative innovations: Documentation of the Facing History and Ourselves
program at an Essential School. Teachers College Record, 94, 771-789.
An in-depth account of a classroom ethnography during with the author observed the
implementation of the FHAO program on the Holocaust. Highlights the ‘personal’ approach of the
program that is both highly effective and controversial in that it deliberately invites student engagement
with material (i.e., ‘what would you have done, etc’). Fine endorses the program. (LA)
Flaim, R. F. (1989). Human rights through Holocaust and genocide studies: Achievement and
challenges. Journal of the Middle States Council for the Social Studies, 11, 19-23.
22
Suggests that special interest groups have disrupted efforts to implement curriculum programs on
human rights issues. Argues that history cannot be tailored to allow people to hide from the past.
Identifies the challenges of battling those who attempt to revise history and of approaching teaching
about the Holocaust. Recommends extensive teacher training regarding human rights.
Fleming, D. (1987). Genocide in world history textbooks. Social Science Record, 24(2), 48-51.
Analyzes the treatment of genocide in secondary world history textbooks. Acknowledges that
textbook space is limited, but argues that all should contain some reference to the subject. Concludes
that the Armenian genocide, as well as the genocidal acts of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung should be
presented in all survey texts.
Foss, C. (1989). Teaching about the Holocaust and genocide in universities. Internet on the Holocaust
and Genocide, 19 (February). (One-page supplement).
The author provides the result of a call-out for university-level syllabi for courses on genocide
and/or the Holocaust. Course levels, titles and design are covered as well as the geographic distribution
of courses around the world. Most courses were broad surveys (Holocaust, Armenian, Cambodia,
indigenous peoples of the Americas, etc.). [Detailed summary in Totten, 1991.] (LA)
Frankl, M. (2003). Holocaust education in the Czech Republic, 1989–2002. Intercultural
Education,14(2), 177-189.
The issue of the Holocaust in Czech education has undergone profound changes since 1989. While
the topic was still widely ignored in Czech textbooks and school instruction during the early 1990s, it
has slowly become--in the last few years--a standard part of history lessons and newer textbooks.
Teacher training courses, as well as other activities, have served to promote and support Holocaust
education. The paper also illuminates the difficulties that Czech historians and educators encounter
when they try to incorporate the topic of the Holocaust into Czech history lessons, especially when they
wish to address Czech anti-Semitism and racism. Further improvement of Holocaust education in the
Czech Republic will depend on reforming Czech teaching and instruction in such a way that more
modern teaching methods are adopted.
Fredericks, M., & Miller, S. I. (1993). Truth in packaging: Teaching controversial topics to
undergraduates in the human sciences. Teaching Sociology, 21(2), 160-165.
It is argued that controversial topics, e.g., the Holocaust, ought to be taught in undergraduate human
sciences courses. However, students should also be taught how to take a critical attitude toward such
topics. This task can be accomplished by introducing students to a simplified version of Karl Popper's
falsificationist theory. 21 References. Adapted from the source document.
Frelick, B. (1985). Teaching genocide as a contemporary problem. Social Education, 49(6), 510-515.
Discusses methods of teaching about the history of genocide and the potential for its occurrence
today. Encourages students to confront commonly-held beliefs in order to understand human rights
23
abuses. Studies current genocidal tendencies, such as those in Iran, to demonstrate the "latent potential
in all of us to allow such evil to occur."
Friedlander, H. (1979). Toward a methodology of teaching about the Holocaust. Teacher’s College
Record, 18(3), 519-542.
The author discusses the reasons why the Holocaust ought to be taught and attempts to outline the
topics any treatment ought to include. But while teachers must master the materials, not all students
should or could profit from an intensive study of the Holocaust. A detailed investigation along the lines
indicated above is obviously designed only for those who have a professional interest in the Holocaust
or one of its facets.
Friedlander, H. (1991). Nature of sources for the study of genocide. Social Education, 55(2), 91.
Discusses the availability and utility of the various types of documentation that historians and
students can use to research the German government's systematic extermination of the Jews, the
Gypsies, and the handicapped during the 1930s and 1940s. Available documents include government
records, private agency records, trial records, and eyewitness accounts.
Friedman, N. (1985). Teaching about the Holocaust. Teaching Sociology, 12(4), 449-461.
Some consideration of the Holocaust can provide valuable historical and comparative perspectives
for the largely American society-oriented course in the sociology of racial and ethnic relations.
Teaching about the Holocaust can help to illustrate and further analyze the topics of (1) she patterns
and causes of discrimination and prejudice, especially a "political/bureaucratic" explanation, and (2)
minority reactions to prejudice and discrimination, especially through the response of "spiritual
resistance."
Friedman, N. (2002). How to make your students cry: Lessons in atrocity, pedagogy, and heightened
emotion. Journal of Mundane Behavior, 3(3).
As the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, I have witnessed how the memory of atrocity haunts her
everyday life. As a teacher of Holocaust literature, I discovered that atrocity as part of the daily activity
of the classroom was a challenge with surprising results. Students cried in my class, and their tears
became a productive pedagogical tool. They began to understand the incomprehensible horror of the
Holocaust. In this essay, which is a hybrid of personal reflection and scholarly analysis, I explore my
teaching experience and juxtapose it with my personal experience as a member of what is being called
the "Third Generation." I draw upon pedagogical methodologies, theories of rhetoric and
psychoanalytic and literary interpretations of survivor testimony in my discussion of the intersection of
the enormity of the Holocaust with the mundanity of teaching.
Friedrichs, C. R. (1996). Teaching the unteachable: A Canadian perspective. Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, (548), 94-104.
Much attention has been devoted to the development of college or university courses dealing entirely
with the Holocaust. For many students, however, a general survey course provides the only context in
24
which they will study the Holocaust as part of their higher education. This article, based on the author's
experience in teaching at a Canadian university, suggests how the Holocaust can be treated in a survey
course on twentieth-century history. While the Holocaust certainly reflected trends that are typical of
our century as whole, in many ways it must also be seen as unique. Among other things, it is the
greatest episode of modern history whose very occurrence has been widely denied. A direct
engagement with the Holocaust-denial movement has thus become a regrettable necessity in teaching
twentieth-century history.
Gallant, M. J., & Hartman, H. (2001). Holocaust education for the new millennium: Assessing our
progress. Journal of Holocaust Education, 10(2), 1-28.
This article reviews some of the highlights of Holocaust education, suggesting that there is a need
now for assessment of existing programmes. Since 1945, Western scholars and policy makers have
become increasingly sensitive to the need for educating society about the dangers of exclusionary
institutional structures and genocidal social policies. State systems of education have prepared curricula
and pedagogies, which, in addition to teaching historical facts specific to the Holocaust, focus moral
awareness and enhance the capacity for social criticism. Scholars both in the United States and Britain
nevertheless have a growing concern that we do not know the kind or degree of effect our work has had
on students. Objectives, goals and curricular strategies discussed in the literature are reviewed and
suggestions tendered for an assessment of Holocaust education, which will give us some direction for
future initiatives.
Gibb, D. (2002). Teaching thinking. History Teacher, 35(2), 175-200.
If history teachers' aim is to teach students how to think, why not ask: What forms of thought do
historians use, and what specific techniques will inculcate these forms? In this article, the author
proposes a fundamental shift, from courses with a focus on the mastery of data to courses with a
priority on learning the historian's craft. The author has explored this approach through
experimentation over the years with the cooperation of students at Lakeside School in Seattle, and
devised a format which works. Here, the author describes this model which is applied to a tenth grade
world history (since 1500) course during the 1998-99 academic year. The content begins with a tour of
varied societies, and then proceeds to an introduction to Islamic and Atlantic intercommunicating zones
during the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. From there it moves to a more traditional, and
more specific, study of European developments. The course concludes with personally engaging
subjects, including genocide, nonviolent social change, and an inquiry into what it means to be human.
["Teaching Thinking" was written with Reed Adam, Darren Delaye, Tessa Goodhew, Laura Matsen,
Tim Ramsey, and Luke Rona.]
Glanz, J. (1999). Ten suggestions for teaching the Holocaust. The History Teacher, 32(4), 547-565.
“Despite the incremental attention to the Holocaust in the form of curricula and courses, many
individuals have criticized their quality (see, e.g., Dawidowicz, 1992; Shawn, 1995; Totten, 1998a).
This article does not necessarily contribute to this critique, although some faults about the way the
Holocaust is being taught will be indicated. Rather, this article will provide some general guidelines for
teaching the Holocaust to those individuals who might have some sort of formalized, yet weak
25
curriculum to follow or for those educators who, in the absence of a formal curriculum, might want to
develop a unit of their own on the subject.” Suggestions are [all are section heading direct quotations]:
encourage a “hands-on” and “minds-on” approach to learning; employ the K-W-L literacy strategy;
facilitate many class discussions, supported by appropriate reading assignments, and reinforced by
reflective journal writing; use videos liberally and intelligently; emphasize the rich cultural heritage of
the Jewish community prior to the Holocaust; invite survivors as guest speakers; visit the Holocaust
Museum in Washington, DC; explore websites on the internet; never forget why you are a teacher.
Each section includes detail on the implementation of the suggestion, in varying degrees of
instructional detail. (LA)
Goldberg, M. (1996). Children’s autobiographies and diaries of the Holocaust. Teaching History, 83,
8–13.
Considers how history teachers might approach the issue and responsibility of teaching children
about the Holocaust, and history education is seen as the most powerful tool for perceiving
victimization and fighting intolerance. The author provides a detailed account of teaching on the
Holocaust using children's autobiographies and diaries, including tips on selecting books, and planning
library activities around the books. Includes an annotated list of 17 children’s autobiographies and
diaries, including some not on the Holocaust such as Endless Steppe (about exile to Siberia in Stalinist
Russia). The stories are sometimes narrated by Jewish and Gentile children. (LA)
Goldberg, M. (1997). The Holocaust and education: An interview with Michael Berenbaum. Phi Delta
Kappan, 79, 317-319.
Talks with Michael Berenbaum, the president and chief executive officer of Survivors of the Shoah
Visual History Foundation. His qualifications for the position; how he views the Shoah Foundation;
why he will be reaching out to educational organizations; the difficulty inherent in learning about
Shoah, the Hebrew word for Holocaust.
Gorrell, N. (1997). Teaching the Holocaust: "Light from the Yellow Star" leads the way. English
Journal, 86(8), 50-55.
Discusses a five-day Holocaust lesson based around Robert O. Fisch's memoir "Light from the
Yellow Star: A Lesson of Love from the Holocaust." Describes class activities as students responded to
Fisch's artwork, to his narrative text, living history, living prejudice, and genocide. Concludes that the
memoir is an invaluable testimony and invaluable teaching tool.
Gundare, I., & Batelaan, P. (2003). Learning about and from the Holocaust: The development and
implementation of a Complex Instruction Unit in Latvia. Intercultural Education, 14(2), 151-166.
[See also Sebre & Gundare (2003).]
What and how to teach about the Holocaust in a specific country or region depends on both the
political-historical context in which the Holocaust took place and on the specific educational context. It
also depends on the motivations of teachers and developers. In many circumstances, Complex
Instruction (CI) provides opportunities for students to learn actively about the events that took place in
26
their respective countries and to express their feelings and opinions. This paper describes the
development and implementation of the first CI-based unit on the Holocaust, which was designed
within the Latvian context by a small international and intergenerational project group.
Gur-Ze’ev, I. (1998). The morality of acknowledging/not-acknowledging the other's
Holocaust/genocide. Journal of Moral Education, 27(2), 161-177.
Evaluates the issue of producing and controlling the memories of the Holocaust as an example of the
struggle over self-identity and the recognition of "the other" as a moral subject. Analyzes Israeli
refusals to acknowledge the genocides/holocausts of other peoples as a test case for a humanistoriented moral education.
Gur-Ze’ev, I. (2000). Defeating the enemy within: Exploring the link between Holocaust education and
the Arab/Israeli conflict. Religious Education, 95(4), 373-401.
Exposes the sources of anti-Jewish education in Zionist thought and praxis by examining an
unsuccessful attempt to educate for sensitivity to the suffering of others in Israel. Argues that this form
of education conflicts with themes of Jewish tradition leading to oppressions of the Palestinian "other."
Gur-Ze’ev, I. (2001). The production of self and the destruction of other's memory and identity in
Israeli/Palestinian education on the Holocaust/Nakbah. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 20(3),
255-266.
Examines the reluctance of educational institutions in Israel and Palestine to acknowledge each
other's suffering because of 'the otherness of the Other.' Suggests that educators, as agents of the
system, should be dedicated to abolishing this otherness. Proposes a sort of counter-education that will
encourage harmony and mutual respect toward others.
Gussak, D. (2004). Art made it real: My Terezin musings. Journal of Multicultural and Cross-Cultural
Research in Art Education, 22, 155–61.
Haas, M. E. (2008). Examining the important civic values with elementary students using trade books
about the Holocaust: A 5-6 day unit. Social Studies Research and Practice, 3(2), 15pp. Retrieved 8
September 2009 from http://socstrp.org/issues/PDF/3.2.11.pdf.
This unit illustrates the role of trade books in teaching important social studies values and content.
Using four trade books appropriate for use with elementary students, the unit examines behaviors of
people identified as bullies, bystanders, and survivors who experienced the Holocaust as well as civic
values and behaviors required of people who wish to live in and promote a society that respects the
human rights of all people. The lessons examine four stories: an allegory, a folk-tale, a biography, and
an American story of civic responses to hate in 1993. Careful re-examination of the important concepts
and behaviors in these stories serve to reinforce learning and motivate students to learn meaningful
lessons from the Holocaust, including the necessity to apply the lessons in their daily activities.
Hammer, R., & Kellner, D. (2000). Multimedia pedagogy and multicultural education for the new
millennium. Religious Education, 95(4), 475-489.
27
New technologies provide tools to reconstruct education as we begin a new millennium. In
particular, multimedia technologies, like CD-ROMS and Web sites, produce new resources and
material for expanding education. In examining the Shoah Project – which documents the experiences
of survivors of the Holocaust – we demonstrate how it provides important tools for historical and
religious education, as well as making the reality of the Holocaust vivid and compelling in the
contemporary moment. In this context we discuss how multimedia can provide an important
supplement to multicultural education, bringing the experiences of marginal and oppressed groups to
the mainstream. Yet we also argue that effective multimedia education requires historical
contextualization, the skills of media literacy, and engaging pedagogical presentation in the classroom
to make it effective as a supplement to traditional classroom and print-based education. We show how
educational technologies, such as those produced by the Shoah Foundation and the UCLA Film and
Television Archives, can help reconstruct education for the twenty-first century.
Hammond, K. (2001). From horror to history: Teaching pupils to reflect on significance. Teaching
History, 104 (September), 15-23.
In the face of widespread knowledge of particular Holocaust accounts, the author details a shift in
emphasis in her school curriculum from the trusting in the narrative power of individual eyewitness
accounts to situating the Holocaust in its historical context(s): WWII and the persecution of the Jews
throughout history. The enquiry question used across courses for this purpose was: Why was WWII
even more devastating than WWI? Demonstrates a ‘laundry line’ pedagogy whereupon the persecution
of the Jews throughout history is visually represented for/by students, and then events are ‘ranked’ in
horror – this leads to the study of the Holocaust. The author discusses the conception of ‘rigour’ that
underlies this pedagogy, as well as the goal thereof: to provoke and scaffold a more ‘mature’ and
reflective response to the study of the Holocaust. (LA)
Harris, M. (1989). Teaching the null curriculum: The Holocaust. British Journal of Religious
Education, 11(3), 136-138.
This brief essay describes the author's growing conviction, as a religious educator in Christian
settings, that the Holocaust of European Jews must be addressed by all teachers in similar settings.
(LA)
Hartman, G. (2001). Holocaust videography, oral history, and education. Tikkun, 16(3), 51-53.
Clarifies the importance of Jewish Holocaust testimony in videos that are in the video archive of
Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Range of the video testimony collection; feature of the
Holocaust testimony; knowledge that may be gained and the possible effect on the viewer.
Haynes, S. R. (1998). Holocaust education at American colleges and universities: A report on the
current situation. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 12(2), 282-307.
This study of Holocaust education at American colleges and universities draws upon a recent survey
of Holocaust educators. After reviewing the history of university-level Holocaust education in
America, the article focuses on the current practices of Holocaust educators—their activities, resources,
28
strategies, and priorities. The article then visits the question of diversity vs. normativity in teaching the
Holocaust at American colleges and universities. It concludes with a discussion of the future of
university-level Holocaust education, emphasizing the development of a distinctive Holocaust
pedagogy.
Hernandez, A. A. (2001). Telling the tale: Sharing Elie Wiesel's "Night" with middle school readers.
The English Journal, 91(2), 54-60.
A teacher describes his pedagogical use of Night and reflects on his own visit to Birkenau. Emphasis
on witnessing and remembering history as part of a total curriculum, requirement that students seek out
and read other first-person accounts other than those in the course. Analysis of student discussions and
reactions to the book. (LA)
Hirschfield, C. (1980). Teaching about fascism: An interdisciplinary approach. The History Teacher,
13(4), 523-529.
Discusses the interdisciplinary approach that the author has used to teach on fascism and Nazism,
one that utilizes film, comparative literature, art, and philosophy. Found that “a judicious blend of fact
and fiction proved most effective” when teaching on the Holocaust. Invited guest lecturers from the
Humanities, and invited their consultation on course materials. (LA)
Hovannisian, R. G. (1981). The Armenian genocide in the classroom: Prominent academician discusses
the challenges teachers face. Journal of the Armenian Assembly of America, 16(1), 3, 11.
“This piece comprises an interview with Dr. Richard Hovannisian, Professor of Armenian and Near
Eastern History at the University of California at Los Angeles and a noted expert on the Armenian
genocide. Among the issues he cogently addresses vis-à-vis teaching about genocide, in general, and
the Armenian genocide, in particular, are: what should be taught and how, the coverage of the
Armenian genocide in history texts, the types of materials on the Armenian genocide that are available
for use by teachers, and the ways teachers can handle the lies of those who deny the Armenian tragedy
ever took place.”4
Howe, T. R. (2004). Lessons learned from political violence and genocide in teaching a psychology of
peace: An interview with Linda Woolf. Teaching of Psychology, 31(2), 149-153.
Linda M. Woolf is the Coordinator of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Professor of Psychology
at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. The author (Howe) interviews Woolf on her genocide
pedagogy. Overview of many lesson and activity ideas for use in post-secondary classrooms.
Illingworth, S. (2000). Hearts, minds and souls: Exploring values through history. Teaching History,
100 (August), 20-24.
4
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
29
Steve Illingworth argues that moral and intellectual development are not merely linked in the
learning of history, but that moral development is a fitting goal for the study of history in its own right.
He provides practical examples [including the Holocaust] of ways of getting pupils to reflect on
questions of right and wrong, together with human qualities and virtues. Steve argues that an emphasis
on personal and moral development does not compromise the discipline of history but instead leads
pupils into confronting difficult questions and motivates them by showing them the perennial relevance
of the issues history throws up.
Johnson, R. K. (1980). Junior high/middle school: Teaching the Holocaust. The English Journal, 69(7),
69-70.
A teacher offers some brief pedagogy and resource suggestions. (LA)
Joseph, B. (2005). Teaching about the former Yugoslavia. Social Studies, 96(3), 133-136.
Teaching students about the former Yugoslavia can be difficult--so much diversity, so much
conflict, so much culture. Yet, teaching students about the country matters for two reasons: (1) because
the former Yugoslavia is an essential part of understanding World War I and the reemergence of
nationalism in a postwar era, and (2) because a study of the topic involves many of the themes that the
social studies field struggles to teach, such as genocide and nationalism. Furthermore, in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, Jews escaped persecution in Christian Europe by living under Ottoman
(Muslim) rule. That often-overlooked event in history has some significant implications for the present
Israeli conflict. After giving a brief summary of the region's history that includes implications for the
Israeli conflict, the author explains how to use a study of the former Yugoslavia to understand the two
social studies themes of genocide and nationalism. After each theme, the classroom activities are
presented.
Kalfus, R. (1990). Euphemisms of death: Interpreting a primary source document on the Holocaust.
History Teacher, 23(2), 87-93.
Analyzes primary document from German Holocaust period in which German bureaucrats described
in euphemistic terms the murder of the Jews. Illustrates how the document can be used as a teaching
aid by having students replace the euphemisms using words with their intended meaning, and reading it
aloud in class. References include sources of materials for teaching about the Holocaust.
Kessler, K. (1991). Teaching Holocaust literature. English Journal, 80(7), 29-32.
Describes how a class on holocaust literature can help students to explore racial and ethnic
stereotypes and to empathize with those who experience discrimination.
Kinloch, N. (1998). Learning about the Holocaust: Moral or historical question? Teaching History, 93
(November), 44-46.
Discusses Holocaust pedagogy as a historical enterprise, and insists that moral lessons are not the
primary material under study. “But, it may be objected, if this is so, why should history teachers not
teach it in schools? It seems to me that the answer is partly contained within the question. Teachers
30
ought to teach it as history. But history teachers don't in my experience, approach the Shoah as a
historical question. They deal with it, as I indicated earlier, as a moral, social or spiritual one. Implicit
in much teaching of this topic is a metahistorical approach: an acceptance of the Santayana cliche about
those who fail to understand the past being condemned to repeat it. This is the Shoah as paradigm or
analogy, and history in schools as a piece of crude social engineering. Sympathise with, empathise with
the victims, says this approach, and students will find it impossible to become Nazis themselves. … We
should teach the Shoah in schools. But I do not think that history teachers will really do so effectively
until we have removed from it its quasi-mystical associations and clarified our own objectives. I think
we have to start and end with what happened and why; with the Shoah as history. … All teachers can
really do is to help students become, as far as they can, better historians.” [From article.] (LA)
Kinloch, N. (2001). Parallel catastrophes? Uniqueness, redemption and the Shoah. Teaching History,
104. London, Historical Association [SEE Teaching History 104 in Curriculum Guides section.]
Kirman, J. B. (1982). Preparing teacher candidates to teach about genocide and the Holocaust. One
World, 20(1).
“Kirman discusses how the issues of the Holocaust and genocide topics were incorporated into a
teacher training course at the University of Alberta. In doing so, he addresses the following
components: objectives, classrooms procedures, resources, curriculum, and information dealing with
controversy.”5
Kirman, J. B. (1987). Justice, punishment and genocide: A heuristic example for secondary classroom
discussion. Social Science Record, 24(2), 81-83.
Presents a method to stimulate discussion about justice and punishment and their relation to
genocide. Involves the use of film, essays, and poems to stimulate interest, followed by questions based
on each item. Includes a poem written by the author and a series of discussion questions.
Kitson, A. (2001). Challenging stereotypes and avoiding the superficial: A suggested approach to
teaching the Holocaust. Teaching History, 104 (September), 41-48. [SEE Teaching History 104 in
Curriculum Guides section.]
Alison Kitson provides a rationale for a scheme of work for Year 9 (13-14year-olds). She argues
that teachers should analyse the kind of historical learning that is taking place when the Holocaust is
studied. Critical of the assumption that learning will take place as a result of exposure, she argues that
teachers need to think about learning outcomes and to explore how these connect and support each
other. She draws upon the types of historical thinking specified by the National Curriculum in England
and shows how these can link up with areas of knowledge that pupils need if they are to understand the
context of the Holocaust. Like Kate Hammond (2001), she argues that emotional, human response and
moral learning can and should be involved in teaching the Holocaust and that this can support -- rather
than detract from - rigorous historical analysis of sources and causes. [Emphasizes the need to teach the
5
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
31
Holocaust in a “rigourous, historical way” that includes contextualization; uses three enquiry questions
for the series of lessons in order to achieve this goal: “What was it like to be Jewish in Europe before
1933?”, “How did Hitler CHANGE anti-Semitism?” and “What was ‘the real opinion of the German
people’?” Discusses how the Final Solution “receives the most treatment in schools” and how this
ignores the effects of the war on Nazi decision-making. ~ LA]
Kleg, M. (1987). Genocide: A concept action model. Social Science Record, 24(2), 68-73.
Presents a concept action model utilizing the topic of genocide to facilitate understanding of social
phenomena and provide experience in dealing with complex issues. Concludes that effective learning
of this concept requires involvement beyond traditional classroom lectures and calls upon both students
and teachers to become personally involved in the process.
Klein, A. M. (2003). Child protagonists: The ‘Anne Franks’ of today. Multicultural Education, 11(2),
23-26.
The literary works surveyed here were written by authors who, as children, witnessed apartheid,
holocausts, imprisonment, escape, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other horrors that marked their lives.
In each case, the selected texts are rendered as diaries or as first-person narratives describing disturbing
situations which are resolved either through reading, writing or merely adjusting, Texts like these,
portraying war so vividly, are intended for young adults age ten and up. In this day and age, when
young adults are gratuitously exposed to scenes of violence in the media, a genre like this one seems
most appropriate, The global/transcultural nature of this collection provides a first-person perspective
on compelling historical events that had not been unearthed so dramatically before.
Klein, T. (1993). “Facing History” at South Boston High School. English Journal, 82(2), 14-20.
Describes how the "Facing History" social studies curriculum (which moves students from literary
and historical examples of genocide back to present-day experiences of intolerance and racism) is
taught in an English class at South Boston High School. Describes various activities undertaken in the
class related to this curriculum. Sketches the role and behavior of the classroom teacher.
Kunczt, K. (1993). Beyond Anne Frank. Educational Leadership, 51(3), 35.
According to a former junior high school teacher, eighth graders--inquisitive and opinionated--are
not too young to grasp the impact of the Holocaust. This teacher went beyond "The Diary of Anne
Frank" to push deeply into topics of genocide, racism, prejudice, and persecution. Students approached
this discussion by considering examples of human rights violations in the news.
Lambert, D. (2004). Geography and the Holocaust: Citizenship denied. Teaching History, 116
(September), 42-48.
In this article David Lambert argues powerfully for teachers of the humanities to place citizenship
at the centre of their work. He seeks to demonstrate that the division between subject-boundaries needs
to be broken through if students are not to be denied what they are entitled to: an understanding of what
it is to be human. Lambert argues that geography in schools has not, traditionally, been seen as having
32
much of a part to play in achieving this. By examining the Holocaust, perhaps the most extreme
example of human brutality of the twentieth century, he makes the point that all subjects have
something to contribute to the wider goals of education. Until now, the Holocaust has been located in
time, but not in space: Lambert shows how this lost dimension can be restored by focussing on the
human geography of the genocide. Ultimately, of course, such an approach raises fundamental
questions with which all teachers need to deal. What, he asks, is the purpose of teaching? 'When we
plan lessons,' he writes, 'we have in mind the kind of individuals we are trying to nurture and develop.'
Lankiewicz, D. (1987). An American genocide: A unit. Social Science Record, 24(2), 78-80.
Presents methods for motivating, developing, and applying a lesson on genocide as it relates to the
American Indian. Argues that according to the United Nations Genocide Convention, the U.S.
government's actions toward the Indians constitute genocide. Includes a list of quotations pertinent to
the subject which can be used as a student handout.
Lassman, B. (1991). Teaching elementary children about the Holocaust. Orbit, 22(3), 10-11.
An elementary teacher gives a complete unit-by-unit overview of her approach to teaching the
Holocaust to junior and senior elementary students. Includes suggested books. (LA)
Lazar, A., Litvak-Hirsch, T., Bar-On, D., & Beyth-Marom, R. (2009). Through psychological lenses:
University students' reflections following the "Psychology of the Holocaust" course. Educational
Review, 61(1), 101-114.
While Holocaust related activities and educational programs around the world are growing in
number, published reports on their impact are scarce, especially on the university level. The free
responses of 94 Jewish-Israeli university students who took the course "Psychology of the Holocaust"
yielded eight themes. The results reflect a change of emphasis and movement from a mainly
particularistic interpretation of the Holocaust to a more universalistic understanding of the Holocaust.
This movement is explained by the occurrence of two reflective processes: situational and universal
reflexivity of genocide and reflexivity regarding the personal and collective impact of genocide.
Leary, J. E. (2000). World crisis as "teachable moment": Joining global issues, international law, and
the internet in the classroom. The History Teacher, 33(3), 321-333.
The author describes his pedagogical approach to teaching the Kosovo crisis using online resources
and as a teachable example of international law. Offers several suggestions for teachers seeking to use
the internet in this way: extensive preliminary work by the teacher in terms of selecting and examining
resources, giving students direct URL paths to key documents, etc. Concludes as follows: “But the
accessibility of information through the Internet-important as it surely may be-will prove not nearly so
transformative in the long run as the possibilities for communication and the building of new
educational communities that cut across national boundaries to link together young people with
different outlooks and from different traditions in far-flung regions of the world.” (LA)
Lenga, R. A. (1998). Holocaust education: The search for a suitable pedagogy. The British Journal of
Holocaust Education, 7, 3, 51-60.
33
Levi, T. (1998). Speaking out: The education work of a Holocaust survivor. The Journal of Holocaust
Education, 7, 133-122.
Lieberman, M. (1981). Facing History and Ourselves: A project evaluation. Moral Education Forum,
6, 36-41.
Lindquist, D. H. (2006). Guidelines for teaching the Holocaust: Avoiding common pedagogical errors.
Social Studies, 97(5), 215-221.
This article provides ideas for teachers in teaching the Holocaust to students without committing
common pedagogical errors. Teaching the Holocaust to students is critical because it can civilize and
humanize students. Teaching the event should be personalized by teachers to overcome the problem on
statistics related to the event. Teachers may contextualize the Holocaust within the World War II.
Teachers must include the discussion of controversial topics, such as Anti-Semitism, in the Holocaust
unit to do justice to the story of the event.
Lindquist, D. H. (2007a). A necessary Holocaust pedagogy: Teaching the teachers. Issues in Teacher
Education, 16(1), 21-36.
The Holocaust is perhaps the most compelling topic studied in American schools today. Many
educators who consider teaching the Holocaust feel deterred from doing so for several reasons: (1)
They lack the confidence needed to develop a Holocaust unit; (2) They feel that the subject's
complexity is overwhelming historically and pedagogically because the Holocaust is a thorny subject;
and (3) They worry about whether or not they can present such an emotionally charged subject in a way
that does justice to the topic while observing the sensitivities that must be considered in planning a
course of study for middle, junior high, or senior high school students. Planning a unit of study on the
subject must involve a highly developed understanding of the complexities that are central to both the
history and the pedagogy of the event. This article describes how a midwestern public university
developed a course on the Holocaust while taking into consideration the issues concerning this
pedagogy.
Lindquist, D. H. (2007b). "Denmark 1943": Using music to teach Holocaust rescue. Social Education,
71(6), 316-321.
Addressing the topic of rescue efforts poses particular challenges for teachers planning Holocaust
curricula. While the issue leads many students to develop an engaged empathy with rescuers, teachers
must avoid overemphasizing what was a limited occurrence within the overall Holocaust. The idea of
goodness makes rescue appealing to students, but creates a pedagogical dilemma for teachers. Studying
the Holocaust involves examining humanity's starkest aspects, and students who confront the evil that
is central to the event rightfully seek relief from that confrontation. The Holocaust, however, provides
little relief from encounters with death and destruction. Students thus gravitate to stories of rescue as a
sign of hope, a reassurance that right will triumph in the end. This was not the case in the Holocaust, of
course, yet rescue is a vital part of Holocaust history. This article presents a plan for using music to
teach about the Danish Rescue. It discusses the need to contextualize rescue within the Holocaust's
larger story; overviews the rescue; introduces the song "Denmark 1943"; and provides notes and details
34
about the lesson plan. The song's lyrics, a list of names and places mentioned in the song, and a
discussion guide are also included.
Lindquist, D. H. (2008a). Developing Holocaust curricula: The content decision-making process.
Clearing House, 82(1), 27-34.
The content decision-making process involved in developing Holocaust curricula is unusually
complex and problematic. Educators must consider factors such as historical accuracy, selection of
topics covered, potential teaching materials (such as textbooks and literary texts), and graphic materials
(such as films and photographs) as they plan their Holocaust units. Judiciously considered decisions
regarding these factors allow teachers to present accurate, appropriate, and meaningful units on the
subject, thus conveying the story of the Holocaust in ways that are pedagogically sound and historically
viable. Accordingly, the author does not focus on the content to be included in a Holocaust unit but
rather considers several factors important to selecting that content.
Lindquist, D. H. (2008b). Five perspectives for teaching the Holocaust. American Secondary
Education, 36(3), 4-14.
Studying the Holocaust provides an opportunity to explore a fascinating historical topic whose
impact on the contemporary world cannot be overstated. As such, the topic is now an accepted part of
the American secondary school curriculum. For such curricula to be of maximum benefit to students,
clearly defined perspectives that direct the students' study must be central to the development of
Holocaust units. This article discusses five such perspectives, thus providing teachers with focal points
they can address in planning and implementing effective, meaningful Holocaust curricula.
Lindquist, D. H. (2009). The coverage of the Holocaust in high school history textbooks. Social
Education, 73(6), 298-304.
The Holocaust is now a regular part of high school history curricula throughout the United States
and, as a result, coverage of the Holocaust has become a standard feature of high school textbooks. As
with any major event, it is important for textbooks to provide a rigorously accurate and valid historical
account. In dealing with the Holocaust, however, textbook authors face particular challenges. The
Holocaust had complex causes, both immediate and long-term; different groups played roles in
perpetrating or assisting it; and the meticulous accuracy required in detailing its occurrence imposes
many demands on authors. Unlike many other events listed in history textbooks, students have often
heard of the Holocaust and may bring considerable prior conceptions of it to the classroom but many of
these impressions may come from sources for whom historical accuracy is of little concern. Textbooks
are often the first recourse for teachers and students interested in dispelling inaccurate notions and
seeking to acquire valid knowledge. In addition, the existence of Holocaust denial makes it crucial that
textbook narratives should be completely accurate because deniers often contend that the presence of
any error calls into question the actual occurrence of the Holocaust. This article presents the results of a
study the author conducted of the treatment of the Holocaust in major history textbooks. While the
textbooks provide substantial coverage of the Holocaust, there are also problems in the coverage that
can foster inaccurate perspectives about the event. The author recommends that substantive changes be
35
made in future editions of these textbooks to ensure that accurate, comprehensive Holocaust units are
presented to students.
Lipstadt, D. (1995). Not facing history: How not to teach the Holocaust. The New Republic, 212(10),
26-29.
Highlights the issues surrounding the Facing History and Ourselves program for teaching the
Holocaust in the U.S. as of March 1995. Claims that FHAO “presents the Holocaust as an occasion for
teaching lessons in moral reasoning and good (American) citizenship; as an object lesson, a generic
inoculation against prejudice. The problem with this approach is that it elides the differences between
the Holocaust and all manner of inhumanities and injustices.” “While positing the Holocaust as unique,
Facing History presents mass murders in Cambodia, Laos, Tibet and Rwanda as examples of the same
phenomenon. Each of these was a horrific tragedy, but all are different from the Holocaust.” The
Holocaust “was the only time in recorded history that a state tried to destroy an entire people,
regardless of an individual's age, sex, location, profession or belief. And it is the only instance in which
the perpetrators conducted this genocide for no ostensible material, territorial or political gain.”
Cautions against drawing too many parallels between the Holocaust and other societal ills or terrible
events, insisting that students will make such connections themselves. (LA)
Lowenstein, A. F. (1998). Confronting stereotypes: Maus in Crown Heights. College English, 60(4),
396-420.
The use of Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale in a college English class is discussed. Maus is
a two-volume, 269-page narrative in comic strip form whose primary subject is the experience of
Vladek Spiegelman, Art's father, in Nazi-governed Poland and during the time he spent imprisoned in
Auschwitz.
Rubenstein, P., & Taylor, W. (1992). Teaching the Holocaust in the National Curriculum. The British
Journal of Holocaust Education, 1, 1, 47-57.
Machon, P., & Lambert, D. (2005). Geography in the Holocaust: Citizenship denied. Teaching
Geography, 30(3), 125-129.
This article seeks to demonstrate that traditionally rigid subject boundaries need to be broken
through if students are not to be denied what they are entitled to: an understanding of what it is to be
human. It argues that geography in schools has not traditionally been seen as having much of a part to
play in achieving this. By examining the Holocaust, perhaps the most extreme example of human
brutality of the twentieth century, we make the point that all subjects have something to contribute to
the wider goals of education. Until now, the Holocaust has been located in time, but not in space: this
article shows how this lost dimension can be restored by focusing on the human geography of the
genocide. Ultimately, of course, such an approach raises fundamental questions with which all teachers
need to deal. What, we ask, is the purpose of teaching? When we plan lessons we have in mind the kind
of individuals we are trying to nurture and develop.
36
Maitles, H., & Cowan, P. (1999) Teaching the Holocaust in primary schools in Scotland: Modes,
methodology and content. Educational Review, 51(3), 263–271.
Most consideration of teaching the Holocaust in Britain is based on teaching pupils aged 12-15 in
England (Supple, 1993; Short, 1995; Carrington & Short, 1997; Brown & Davies, 1998). This paper
directs attention to some experiences of teaching the Holocaust to pupils of primary stages 5-7 in
Scotland (i.e. those aged between 9 and 11) and considers the significance of teaching Holocaust
history in the primary context. The rationale for teaching this area is examined both in terms of the
topicality, the universality of its lessons and the suggestions in various documentation about developing
positive values in pupils. Eight primary teachers, five of whom regularly teach aspects of the Holocaust
to this age group in Scottish schools when allocated the upper primary stages, were interviewed at
length to ascertain the nature of the integration of the Holocaust into the Scottish 5-14 curriculum, the
methodologies applied and the content of their studies. These findings are analysed and their
implications discussed.
Manfra, M. M., & Stoddard, J. D. (2008). Powerful and authentic digital media and strategies for
teaching about genocide and the Holocaust. Social Studies, 99(6), 260-264.
The continued prominence of genocide and Holocaust education, along with the movement toward
the affective in social studies curricula, the advent of the Internet, and continued scholarship in the
field, has led to the availability of a staggering array of digital resources for teachers (D. S. Symer
2001). These resources have the potential to enhance genocide and Holocaust education by providing
robust content resources and interactive opportunities for students to develop new skills and
understanding. In this article, the authors identify new digital media resources and strategies that
engage students in authentic learning experiences about genocide and the Holocaust. They use F. W.
Newmann and G. G. Wehlage's (1993) framework for "authentic instruction." Using this framework,
the authors identify digital media that engage students in moral and ethical valuing, emphasize
historical inquiry, and are relevant to the world outside of school.
Marks, S. (2007). Teaching about national socialism and the holocaust: Narrative approaches to
holocaust education. Interchange, 38(3), 263-284.
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.
Marrus, M. R. (1993). “Good history” and teaching the Holocaust. Perspectives: American Historical
Association Newsletter, 31(1), 6-12.
37
Martin, K. C. (2007). Teaching the ‘Shoah’: Four approaches that draw students in. History Teacher,
40(4), 493-502.
Many students assume that history has nothing to do with them and therefore is a waste of their
time, so finding a way to get involuntary history students truly involved in a topic is always the most
challenging aspect of teaching it. As passive listeners they will remember little; as active participants
they will remember more and--in at least a few cases--decide that they would like to pursue the topic
further. However, they live in a world to which the events of the "Shoah" are horrifyingly relevant. The
"Shoah" is one of the most terrifying illustrations of what can happen when religious or political
ideology trumps moral values and human decency, validating remorseless violence against an alien,
demonized "other." In this article, the author shares four strategies in helping students reach a deeper
understanding, not just of the twentieth century, but also of the world in which they live today.
Maxwell, B. (2008). Justifying educational acquaintance with the moral horrors of history on psychosocial grounds: "Facing History and Ourselves" in critical perspective. Ethics and Education, 3(1),
75-85.
This paper challenges a pervasive curricular justification for educationally acquainting young people
with stories of genocide and other moral horrors from history. According to this justification, doing so
favours the development of psycho-social soft skills connected with interpersonal awareness and the
establishment and maintenance of positive relationships. It is argued that this justification not only
renders the specific historical content incidental to the development of these skills. The educational
intention of promoting such psycho-social soft skills by way of studying moral horrors in history
constitutes an ethically problematic instrumentalisation of the historical material itself.
McConnell, T. (2004). Designing enquiries to make your students think about interpretations of the
Third Reich. Teaching History, 115 (June), 42-43.
The author discusses several approaches to teaching the Holocaust for 11-14 and 16-18 year-old
students, with an emphasis on dissecting the many ways in which the Holocaust has been interpreted.
Focuses on using Goldhagen’s Hitler’s Willing Executioners (on ordinary German participants) and the
“Holocaust industry” (films, books, etc.). Emphasis on using the Holocaust as a foil for studying
historical interpretation. (LA)
Meisel, E. (1982). "I don't want to be a bystander": Literature and the Holocaust. English Journal, 71,
40-44.
A New York city English teacher at a multi-ethnic school describes the aims and objectives of the
Holocaust unit she designed for her students. Narrative of the process and highlights of the unit, as well
as the pedagogical strategies (e.g. brainstorming, reflective writing, etc.) and curricular materials used
(e.g. film, Night, etc). Contains a bibliography on the Holocaust intended for teachers.
Metcalf, E-M. (1998). Children's and young adult literature in content-based German instruction:
Teaching the Holocaust. Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 31(2), 148-53.
38
After summary presentation of development of German children's and young-adult literature since
middle of the century, this article proposes use of such literature in foreign-language classrooms and
reports on two projects using children's literature in intermediate- and advanced-level classes. First
project examines cultural differences by means of translation, and second investigates representation of
World War II and immediate postwar years in German children's books.
Misco, T. (2007). Using curriculum deliberation to address controversial issues: Developing Holocaust
education curriculum for Latvian schools. International Journal of Education Policy & Leadership,
2(8), 1-12.
This paper explores how a cross-cultural project responded to the need for new Holocaust
educational materials for the Republic of Latvia through the method of curriculum deliberation.
Analysis of interview, observational, and document data drawn from seven curriculum writers and
numerous project members suggest that curriculum deliberation helped awaken a controversial and
silenced history while attending to a wide range of needs and concerns for a variety of stakeholders.
The findings highlight structural features that empowered the curriculum writers as they engaged in
protracted rumination, reflected upon competing norms, and considered the nuances of the curriculum
problem in relation to implementation. Understanding the process, challenges, and promises of crosscultural curriculum deliberation holds significance for educators, curricularists, and educational
researchers wishing to advance teaching and learning within silenced histories and controversial issues.
Misco, T. (2008). “Nobody told us about what happened”: The current state of Holocaust education in
Romania. International Education, 38(1), 6-20.
“This research study sought to understand the current state of Holocaust education in Romanian
classrooms and how sociocultural and institutional forces influence its treatment. By identifying the
obstacles, challenges, and successes of Holocaust education in Romania, this study can both
disseminate the techniques and conditions that bring about meaningful Holocaust education and
provide a generative knowledge base for curriculum proposals, symposia, and other initiatives that seek
to disrupt reticence on this topic. Given their recent accession to the European Union, this is a timely
study that also examines Romania's educational efforts concerning the development of democratic
skills and dispositions, many of which often result from addressing controversial topics and closed
areas, including the Holocaust in Romania. Holocaust education is a relatively new phenomenon in
Romania and studying its inception can offer insights for other societies and cultures that are working
to introduce Holocaust or controversial issues into their middle and high school curricula. As more
post-Soviet and post-communist states attempt to build pluralistic, tolerant, and open-minded societies,
their treatment of historical silences and the renegotiation of their past becomes a critical feature for the
development of democratic citizens.” [Includes policy implications and recommendations. ~ LA]
Misco, T. (2009). Teaching the Holocaust through case study. Social Studies, 100(1), 14-22.
This article responds to the curricular challenges teachers face with Holocaust education, including
cursory treatments and a lack of focus on individual experiences. First, the author argues for a casestudy approach to help students reengage concrete and complex features of the Holocaust as a point of
departure for subsequent inquiry. In addition to providing a rationale and recommended content for
39
teaching about the Holocaust, the author provides a case-study example in the form of a detailed
historical explication of the Holocaust in Latvia. Last, the author situates this case study within social
studies pedagogy and offers generative possibilities for practice.
Mock, K. R. (1997). Victims, perpetrators, bystanders, activists: Who are they? Who are you?
Canadian Social Studies, 31(2), 66.
With reference to the 1996 Holocaust and Hope Educators' Study Tour to Germany, Poland, and
Israel, the author offers examples of victims, perpetrators, bystanders and activists from Holocaust
history. Discusses situating contemporary lives (such as those of our students) within these categories
in order to extend the lessons of the Holocaust (LA).
Monahan, W. G. (2002). Acting out Nazi Germany: A role-play simulation for the history classroom.
Teaching History, 27(2), 74-85.
A highly detailed account of conducting historical simulations in history classrooms, using the 1932
Reichstag elections as a topic. Discusses the challenges of carrying out simulations, the importance of
historical rigour, possible outcomes, planning measures, etc. The footnotes contain articles on
conducting simulations more broadly considered. (LA)
Mork, G. R. (1980). Teaching the Hitler period: History and morality. The History Teacher, 13(4), 509522.
“It should go without saying that teachers of history ought to be able to present courses on Hitler,
including varying interpretations, without exposing themselves to negative reactions within the
community. But in practice the very mention of the topic stimulates genuine and sometimes vehement
feelings. Within this kind of emotional con-text, the instructor might be tempted to approach the history
of the Third Reich from a standpoint which one might designate "didactic moralism" : " moralism" in
the sense that one must verbally denounce the wickedness of the Nazis and their supporters at every
possible opportunity;" didactic "in the sense that one must seek to instill one's moralistic stance
explicitly into the students and require them to ex-press the "right attitudes" at examination time.”
Author discusses six approaches to teaching this period in history that attempt to escape the problem of
“engaging in preaching or political indoctrination”.
Mountford, P. (2001). Working as a team to teach the Holocaust well: A language-centred approach.
Teaching History, 104 (September), 28-33.
Clear themes run through the work of the history department at Huntington School. A remarkably
consistent emphasis on language and literacy, including work on speaking and listening of many types,
is a hallmark of this sequence of six Year 9 lessons on the Holocaust, described in detail by head of
department, Paula Mountford. This is language for thinking and language for better access to difficult
ideas. Many small, carefully structured reflective tasks, involving reading, writing, speaking and
listening, take pupils of all abilities into new knowledge and understanding. Paula also discusses the
similarities and differences between work with `Set 1' and `Set 4'. Another, equally strong theme is the
explicit linking of the Holocaust with the present and the future: the department's rationale for teaching
40
the citizenship curriculum through history is illustrated very thoroughly in this practice-centred
analysis.
Naftali, H. (1990). Approaching the Holocaust: An annotated bibliography. Social Studies, 81(1), 2628.
Lists several annotated book list [sic] that can serve as an introduction to Holocaust studies and
provide students with greater understanding of the World War II.
Nelson, J. L. (1987). Critical thinking in social education: The genocide example. Social Science
Record, 24(2), 60-62.
Provides several ways to evaluate the topic of genocide in order to stimulate critical thinking. For
example, the teacher provides controversial information and then encourages student agreement or
disagreement. Concludes that critical thinking is a major educational goal and that it can be fostered by
posing contradictory views to stimulate discussion on any topic.
Owen, T. & Kern, H. (2001). Learning with technology – An end to intolerance: Exploring the
Holocaust and genocide. English Journal, 91(2), 100-103.
Kern writes about how preparing an online learning project about the Holocaust has informed her
thinking about classroom-based teaching practices.
Parsons, W. S., & Totten, S. (1991). Teaching and learning about genocide: Questions of content,
rationale and methodology. Social Education, 55(2), 84-90.
Points out there has been an increase in curricular materials for the study of genocide. Maintains that
teachers need a rationale for teaching about genocide to help them select appropriate content. Provides
examples of rationales from leading educators and delineates three teaching models. Includes curricular
resources and an eight-item bibliography.
Patton, L. T. (1987). An interview with U.S. Senator William Proxmire on U.S. ratification of the
Genocide Convention. Social Science Record, 24(2), 42-43.
Details Senator Proxmire's persistence, over 19 years, to achieve congressional ratification of the
United Nations Genocide Convention. Explains his views on its strengths and weaknesses and his
conviction that the topic of genocide should be included in the secondary curriculum. Stresses his
support for the convention and assesses current attempts to revise it.
Peaceman, H. D. (2003). Teaching the Holocaust in the USA: A German perspective. Intercultural
Education, 14(2), 215-224.
This paper is based on a doctoral dissertation that examined various aspects of Holocaust education
in two societies: the United States and Germany. This cross-national, ethnographic study attempted to
shed light on the way in which the history of the Holocaust is taught in Germany. The observations
made in this study are based on a longitudinal study of a 3 rd grade classroom in a New Jersey school.
Rather than concentrating on the results of the dissertation, this paper discusses issues related to cross41
national studies such as: analyzing US Holocaust Education as a German researcher (an outsider),
communication between a German researcher and a US Teacher, and the relevance of the American
Experience for German elementary school pedagogy.
Petropoulos, J. (1995). Confronting the ‘Holocaust as hoax’ phenomenon as teachers. The History
Teacher, 28(4), 523-539.
Offers an overview of known Holocaust denial organizations and publications, as well as specific
suggestions for teachers who encounter student denial (e.g., resources and counter-arguments). (LA)
Plowright, J. (1991). Teaching the Holocaust: A response to the report on a United Kingdom Survey.
Teaching History, 62, 26-29.
“Discusses a 1987 survey on how the Holocaust is taught in British schools and the report by John
P. Fox, "Teaching the Holocaust: The Report of a Survey in the United Kingdom" (Leicester: National
Yad Vashem Charitable Trust; Centre for Holocaust Studies, University of Leicester, 1989). The results
(based on 249 responses) indicate that teaching of the subject is inadequate, which was known anyway.
States that, in fact, the very structure of the questionnaire begged the question. Discusses how the
Holocaust should be taught from a multidisciplinary approach with broadly constructed syllabi and
appropriate teaching materials. Expresses concern that the study of the Holocaust may be restricted to
the academic discipline of history, or become isolated as a marginal subject.”6
Porter, J. N. (1992). Moral sociology and the Holocaust: Some curricular suggestions. Perspectives:
The ASA Theory Section Newsletter, 15(4), 4.
Pugach, N. H. (1987-1988). Teaching the Armenian genocide to college students: A report. National
Association for Armenian Studies and Research Newsletter, 4(4), 4, 6.
“Pugach, a professor of history at the University of New Mexico, relates how and why he
incorporated a study of the Armenian genocide into his course on the Jewish Holocaust. He explains
how he points out the striking parallels between the two tragedies as well as the key differences, along
with the ramifications that the Armenian genocide has had for humanity in the subsequent decades of
the twentieth century.”7
Rabinsky, L. B. (1987). Holocaust education: Reaching students and students reaching out. Social
Science Record, 24(2), 52-55.
Describes an educational program which uses primary sources, guest speakers, and group activities
to deeply involve students in the study of the Holocaust. Includes student evaluations of the class and
descriptions of their work and activities.
6
http://sicsa.huji.ac.il/remembrance.html
7
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
42
Reid, D. (2008). Teaching Night and Fog: Putting a documentary film in history. Teaching History: A
Journal of Methods, 33(2), 59-75.
Discusses teaching Night and Fog in order to demonstrate the historical context for documentary
reception. N+F is a documentary on the Holocaust from the early 1980s that was removed from
competition in Cannes at the urging of the West German government, despite not even naming
Germans or Nazis as perpetrators, or Jewish people as victims. Contains background information and
an overview of the pedagogical strategy used. (LA)
Renner, A. (2009). Teaching community, praxis, and courage: A foundations pedagogy of hope and
humanization. Educational Studies, 45(1), 59-79.
America's sense of community is broken down; its sense of connectedness and the collective is
"collapsing." That these senses ever existed is a matter for considerable debate. But, as the new
millennium gains momentum and neoliberalism seeks expansion, the author argues that a focus on
rekindling these concepts of community, connectedness, and the collective is central to the thesis of
social justice. That is, a hopeful path toward justice depends on the extent to which Americans can
(re)invigorate solidarity and a more active, participatory democracy. Recently, the author has posited a
"hopeful curriculum", which pivots around three vertices: community, praxis, and courage. As a way of
making this hopeful curriculum more practical, joining a conversation that Paulo Freire (1970) started
decades ago and using Klein's (2007a) new discourse, the author offers five 21st century "shocks" (the
Iraq War, the genocide in Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, NCLB, and corporate globalization) as
pedagogical possibilities from which resistance might emerge. After introducing each shock, toward
the author's aim of practicality, he provides connection to a local context and then offers questions that
might drive teaching and learning in the schools. To conclude the article, the author offers a closer look
at the theoretical framework of the hopeful curriculum and, again, provides practical possibilities,
particularly through the lens of activities he has completed with his students.
Reynolds, E. W. (1989). Human rights through Holocaust and genocide studies: Achievement and
challenges. Journal of the Middle States Council for the Social Studies, 11, 24-27.
Discusses a curriculum on the Holocaust and genocide. Expresses the belief that Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s dream of human equality can be a world dream. Argues that the curriculum is not a "Jewish"
one, because it addresses examples of genocide from many cultures, and its authors are educators of
various faiths.
Riley, K. L. (1998). Historical empathy and the Holocaust: Theory into practice. International Journal
of Social Education, 13(1), 32-34.
Considers the Holocaust as an area of study and the development of historical empathy as an
outcome. Maintains that in order for students to develop historical empathy they must have access to
authentic historical sources, employ interpretation and reason, engage in critical examination, and
understand the nature of historical conclusions.
43
Riley, K., & Totten, S. (2002). Understanding matters: Holocaust curricula and the social studies
classroom. Theory and Research in Social Education, 30(4), 541-562.
Over the past two decades, interest in Holocaust education has grown substantially as individual
states, starting in the 1980s, began to mandate and/or recommend Holocaust studies as part of the social
studies kill him. As a result, these mandates and/or interest in the Holocaust have spawned any number
of curriculum products, some of which seek less to help the student of history acquire an understanding
of this historical event, and more in terms of dictating to the social studies student what he or she
should understand. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to critique Holocaust curricula that have been
developed under the auspices of a state Department of Education (SDE) or endorsed by a SDE, as we
believe that teachers unfamiliar with the Holocaust will turn to these products and sources of authority.
We base this critique on what we refer to as three approaches or considerations to understanding
history – the body of work on historical thinking which we view as the underpinning of historical
empathy and positionality, historical empathy as articulated by Elizabeth Yeager, O.L Davis Jr., and
Stuart Foster, and the guidelines on teaching the Holocaust developed for the US Holocaust Memorial
Museum by William Parsons and Samuel Totten. These three elements, each in their own way, help us
to understand the challenge for teachers and students whose foundation for understanding the
Holocaust may slowly rest upon curriculum products is correct or aims and/or design often obstruct the
quest to “understand,” e.g., lack of historical accuracy, lack of depth, and historical gaps.
Robertson, J. P. (1997). Discourse, power, social abuse and vigilance: Learning about the “Holodomor”
in English Studies classrooms. English Quarterly, 29(3-4), 33-56.
Explores some of the possibilities and problems of teaching secondary school students about
genocide through the study of language used to describe the event. Focuses on Eastern Europe during
the Stalin era when a catastrophe known as the "Holodomor" [Ukrainian famine] occurred.
Rosenberg, A., & Bardosh, A. (1982-3). The problematic character of teaching the Holocaust. Shoah: A
Journal of Resources on the Holocaust, 3(2-3), 3-7.
Rosenberg, A., & Zevin, J. (1981). Teaching about the Holocaust as part of a genocidal universe.
Social Studies, 72(3), 107-110.
Suggests that if the concept of genocide is not integrated into our mental and moral world, we
become passive or active participants in processing people for destruction. Provides definitions of the
terms genocide and holocaust and eight classroom strategies to help develop understanding.
Rubinstein, P., & Taylor, W. (1992). Teaching about the Holocaust in the National Curriculum. The
British Journal of Holocaust Education, 1, 47-54.
Russell, W. B. III (2005). Teaching about the Holocaust: A resource guide. Social Studies, 96(2), 9396.
Teaching about the Holocaust is an emotional process that can be extremely difficult, especially
without the proper resources. Most teachers spend one or two class periods on the Holocaust and
usually cram the lesson into a unit on World War II. As a teacher, the author understands that time is
44
short and that it is impossible to spend the appropriate amount of time on each topic. The magnitude of
the Holocaust, however, deserves more than a brief side note during a World War II lesson.
Furthermore, the authority used by most teachers when teaching the Holocaust is usually a textbook,
which oftentimes provides only a bleak overview of the horrific event. Textbooks tend to leave out
details about other catastrophic genocides, such as the Spanish and English slaughter of the Native
Americans or the Belgian atrocities against the Congolese people or the genocide occurring presently in
Sudan. The resources that the author provides in this article are not to be used as a single authority but
as a tool to enhance the lessons and, he hopes, to increase the chances of having meaningful learning
occur. His purpose is to provide educators with a resource guide of materials for teaching the
Holocaust. Once teachers have a list of resources for teaching the Holocaust, they can use it to create
quality lesson plans.
Salmons, P. (2001). Moral dilemmas: History, teaching and the Holocaust. Teaching History, 104
(September), 34-40.
Using Kinloch’s (1998) distinction between a moral and a historical approach to teaching the
Holocaust, Salmons discusses the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Discusses the pedagogy of the museum, both prior to and after class visits, and the place of artifacts
and images in Holocaust education. Provides three detailed case studies which invite students to
consider moral aspects of individuals’ behaviour during the Holocaust and the contents of ‘bystander’,
‘perpetrator’, etc. (LA)
Salmons, P. (2003). Teaching or preaching? The Holocaust and intercultural education in the UK.
Intercultural Education, 14(2), 139-149.
This paper looks at the manner in which the Holocaust is taught in the UK and some of the major
controversies surrounding the teaching of this topic. These issues include to what extent teaching about
the Holocaust is, or should be, a pure lesson in history, or whether there should be a focus on universal
moral lessons. I look at various case studies in which students are confronted with moral dilemmas as a
path to understanding human behaviour in the past. I also examine to what extent "shock tactics" are
useful as an educational tool.
Sandmann, A. (2004). Contemporary immigration: First-person fiction from Cuba, Haiti, Korea, and
Cambodia. Social Studies, 95(3), 115-121.
Provides information on several books included in the First-Person Fiction series which address
various National Council for the Social Studies middle grades standards in the U.S. "Flight to
Freedom," by Ana Veciana-Suarez; "Behind the Mountains," by Edwige Danticat; "Finding My Hat,"
by John Son; "The Stone Goddess," by Minfong Ho. [Although the author discusses The Stone
Goddess as an ‘immigration story’ of a family fleeing the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian genocide is
the context for the story. Sandmann provides nine cross-curricular teaching strategies for using this
story. Summary: “Written in four parts, The Stone Goddess reveals events in Nakri's life during an
approximately five year period, beginning with life in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, when the Khmer Rouge
takes over that capital city in 1975. At that time, twelve-year-old Nakri, along with her older sister
Teeda, older brother Boran, and younger brother Yann, and their parents, flee to the countryside to be
45
with her grandparents. Life under Pol Pot's leadership was incredibly harsh. Families were separated,
and Nakri's was no exception. Educated people were feared by the new regime, and, so, her father is
taken away. Boran, Teeda, and Nakri are sent to a work camp, and in a fevered state caused by malaria,
Teeda's carefully guarded ability to dance--an elistist skill--is revealed, and she, too, is eliminated by
the ruling Angkar government. Eventually, Nakri and Boran are reunited with their mother, brother,
and extended family and find themselves in a refugee camp in Thailand. At the refugee camp, an
envelope with an American address, an envelope that held a photograph of her family once taken by
her father's American friend, becomes their ticket to a new life in America.” ~ LA]
Santerini, M. (2003). Holocaust education in Italy. Intercultural Education, 14(2), 225-232.
In this paper, I examine the development of Holocaust education in Italy. It has clearly undergone
various transformations across time. Though schools are not required to teach about the Holocaust in
Italy, there are many ongoing projects, programmes and initiatives that schools can participate in. The
challenge for the future is to keep the history of the Holocaust alive for new generations who are
growing up in a multicultural society.
Scarlett, M. H. (2009). Imagining a world beyond genocide: Teaching about transitional justice. Social
Studies, 100(4), 169-176.
The study of the ways in which societies emerging from violent conflict and repressive regimes
achieve peace and reconciliation through forms of transitional justice, such as truth commissions,
tribunals, systems of reparations, and memorialization of the past, offers an opportunity for secondary
social studies teachers to address issues of human rights in a positive and humanizing way. In this
article, the author provides a rationale for including the study of transitional justice in the secondary
social studies curriculum along with suggestions for teaching it. He argues that the study of transitional
justice presents opportunities for students to become morally inclusive in their thinking, engage in
global democratic citizenship, and study critically important current events unfolding in their world.
Schatzker, C. (1980). The teaching of the Holocaust: Dilemmas and considerations. Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 450(1), 218-226.
Education literature has failed to deal with the problem of teaching the Holocaust. Publications
dealing with teaching the Holocaust begin appearing in the beginning of the sixties and in the late
seventies in Israel, Germany, the United States, and elsewhere. Educators and students discovered that
they were not prepared to confront the problems the Holocaust evoked. There are many educational
approaches to the Holocaust but the educator needs the correct teaching aids, methods, and curriculum
support. There is no clear-cut concept of the Holocaust. Rather, the problem is how to present the truth
without traumatizing. Educators need to foster students’ sensitivity to and involvement and
identification with the Holocaust. To bring students to an honest confrontation with the phenomenon of
antisemitism and with the murder of European Jewry while a silent world stood by is a universal
objective.
Schlene, V. J. (1991). Teaching about genocide. Social Education, 55(2), 82-83.
46
Presents summaries of 12 documents from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
system that address genocide and its place in history. Includes documents that stress teaching from a
human rights perspective and incorporate critical thinking. Explains access to the documents.
Schultz, R. (1998). Using young adult literature in content-based German instruction: Teaching the
Holocaust. Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 31(2), 138-47.
Provides an overview of a content-based postsecondary German language course that uses youth
literature to teach about the Holocaust. Philosophical as well as pedagogical problems of dealing with
the Holocaust in DaF instruction are included in the curriculum. Curricular considerations are presented
that deal with course objectives, learning activities, and assessment procedures.
Schwartz, D. (1990). Who will teach them after we’re gone? Reflections on teaching the Holocaust.
History Teacher, 23(2), 95-110.
Explores the rationale for including the Holocaust in the social studies curriculum and analyzes how
aspects can be introduced at elementary grade levels. Outlines course objectives for studying the
Holocaust that are relevant to major issues in social studies. Notes 34 states do not require world
history courses and textbook content is uneven.
Schweber, S. (2003). Simulating survival. Curriculum Inquiry, 33, 139–188.
Focuses on Holocaust simulations in education. Drawbacks of classroom simulation of the
Holocaust; Questions revolving around Holocaust simulations; Distinctions between powerful and
destructive simulations.
Schweber, S. (2006). “Holocaust fatigue” in teaching today. Social Education, 70(1), 44–50.
Teachers today struggle with teaching the Holocaust, a subject that regularly appears across
elementary and secondary grade levels. At the same time, popular culture abounds with irreverence
towards the Holocaust, sparking ‘Holocaust humour’. The author discusses these and other challenges
that arise in teaching the Holocaust, including de-contextualizing it from histories of anti-Semitism,
dealing with anti-Semitism in the classroom, and walking the tightrope between overgeneralization
(stripping the Holocaust of its particularities in order to relate it to other events in history) and
overspecification (making the focus so narrow that Holocaust education ceases to be tool to combat
racism, etc. more broadly considered). “Just as the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust can only
make sense to students if the history of anti-Semitism paves its way, so current uses of the Holocaust
throughout the world can only be navigated with deep understandings of the Holocaust in place. It
seems to me as much of a mistake not to teach about the Holocaust because of current politics as not to
teach about the current politics of the Holocaust.” The author also expresses the importance of covering
explanations for the perpetrators’ behaviors. (LA)
Schweber, S. (2008a). Here there is no why: Holocaust education at a Lubavitch girl's yeshivah. Jewish
Social Studies, 14(2), 156-185.
47
Based on research conducted within a Lubavitch girls' yeshivah in the United States, this article
describes in detail how the Holocaust was taught and learned about in an eighth grade, secular studies
classroom. The article describes the yeshivah, its site and students, and the teacher and the unit she
taught. Special attention is given to the meaning the students made of their learning. The article
concludes by arguing that the Shoah was rendered mysterious in this classroom, that the teaching of
history was compromised, and that both the students' historical understandings and religious growth
opportunities were shortchanged in the process.
Schweber, S. (2008b). “What happened to their pets?” Third graders encounter the Holocaust. Teachers
College Record, 110(10), 2073-2115.
A study examined if Grade 3 students are old enough to be taught the lessons of the Holocaust.
Qualitative data were obtained by observing and analyzing teacher's class sessions on the Holocaust,
interviewing the teacher and a select group of students and their parents, and collecting all class
materials and student work. Findings suggested that Grade 3 students are too young, as a group, to be
taught about the Holocaust. Findings recommended that curricular creep, a phenomenon where students
are learning about the Holocaust in earlier grades, should be reigned in for this topic. The conflicting
interpretations of the teacher, parents, and some of the students were also considered.
Scott, J. A. (1987). Learning about a scourge of civilization: The experience of a teacher and his class.
Social Science Record, 24(2), 56-59.
Describes how the author became involved in teaching about genocide and the ways in which his
approach to the subject has changed. Demonstrates how student involvement in research and discussion
can stimulate interest on the topic. (LA)
Sebre, S., & Gundare, I. (2003). Complexity of change in ethnic tolerance following use of a Complex
Instruction Unit on the Holocaust in Latvia. Intercultural Education, 14(2), 167-175. [See also
Gundare Batelaan (2003).]
Implementation of the first Complex Instruction (CI) based unit developed especially for Latvia
focused on the Holocaust. It has provided an opportunity to examine issues of ethnic tolerance among
Latvian high school students and teachers. Two independent studies were conducted by the first author
to measure the impact of the unit. The first study compared the level of ethnic intolerance among
students before and after participation in the CI-based unit activities. Results showed reduced prejudice
among this group, but also a decrease within the control group. Analysis of these results pointed to the
influence of the history teacher. This teacher taught both groups of students. During interviews,
teachers indicated that they had changed as a result of participation in CI seminars and through the use
of the CI unit. The teachers stated that they felt an increase in self-esteem, empathy and ethnic
tolerance. The aim of the second study was to measure attitude change among a larger group of
teachers before and after participation in CI training seminars. Results showed an increase in civic
responsibility attitudes. Further analysis indicates that the degree of change is influenced by the amount
of exposure to and experience with the new teaching methods.
48
Sepinwall, H. (1999). Incorporating Holocaust education into K–4 curriculum and teaching in the
United States. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 10(3), 58.
Shawn, K. (1995a). What should they read and when should they read it? A selective review of
Holocaust literature for students in grades two through twelve (Part 1). Dimensions: A Journal of
Holocaust Studies, 8(5).
Shawn, K. (1995b). Current issues in Holocaust education. Dimensions: A Journal of Holocaust
Studies, 9(2), 15–18.
Shiman, D. A., & Fernekes, W. R. (1999). The Holocaust, human rights, and democratic citizenship
education. Social Studies, 90(2), 53-62.
Believes that there are connections among the study of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights
that support a vision of democratic citizenship. Provides three themes that focus on human rights issues
by exploring the Holocaust: (1) constructing the other; (2) rationalizing injustice; and (3) courage and
resistance to patterns of oppression.
Shoemaker, R. (2003). Teaching the Holocaust in America's schools: Some considerations for teachers.
Intercultural Education, 14(2), 191-199.
This paper examines a number of variables that teachers must consider before beginning a study of
the Holocaust with their students. Since Holocaust education should look very different depending
upon the grade level of the students, it discusses how these variables come into play for different
grades, as well as theoretical considerations for teaching the Holocaust in the classroom. It traces the
history of Holocaust education in America's schools, discusses major approaches to presenting the
topic, and explores the connection between Holocaust education and the teaching of morality.
Short, G. (1991a) Teaching the Holocaust: Some reflections on a problematic area. British Journal of
Religious Education, 14, 28–34.
This article is concerned with two aspects of the debate over teaching the Holocaust in schools. The
first is whether the subject ought to form part of the curriculum; the second is whether it can be taught
effectively. In respect of the former, it is argued that the Holocaust ought not only to be studied in
schools but should be introduced to children of primary school age. Problems involved in teaching it at
this level are explored via semi-structured interviews with children aged between eight and eleven. The
data suggest that whilst many ten and eleven year olds can acquire a relatively mature concept of a Jew,
misconceptions about Jewish culture within this age group are widespread. The data further suggest
that most eight and nine year olds do not possess (and thus need to be taught) a concept of a Jew that is
sufficiently complex to enable them to grasp the meaning of the Holocaust.
Short, G. (1991b). Combatting anti-Semitism: A dilemma for antiracist education. British Journal of
Educational Studies, 39(1), 33-44.
Addresses and critiques the frequent omission of anti-Semitism from definitions of and approaches
to dealing with racism in education, particularly in the context of rising anti-Semitism among young
49
people in Britain. Surveys several key anti-racist education resources. Gives an account of explanations
for these omissions. Discusses the dilemma of naming a group as oppressed that simultaneously enjoys
some power (the Jewish community in Britain) while being targeted for prejudice. The anti-racist
model of racism as prejudice+power is at fault, and ought to be amended to include anti-Semitism.
[Reprinted in Short, G., & Reed, C. A. (2004). Issues in Holocaust Education. Hampshire, UK:
Ashgate.] (LA)
Short, G. (1994a). Teaching the Holocaust: The relevance of children’s perceptions of Jewish culture
and identity. British Educational Research Journal, 20(4), 393–405.
The Holocaust is now part of the history curriculum for all 11-14-year olds in maintained schools in
England and Wales. In this paper it is argued that for the Holocaust to be taught effectively, teachers
will need to have some idea of how children within this age group perceive Jewish culture and identity.
The empirical core of the paper attempts to go some way towards meeting this need. Seventy-two
children aged between 12 and 14 were interviewed in order to explore their knowledge of Judaism, the
nature of any misconceptions they may have about the faith, the extent to which they appreciate the
commonalities between Judaism and Christianity and their awareness of anti-Semitism. The paper
concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings.
Short, G. (1994b). Teaching about the Holocaust: A consideration of some ethical and pedagogic
issues. Educational Studies, 20(1), 53–67.
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.
Short, G. (1995). The Holocaust in the National Curriculum: A survey of teachers’ attitudes and
practices. Journal of Holocaust Education, 4, 167–188. [Only 1999-2001 available; however, this is
reprinted in Short & Reed (2004) – below in BOOKS.]
Short, G. (1997a). The role of the Holocaust in antiracist education: A view from the United Kingdom.
New Community, 23(1), 75–88.
The failure of antiracist educators in the UK to engage seriously with the issue of anti-Semitism
provides the background to this article. With specific reference to the Holocaust, it argues that a lack of
interest among antiracists in how the subject is taught has had a number of adverse consequences.
These include the forfeiture of a potent vehicle for reinforcing and advancing the aims of antiracism
50
and the loss of the unique contribution that a study of the Holocaust can make to an understanding of
racism. Lack of interest in the Holocaust has also meant that inadequate consideration has been given
to the consequences for antiracist education of the subject being taught badly. To obviate these
drawbacks, the article advocates a definition of racism that can embrace anti-Semitism and thereby
facilitate the involvement of antiracists in teaching about the attempted annihilation of European Jewry.
Short, G. (1997b). Learning through literature: Historical fiction, autobiography, and the Holocaust.
Children's Literature in Education, 28(4), 189-190.
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.
Short, G. (1999a). Antiracist education and moral behaviour: Lessons from the Holocaust. Journal of
Moral Education, 28(1), 49–62.
An assumption implicit in antiracist education is that students who learn about racism and who
subsequently come to hold antiracist attitudes will tend to act in accordance with those attitudes. The
existence of countervailing forces leading such students to active or passive complicity in racism seems
never to have been acknowledged in antiracist literature. This lacuna is difficult to fathom in view of
the interest shown by psychologists and historians of the Holocaust in bystander behaviour and
conformity to the peer group. In order to increase the likelihood of students taking action against
racism, it is argued that antiracist educators should heed the lessons of the Holocaust and adopt
measures aimed specifically at preventing bystander behaviour and conformity to peer group pressure.
This paper discusses the body of research relating to both phenomena and identifies its implications for
antiracist education.
Short, G. (1999b). Teaching the Holocaust in Toronto: A response to Lucy Dawidowicz. Canadian and
International Education, 28(1), 17-36.
Although the Holocaust is widely taught in Toronto high schools, we currently have no knowledge
of how it is taught. This dearth of research is significant in the light of studies suggesting that teachers
of the Holocaust may compromise historical truth and fail to realise the subject’s potential for
promoting responsible citizenship. The critique by Lucy Dawidowicz (1992) is the best-known of these
studies and an expanded version of her work formed the basis for the assessment of Holocaust
education in Toronto reported in this article. The attitudes and practices of 23 history teachers in the
51
city are described and various ways in which the Holocaust may be taught more effectively are
discussed.
Short, G. (2000a). Holocaust education in Ontario high schools: An antidote to racism? Cambridge
Journal of Education, 30(2), 291-305.
Examines the teaching of the Holocaust in Ontario (Canada) high schools reporting the findings of a
survey conducted among history staff in May 1998. Explains that suggestions are made to enable
teachers to alter their teaching approach on the Holocaust to strengthen the contribution to anti-racist
education. Includes references.
Short, G. (2000b). The Holocaust museum as an educational resource: A view from New York City.
Journal of Holocaust Education, 9(1), 1-18.
Discusses the role of the Holocaust museum as an educational resource. Case study of the Museum
of Jewish Heritage in New York City; Museum's strengths and weaknesses in the light of research into
how the Holocaust is taught in British and North American high schools; Tendency to equate Jewish
history with persecution; Role of the church in sustaining antisemitism.
Short, G. (2003a). Lessons of the Holocaust: A response to the critics. Educational Review, 55(3), 277287.
The Holocaust currently forms part of the National Curriculum in England and Wales and is
mandatory in several other countries. Its teaching is frequently justified on the grounds of providing a
range of important lessons. However, in recent years this claim has met with a growing scepticism, not
least because of the persistence of genocide over the past half century. In the course of this article I
outline and respond to the views of three historians--Lionel Kochan, Peter Novick and Nicholas
Kinloch--who question the social and moral significance of Holocaust education. In contrast to their
pessimism I contend that the Holocaust does contain useful lessons, not only for individual students,
but for the educational system as a whole.
Short, G. (2003b). Holocaust education in the primary school: Some reflections on an emergent debate.
London Review of Education, 1(2), 119-129.
Recent years have witnessed the beginnings of a debate over whether the Holocaust should be taught
in primary schools. In this article the claims advanced in favour of the proposal are shown to be
plausible but lacking in empirical support, while the counter-claims are considered either peripheral,
contentious or contrary to established research. It is argued that some key omissions in the debate, such
as the way primary school pupils conceptualise Jewish culture and identity, significantly strengthen the
case against introducing young children to the Holocaust.
Short,G. (2005). Learning from genocide? A study in the failure of Holocaust education. Intercultural
Education, 16(4), 367-380.
The importance of learning lessons from the Holocaust and from the mass slaughter in Rwanda was
recognised in the theme underpinning Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day in 2004. This article is
52
principally concerned with the lessons learnt from the Holocaust by a culturally diverse group of
students aged 14 to 16. They all attended schools in an outer London borough and were interviewed
after taking part in a local event held to mark the 2004 commemoration. The article concludes with a
discussion of the main findings of the investigation.
Shultz, L. H., Barr, D. J., & Selman, R. L. (2001). The value of a developmental approach to evaluating
character development programmes: An outcome study of Facing History and Ourselves. Journal of
Moral Education, 30(1), 3-27.
An outcome study of the Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO) programme is used to illustrate a
developmental evaluation methodology developed by the Group for the Study of Interpersonal
Development (GSID). The GSID approach to programme evaluation of character development
programmes embeds the evaluation into a theoretical framework consonant with the theoretical
underpinnings of the programme, using measures sharing the same theoretical assumptions as the
practice. The subjects in this study were students in eighth-grade social studies and language arts
classes in public schools located in suburban and urban communities in the United States. The sample
included 346 subjects in 14 FHAO classes (212 FH AO students) and eight comparison classes (134
comparison students). A 10-week Facing History and Ourselves curriculum was taught in the FH AO
classrooms either in late winter or spring. The study demonstrated that eighth-grade students in Facing
History classrooms showed increases across the school year in relationship maturity and decreases in
racist attitudes and self-reported fighting behaviour relative to comparison students, although these
findings were complicated by interaction effects with gender. The gains Facing History students made
in moral reasoning and in civic attitudes and participation were not significantly greater than the
comparison students, although there was a significant difference between the groups on the civic
measure at post-test. The study highlights the benefits of using a developmental measure of social
competence to evaluate character development programmes that are based on similar assumptions.
Sills-Briegel, T., & Camp, D. (2000). Using literature to explore social issues. Social Studies, 91(3),
116-119.
Deals with a strategy for a study of social problems in social studies classes. Information resources
for injustice and rioting, prejudice, and war and genocide. [Contains a pedagogy titled “Snapshots” that
involves making snapshots from literary accounts of social problems – uses Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s
Life in Sarajevo (Flipovic, 1994) to introduce the Bosnian genocide to students. ~ LA]
Simon, R. I. (1994). The pedagogy of commemoration and formation of collective memories.
Educational Foundations, 8(1), 5-24.
Educators can construct practices that provoke processes of remembrance to alter the way the past is
made present in desires, plans, and actions. The paper highlights the collective aspect of living memory
to emphasize the organized, nonidiosyncratic quality of such memories. Four historical events are
examined.
Simon, R. I., & Armitage-Simon, W. (1995). Teaching risky stories: Remembering mass destruction
through children's literature. English Quarterly, 28(1), 27-31.
53
Wrestles with the questions of how teachers might understand and respond to the risk of exposing
children to graphic historical narratives. Focuses on picture books and novels intended to help children
remember, understand, and confront the implications of the Nazi genocide of European Jewry and the
use of nuclear weapons on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Simon, R. I., & Eppert, C. (1997). Remembering obligation: Pedagogy and the witnessing of testimony
of historical trauma. Canadian Journal of Education, 22(2), 175-191.
Educators often assume that traumatic historical events can be made meaningful through hearing,
reading, or viewing accounts that make apparent personal engagements with history. These accounts
take the form of diaries or eye-witness statements, documentary photographs or film, novels, poetry,
stories, and fictionalized film or theatre. The primary purpose of all such accounts is to provide
testimony--to convey through multiple expressive forms the historical substance and significance of
prior events and experiences. Testimony thus comprises representations either by those who have lived
through such events or by those who have been told or shown such lived realities, either directly or
indirectly, and have been moved to convey to others what has been impressed upon them.
Pedagogically, these testimonial accounts are used as modes of instruction that attempt to transmit
information about the past and to keep specific events before one's eyes, thereby foregrounding the
events' significance for current and future generations (Wieviorka, 1994). As modes of instruction,
such accounts carry the injunction "listen and remember." Yet how such listening is to be
accomplished, and what remembrance might mean when mediated through testimony entail
pedagogical, ethical, and epistemological considerations.
Spalding, E., Savage, T. A., & Garcia, J. (2007). The march of remembrance and hope: Teaching and
learning about diversity and social justice through the Holocaust. Teachers College Record, 109(6),
1423-1456.
Background: Experiential learning has been posited as an approach to influencing preservice
teachers' understanding of diversity and social justice. The research reported here examined the impact
of afield-based experience in Poland focused on the Holocaust as it pertained to the beliefs and actions
of 12future education professionals. This program, the March of Remembrance and Hope (MRH), took
place in Poland in May 2003; the pretrip preparation occurred in January-May 2003 at a large
southeastern university. Five of the participants were preservice teachers, and 7 were graduate students
in either counseling psychology or school psychology. The MRH is an international interfaith trip to
Holocaust sites in Poland, sponsored by the March of the Living, Israel. The MRH educates
participants, primarily Gentiles, about the Holocaust and the dangers of intolerance and racism.
Purpose of Study: The authors are teacher educators committed to multicultural teacher education and
teaching about social justice. Thus, we generated the following questions to guide this research: (1)
How did the experience of the MRH influence participants' knowledge of attitudes about, and actions
regarding diversity? (2) How, if at all, did participants connect the MRH experience to issues of social
justice? Research Design: Three case studies, exemplars of the impact of this experience, are presented
and discussed in relation to the literature on effective multicultural teacher education, experiential
education, and Holocaust education. Conclusions: Results indicated that the MRH had a significant
effect on the thinking and actions of students related to diversity and social justice. If the goal of
54
multicultural education is to facilitate changes in future education professionals' knowledge, beliefs,
and actions, then it is important to take note of the aspects of the MRH experience that so affected
Silas, Rachel, and Penny, the students described in the case studies. The literature on teacher education
for diversity indicates that traditional approaches to multicultural education have minimal long-term
impact. By contrast, the effects of the MRH took time to process and, as of this writing, appear not to
have faded over time. And, although the academic preparation was critical to their understanding of the
Holocaust, the authentic experience of the MRH had the greatest impact on these students' thinking
about diversity and their willingness to take action against social injustice.
Spector, K. (2007). God on the gallows: Reading the Holocaust through narratives of redemption.
Research in the Teaching of English, 42, 7-55.
“Where is God now?” is a question from the Holocaust memoir Night by Elie Wiesel and an
underlying narrative dilemma for the teachers and most student participants in this qualitative study of
three Holocaust units in secondary English classrooms in the Midwestern United States.
Spector, K., & Jones, S. (2007). Constructing Anne Frank: Critical literacy and the Holocaust in eighthgrade English. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51(1), 36-48.
A critical approach to the writings by and about Anne Frank leads to a better understanding of
crucial historical events. Misconceptions about Frank's life and death are discussed, leading to greater
knowledge. [Includes a series of teaching tips and almost comprehensive lesson plans for using Anne
Frank’s story in this way. ~ LA]
Sproat, P. A. (2001). Researching, writing, and teaching genocide: Sources on the internet. Journal of
Genocide Research, 3(3), 451-461.
Comments on the challenges of using the Internet for researching, writing and teaching about
genocide. Importance of deciding which search engine and what type of search to use; Details of
recommended home pages; Strategies to speed up accessing links.
Sullivan, E. T. (1998). The Holocaust in literature for youth: A guide and resource book. Voice of
Youth Advocates, 21(5), 337-339.
Presents an excerpt from this forthcoming title which will be a comprehensive Holocaust resource
for children and young adults. Topics include the importance of remembering the past; the goal of
Holocaust education; and teaching other instances of hate, genocide, prejudice, and persecution.
Stern, B. S. (1998). Addressing the concept of historical empathy: With "Frauen: German Women
Recall the Third Reich." International Journal of Social Education, 13(1), 43-48.
Contends that Alison Owings' book, "Frauen: German Women Recall the Third Reich," makes an
important contribution toward helping students develop historical empathy. Explains that she strives to
understand why the women she interviewed behaved the way they did during the Holocaust by
situating the women’s stories in the context of their times.
55
Stone, F. A. (1984). Teaching Genocide Awareness in Multicultural Education (Ethnic Studies Bulletin
Number Six). Storrs, CT: The I.N. Thut World Education Center, University of Connecticut.
Retrieved 26 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 254 441):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED254441&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED254441.
Rationales, approaches, and constraints on genocide awareness education at all school levels are
discussed. It is critical that students, especially U.S. students who live in a culturally pluralistic society,
be made aware of how genocide was perpetrated in the past and of the fact that it is still happening
today. A basic genocide awareness glossary is provided. Seven approaches to genocide awareness
education are discussed: (1) an international law and world order theme; (2) socio-economic inquiries
concerning the causes of genocide; (3) historical studies; (4) affective interpretations based on firsthand accounts; (5) human rights activism; (6) recognition of those who refuse to take part in genocide;
and (7) the development of theoretical models of genocide prevention. Four constraints on genocide
awareness education are examined: it is uncomfortable and unpopular to teach children about death and
destruction; it is politically controversial; there is an ambivalence about U.S. government policies
toward minorities; and it is difficult to find a manageable way of teaching the topic. The conclusion,
however, is that genocide awareness education must be integrated into the entire curriculum. [ERIC]
Stotsky, S. (1996). Is the Holocaust the chief contribution of the Jewish people to world civilization
and history? A survey of leading literature anthologies and reading instructional textbooks. English
Journal, 85(2), 52-59.
The author argues that the Bible, not the Holocaust, is the chief contribution of the Jewish people to
history and cautions against the economic bases for the widespread portrayal of Jews solely as victims.
Discusses the results of a comprehensive analysis of textbooks, finding that the post-Holocaust
portrayal of the Jewish people in curricular materials is almost nil. Presents three forces that account
for the emphasis on the Holocaust as the only representation of Jewish people in school curricula today:
the devotion of the American Jewish community to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, the rise of
educational programs about the Holocaust (focuses on Facing History and Ourselves), and “the
increasing influence of a highly politicized form of multiculturalism on the curriculum” (55).
Advocates for the inclusion of material on the living Jewish culture, and provides a lengthy list of
resources to that effect. Concludes that the exclusive focus on the Holocaust is detrimental to Jewish
children and adolescents. (LA)
Street, C., & Stang, K. (2008). Tech Talk for Social Studies Teachers – Writing about Nazi Germany
and Leni Riefenstahl: Using Technology to Access Information. Social Studies, 99(2), 94-96.
The article reviews several web sites including Online Workshops: Teaching about the Holocaust,
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/guidelines/, The Holocaust's Legacy,
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/holocaust/, and Teaching about the Holocaust,
http//www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/.
56
Strom, M. S. (1981). Facing history and ourselves: Integrating a Holocaust unit into the curriculum.
Moral Education Forum, 3-14.
Strom, M. S., Colt, L., & Dreyfuss, A. (1986). Facing today and the future: Choosing to participate.
Moral Education Forum, 11 , 18-34.
Strom, M. S., & Stotskopf, A. S. (1989). Facing today and the future: Choosing to participate. Moral
Education Forum, 14, 1-6.
Supple, C. (1993) The teaching of the Holocaust. AJEX Journal, 16(12), 21.
Supple, C. (1994). Teaching about the Holocaust. Citizenship, 3(2), 27-28.
Tinberg, H. (2005). Taking (and teaching) the Shoah personally. College English, 68(1), 72-89.
The author describes the issues raised for him by team-teaching a course on the Shoah that aimed to
incorporate familial, historical, and rhetorical perspectives. Considering firsthand testimonies, songs
written by camp inmates, renderings of others' stories such as Art Spiegelman's "Maus," and works of
fiction and poetry by writers without firsthand experience of the Shoah, he is ultimately led to wonder
whether the stories of those who underwent such experiences stand utterly outside critique and
appropriation and may demand of us instead only that we never forget.
Totten, S. (1987a). Genocide: A primer for students in grades 8-12. Social Science Record, 24(2), 8-14.
Discusses genocide as an historical problem. Focusing on twentieth-century events such as the
Holocaust and the Armenian and Cambodian genocides. Assesses the values of the United Nations
Genocide Treaty. Calls for world vigilance to prevent future tragedies.
Totten, S. (1987b). Introduction: Teaching about genocide. Social Science Record, 24(2), 2-3.
Notes the tendency to exclude genocide from the school curriculum and argues that what schools do
not teach is just as important as what they do. States that knowledge alone may not halt genocidal acts
but contends that learning about genocide is a significant first step in combating its practice.
Totten, S. (1987c). The personal face of genocide: Words of witnesses in the classroom. Social Science
Record, 24(2), 63-67.
Argues that while the study of genocide is not a pleasant one, it cannot be ignored. Advocates the
use of the "words of witnesses" as the most effective and powerful method of teaching the subject.
Concludes that through written materials, guest speakers, and video presentations, this "human
dimension" makes the topic "real" and important to students.
Totten, S. (1994). The use of first-person accounts in teaching about the Holocaust. The British Journal
of Holocaust Education, 3(2), 160-183. [Only 1999-2001 available.]
Totten, S. (1997). A note: Why teach about the Holocaust? Canadian Social Studies, 31(6), 176-177.
57
Defends teaching the Holocaust, and defines it as a unique historical occurrence, “a novum and
watershed event in the history of humanity”. Quotes the USHMM (1994) in offering a list of reasons
why the Holocaust should be taught. Emphasizes that “teachers need to be cognizant of the fact and
ready to teach about the historical trends that contributed to the Holocaust; e.g., anti-Semitism, racism,
social Darwinism, extreme nationalism, totalitarianism, industrialism, and the nature of modern war”.
Concludes that education for its own sake is meaningless as the Holocaust was perpetrated by highly
educated physicians, engineers, etc.
Totten, S. (1998a). The start is as important as the finish: Establishing a foundation for study of the
Holocaust. Social Education, 62(2), 70-76.
Describes a series of opening activities for the study of the Holocaust in order to discover: (1)
students' current knowledge base about the Holocaust; (2) students' depth of knowledge about the
Holocaust; and (3) students' crucial questions and concerns about the Holocaust.
Totten, S. (1998b). Using reader-response theory to study poetry about the Holocaust with high school
students. Social Studies, 89(1), 30-34.
Focuses on a lesson that uses reader-response theory to engage the students in a study of the poem
by Don Pagis entitled `Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway' which provoked insights about key
issues on the Holocaust. Directions for the activity; students' response on the poem. [Contains an
annotated bibliography of Holocaust poetry. ~ LA]
Totten, S. (1998c). A Holocaust curriculum evaluation instrument: Admirable aim, poor result. Journal
of Curriculum and Supervision, 13, 148-166.
The ideal evaluation instrument would help educators consider the merits of a Holocaust curriculum
in regard to historical accuracy, comprehensive presentation of major historical aspects, pedagogical
soundness, and developmental appropriateness. Unfortunately, the 1995 guide issued by the
Association of Holocaust Organizations is conceptually weak and does little to evaluate the quality of
Holocaust curricula and related resources.
Totten, S. (1999a). Should there be Holocaust education for K-4 students? The answer is no. Social
Studies and the Young Learner, 12(1), 36-39.
Asserts that educators should not teach about the Holocaust to K-4 students. Addresses the purpose
of teaching the Holocaust and whether it can be taught to young children; questions the use of the term
"Holocaust education"; and discusses the future of Holocaust education at the K-4 level.
Totten, S. (1999b). Teaching the Holocaust: The imperative to move beyond clichés. Canadian Social
Studies, 33(3), 84-87.
Asserts that when people use the cliches "Remember" and "Never Again" in reference to the
Holocaust, they must step back and realize that genocide has been perpetuated time and again since
1945. Provides activities that stress contemporary acts of genocide when studying the Holocaust in
order to understand these terms.
58
Totten, S. (1999c). The scourge of genocide: Issues facing humanity today and tomorrow. Social
Education, 63(2), 116-121.
Reveals the many barriers to ending genocide and introduces the different methods the United
Nations intends to use as early-warning systems to stop genocide. Believes that when teaching about
genocide, students must concentrate on (1) learning about unknown genocides and the Holocaust; and
(2) remembering that the victims are people, not statistics.
Totten, S. (2000a). Student misconceptions about the genesis of the Holocaust. Canadian Social
Studies, 34(4), 81-84.
Contends that before teaching about the Holocaust teachers must assess their students' understanding
of this event. Considers five student misconceptions about the origins of the Holocaust. Includes
responses by students in grades 10-12. Explains the inaccuracy of each misconception, using the work
of Holocaust historians as supporting evidence.
Totten, S. (2000b). Diminishing the complexity and horror of the Holocaust: Using simulations in an
attempt to convey historical experiences. Social Education, 64(3), 165-171.
Discusses why and how teachers use simulations to teach about the Holocaust. Asserts that
simulations constitute "poor pedagogy" and oversimplify Holocaust history. Argues that firsthand
accounts from Holocaust survivors, bystanders, and victims be utilized when teaching Holocaust
history. Includes excerpts from victims and survivors as examples.
Totten, S. (2001). Addressing the ‘null curriculum’: Teaching about genocides other than the
Holocaust. Social Education, 65(5), 309-313.
Describes the idea of the null curriculum in the context of teaching about genocide. Explores
obstacles that prevent educators from teaching about genocides other than the Holocaust. Explains how
teachers can begin teaching about other genocides in their classrooms.
Totten, S. (2002). What will students remember? Closing a lesson on the Holocaust. Social Education,
66(7), 436-440.
The author expresses two goals for lessons on the Holocaust: “first, to assist students in synthesizing
their new knowledge and, second, to plant seeds that will remain in their minds and hearts long after
the study of the Holocaust has concluded.” Emphasizes the importance of planning and intentionality
with regard to closing lessons on the Holocaust. The author covers: developing key questions to set the
stage for student discussions or extension projects; having students write down what they never want to
forget; writing letters on what they learned to parents or guardians, each other or the larger community;
having students create knowledge webs or clusters in order to demonstrate their knowledge and teach
others; creating activities that draw on multiple intelligences; developing encyclopedia articles;
bringing in a concluding speaker; using open-book final exams with questions designed by students.
(LA)
59
Totten, S., & Feinberg, S. (1995). Teaching about the Holocaust: Rationale, content, methodology, and
resources. Social Education, 59(6), 323-331.
Presents some key considerations for teaching about the Holocaust: the importance of having a
rationale for doing so and continually revisiting/wrestling with issues of rationale (identifies some
possible rationales); use a wide variety of resources from statistics to first-person accounts; place the
Holocaust in its proper historical context. Outlines inappropriate teaching materials and methods
including over-reliance on graphic visuals and simulations. Offers criteria for assessing curricular
materials for study. (LA)
Totten, S., & Parsons, W. S. (1992). State-developed teacher guides and curricula on genocide and/or
the Holocaust: A review and critique. Inquiry in Social Studies: Curriculum, Research and
Instruction, 28(1), 27-47.
“An early critique of nine state developed resources (curriculum and teacher guides) on the
Holocaust and genocide. The critique notes the strengths and weaknesses of each in regard to their
presentation of history and their suggested pedagogy.”8
Totten, S., & Riley, K. L. (2005). Authentic pedagogy and the Holocaust: A critical review of state
sponsored Holocaust curricula. Theory and Research in Social Education, 33(1), 120-141.
Over the past decade and a half, states in all regions of the United States have formed Holocaust
councils, advisory groups, and other agencies for the purpose of developing education program in
response to a growing interest in the Holocaust. Some states have called upon educators and Holocaust
agencies within the state to develop curricula and/or resource materials for use in social studies and
English classrooms. Furthermore, many states now either strongly recommend the teaching of the
Holocaust or mandate that it be taught in their public schools. In a previous paper published in TRSE in
2002 (Understanding matters: Holocaust curricula in the social studies classroom), we addressed the
problematic aspects of much of the content found in state-developed Holocaust curricula. We ground
our evaluation within the framework of authentic pedagogy – particularly the work of Fred Newmann.
More than an attempt to simply criticize these works, we offer constructive alternatives to inadequate
and/or poorly designed instructional strategies. Fundamental to the intent of this paper is its usefulness
as a guide for evaluating instructional activities designed to support the teaching of content knowledge
about the Holocaust.
Tritt, M. (1984). Teaching Holocaust literature. English Quarterly, 17(3), 26–33.
A slightly polemical appeal for the inclusion of Holocaust literature in the English classroom, as a
potential force of humanization. (LA)
van Driel, B. (2003). Some reflections on the connection between Holocaust education and intercultural
education. Intercultural Education,14(2), 125-137.
8
Totten, S. (2004). Selected annotated bibliography: Teaching about genocide. In S. Totten (Ed.), Teaching About Genocide
(pp. 299-327). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
60
Focuses on issues concerning the relationship between Holocaust education and Intercultural
education. Reasons behind lack of connection between intercultural and Holocaust education; Impact
of Holocaust on European countries; Origin of intercultural education; Difficulties faced while
attempting to link Holocaust with intercultural education.
van Driel, B. (2005). Coming to justice: A program for youth around issues of international justice.
Intercultural Education, 16(2), 161-169.
In this article I describe the origins, aims and content of a program developed by the Anne Frank
House around issues of international justice. The program, designed for high school and university
students who are 17-years-old and older, and entitled "Coming to Justice", takes the betrayal of Jews
during the Holocaust as its starting point. Students from different countries critically examine through
interactive exercises the history of the Nuremberg trials and then shift their focus to a genocide that
took place during their lifetime: the conflict in Bosnia. Part of the program involves attending an actual
trial at the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague. Internal
evaluations show that attending a trial leaves a lasting impression on the student and a desire to remain
focused on human rights issues.
von Borries, B. (2003). Research on the attitudes of pupils and teachers towards the Shoa in Germany.
Intercultural Education, 14(2), 201-214.
In this paper, I examine the state of Holocaust education in Germany. I also look carefully at the
knowledge and attitudes of German students, from both the western and eastern part of the country.
Through the presentation of results from various empirical studies, I compare German students with
other students in Europe. I conclude that, though the overall picture is quite positive in German
schools, there is some cause for concern due to the fact that certain taboos surrounding National
Socialism seem to be disappearing among the younger generations.
Wassermann, S. (2007). Let’s have a famine! Connecting means and ends in teaching to big ideas. The
Phi Delta Kappan, 89(4), 290-297.
The author discusses a ‘famine’ planned by a Canadian secondary school that was intended to
simulate conditions in Darfur, Sudan. Contains critical observations on the importance of clearly
directing experiential learning, and offers guidelines for constructing these kinds of learning
experiences. (LA)
Waterson, R. A. (2009). The examination of pedagogical approaches to teaching controversial public
issues: Explicitly the teaching of the Holocaust and comparative genocide. Social Studies Research
and Practice, 4(2), 24pp. Retrieved 8 September 2009 from: http://socstrp.org/issues/PDF/4.2.1.pdf.
This study reflects an examination of four teachers and their approaches to teaching the Holocaust
and comparative genocide. The purpose was to address four succinct research questions following a
conceptual framework that emerged around these teachers’ rationale, methodology, preparation, and
characteristics. Analysis of the results allowed for the emergence of six themes: (a) citizenship, (b)
61
curriculum and design, (c) teaching pedagogy, (d) influence of modeling, (e) neoteny, and (f) lifealtering experiences.
Waterston, E., & Kukaj, A. (2008). Reflections on teaching social violence in an age of genocide and a
time of war. American Anthropologist, 109(3), 509-518.
This article is a reflection by a teacher and a student on "structural-violence pedagogy," the process
of teaching and learning about the structures of inequality implicated in various forms of social
violence, including those of everyday life, massacre, and genocide. Using a case study of an
undergraduate course in anthropology, we explore the complexity and emotionally charged nature of
this field, some innovative teaching strategies, and contributions of anthropology to understanding a
world marked and marred by war, genocide, racialization, and structural poverty. The teacher shapes a
course of study informed by critical pedagogy and theories about violence and power. The student
draws on her personal experiences, her intellectual interests, and her yearning for fuller answers to
deeper questions as she seeks to reciprocate what is being taught to her. Together, teacher and student
explore the promise in the power of teaching for understanding the world as it does exist.
Waxman, B.F. (1995). Contextualizing the structure of evil: Holocaust literature in the classroom.
North Carolina English Teacher, 52(2), 1316.
Wegner, G. (1998). What lessons are there from the Holocaust for my generation today? Perspectives
on civic virtue from middle school youth. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 13(2), 167-183.
The profound moral questions raised by the Holocaust present teachers and students with daunting
challenges. A recent study evaluated eighth-grade students' writings on lessons for their generation,
based on learnings from an interdisciplinary course stressing roles of perpetrator, victim, bystander, and
rescuer. Although most students saw concentration camps as alarm signals for the present, 12% did not
move beyond recorded factual information.
Weinstein, L. B. (2005). Student awareness day programs: An intergenerational program to reduce
prejudice. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 3(2), 133-136.
The implementation of a student awareness program in South Florida schools designed to encourage
students to celebrate diversity & reject prejudice is examined. The principal features & objectives of
the one-day program are identified; for instance, survivors from the Holocaust relate their experiences
with small groups of students & speakers who have survived ethnicity-based prejudice communicate
their experiences with entire student bodies. This program is applauded not only for valuing cultural
diversity but also for creating intergenerational relationships between various participants. The effects
of students & other participants involvement in the program upon their attitudes toward diversity &
prejudice are also discussed.
Wells, M., & Wingate, J. (1985). Holocaust studies as anti-racist education. The History and Social
Science Teacher, 20, 205-208.
Westermann, E. B. (1996). The Holocaust course at the United States Air Force Academy. The Annals
of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, (548), 116-122.
62
The stated mission of the United States Air Force Academy is to motivate and train the future
leaders of the United States Air Force, to develop knowledge as well as character. In conjunction with
this objective, the Academy's Department of History provided a 42-lesson course on the genocide of the
European Jews during the National Socialist dictatorship. The course addressed the moral, political, and
military aspects of the Nazi program of terror, propaganda, and eventually annihilation. Providing a
concentrated and in-depth program on the attempted annihilation of the Jews offers a unique
perspective to the students of a college known both for its academic excellence and its military
reputation. Students are forced to wrestle with the moral dilemmas faced by members of the European
Jewish community in the years between 1933 and 1945; given the role of military professionals, it is
especially important that their training confronts them with the moral dilemmas that will arise when the
execution of military orders may directly affect the life and death of innocent civilians.
White-Stevens, L. (1980). On teaching the lessons of the Holocaust. NJEA Review, 53(8), 18-20.
Citing current events such as genocide in Cambodia, the author stresses the importance of teaching
students about genocide and the Holocaust. She discusses current curriculum development efforts in
this area, particularly a high school course developed by New Jersey teachers.
Wolpow, R., Johnson, N. N., & Wognild, K. N. (2002). Designing, implementing, and evaluating a
teacher in-service program for enabling 6th-12th grade rural teachers to integrate Holocaust studies
into their curricula: A case study. Theory and Research in Social Education, 30(4), 563-588.
Changing demography and in ceiling incidents of backlash, growing intolerance, and prejudice led a
group of educators from seven different schools in two rural counties of northwestern Washington State
to organize a National Endowment for the Humanities sponsored series of Holocaust education inservice workshops. The obstacles they overcame in designing, implementing, and evaluating their
learning are presented herein. Provided also is an extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the
key issues/concepts and corresponding methods/sources the educators identified for successful
integration of this content into their 6-12th grade social studies, literature, and world language
classroom curricula.
Woodcraft, D. (2004). Helping Year 9 to think and feel their way through the origins of the Holocaust.
Teaching History, 117 (December), 12-13.
Presents a brief account of a lesson with Year 9 students about the Holocaust. Attempt to explore
the concept of Volksgemeinschaft with the student; Discussion on the Nazi policy and the belief that
led to the persecution of minority groups in Germany; Use of images and music to help students engage
in the lesson on a more emotional level.
Wrenn, A. (2001). 'Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?'. Teaching
History, 104 (September), 54-59.
How can the Holocaust be represented? In this article, Andrew Wrenn takes as his example the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He helps teachers encourage pupils to get beneath the
surface, and look analytically at the Museum itself as an interpretation of the Holocaust. Such an
63
investigation provides pupils and their teachers with the tools to investigate sensitively a variety of
other interpretations, from film to literature. [Contains an activity designed to guide students in
considering how other students might interpret the exhibits – can be done virtually online. Explores
controversial issues such as the omitting of the Armenian genocide from the museum at the request of
the Turkish government. ~ LA]
Young, A. (2005). Teaching about the Holocaust with technology. Media & Methods, 41(4), 33.
This article presents a guide to teaching the Holocaust history. The objective is to see the parallels
between students' lives and Jewish lives through photographs taken before the German occupation
affected daily living in Europe. It is significant that students have some background of life under
German rule to understand the human context of this life. They need to read about life before the Nazi
rise to power, before restrictions against Jews, before ghettoization, and before the Final Solution. They
ought to understand what it is that will be lost, as well as focus on the results of that loss. The unit takes
approximately three one-hour class periods. During the first two days, students brainstorm a list of
words they associate with a typical daily life and share that list in class. Students spend two days on the
computer researching photographs of pre-World War II Jewish daily life in Europe. Once they find
photographs from sites like www.ushmm.org, www.holocaust-history.org, www.remember.org or
http://motlc.wiesenthal.com, they research the town or city where the photographs were taken. For
homework, students are asked to look through their own family photographs to find at least one to
bring in and share with the class. The photograph ought to relate in some way to one of the photographs
they have researched. These photographs are scanned and saved in a document along with the images
downloaded from Web sites. Using a projector or white board, the teacher projects these images side by
side. On the third day, students create a multimedia presentation including the comparative
photographs. They add a narrative that discusses how their photographs depict typical daily life.
Zack, V. (1991). "It was the worst of times": Learning about the Holocaust through literature.
Language Arts, 68, 42-48.
Literature can help children deal with present and future issues. A teacher explains how students
learned about concentration camps through reading literature. The suffering that was described in what
they read had a profound impact on the children.
Zack, V. (1996). Nightmare issues: Children’s responses to racism and genocide in literature. New
Advocate, 9(4), 297-308.
Explains why it is important for children to learn about racism and genocide, and why literary
treatments of these topics constitute an important source of questions and discussions that speak to the
heart as well as to the mind. Concentrates on the European Holocaust and the African American
experience.
Zembylas, M., & Bekerman, Z. (2008). Education and the dangerous memories of historical trauma:
Narratives of pain, narratives of hope. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(2), 124-154.
64
The purpose of this article is to explore the meanings and implications of dangerous memories in
two different sites of past traumatic memories: one in Israel and the other in Cyprus. Dangerous
memories are defined as those memories that are disruptive to the status quo, that is, the hegemonic
culture of strengthening and perpetuating existing group-based identities. Our effort is to outline some
insights from this endeavor—insights that may help educators recognize the potential of dangerous
memories to ease pain and offer hope. First, a discussion on memory, history and identity sets the
ground for discussing the meaning and significance of dangerous memories in the history curriculum.
Next, we narrate two stories from our longitudinal ethnographic studies on trauma and memory in
Israel and Cyprus; these stories are interpreted through the lens of dangerous memories and their
workings in relation to the hegemonic powers that aim to sustain collective memories. The two
different stories suggest that collective memories of historical trauma are not simply “transmitted” in
any simple way down the generations—although there are powerful workings that support this
transmission. Rather, there seems to be much ambivalence in the workings of memories that under
some circumstances may create openings for new identities. The final section discusses the possibilities
of developing a pedagogy of dangerous memories by highlighting educational implications that focus
on the notion of creating new solidarities without forgetting past traumas. This last section employs
dangerous memories as a critical category for pedagogy in the context of our general concern about the
implications of memory, history and identity in educational contexts.
Journal Special Issues
Canadian Social Studies, 29(4) – Special Theme: The Holocaust. (1995).
A special issue from a practical teacher-oriented periodical on teaching the Holocaust in the
Canadian context. Includes articles by Charles (introduction), Bialystok (pedagogical considerations),
Reed & Lass (the relationship between racism today and the Holocaust), Mock (lessons of the
Holocaust for combating racism/hate in Canada today), O'Reilly (Christian anti-semitism and
Holocaust education), Kirman (how to give meaning to the large numbers of Holocaust victims in the
classroom), Marmor (a personal encounter with the Holocaust), Barclay (an entire unit for the transition
years on the Holocaust), Pomotov (an annotated bibliography of recent publications on the Holocaust
identified by Ontario grade level – P/J/I), the York Board of Education (a model Grade 6 integrated
unit) and Risinger (a brief annotated list of resources on teaching the Holocaust – all relevant entries
are included in the review). All articles are very brief (under four pages) and practice-focused. (LA)
Social Education 55(2) – Special Issue on Teaching Genocide. (1991).
Edited by Totten and Parsons. Contains several articles that range from teachable accounts of
various genocides (the Holocaust including gypsies/the disabled/people of colour, Armenian,
Ukrainian, Cambodian, Australian) to actual lesson plans suitable from grade 7 to college on genocides
throughout history. The introductory article (Totten & Parsons) is a discussion of content, rationale and
methodology for teaching on genocide. (LA)
Social Education 59(6) – Special Issue on Teaching about the Holocaust. (1995).
65
Excellent primer on teaching the Holocaust; a special issue guest edited by Totten, Feinberg and
Kleg. Includes articles on how to teach about the Holocaust (rationale, content, methodology,
resources), anti-Semitism as antecedent to the Holocaust, the other victims of the Nazis, Holocaust
denial, women in Nazi Germany, altruism, using literature, using short stories and poetry, teaching
Schindler’s list, an interview with Steven Spielberg, the American press and the Holocaust, antiSemitism in Nazi Germany, the death camps (Jewish population before and after WWII), a chronology,
and special supplements as follows: teaching on Nazi medical experiments with documents, teaching
on the death camps with documents, and maps showing sites of the Holocaust and the evolution of the
Third Reich. (LA) [Note: Several of the articles in this issue are featured elsewhere in this review.]
Social Science Record 24(2), 1987. Special Issue on Teaching Genocide.
A special issue on pedagogical approaches to dealing broadly with genocide in the classroom;
contains pedagogical articles and informational articles on the Cambodian and Armenian genocides,
and the Holocaust. Contains a primer for students in K-12 (Totten, 1987 above). (LA)
Books
Auron, Y. (2005). The pain of knowledge: Holocaust and genocide issues in education. New
Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Touches the international contexts of Holocaust/genocide teaching but goes into great detail
regarding the teaching of the Holocaust in Israel. Contains many accounts of pedagogical practice.
“The Pain of Knowledge deals not with historical events, but with possible ways of learning about
these events and their significance. It attempts to examine and deal critically with some of the profound
dilemmas at the core of Holocaust and genocide issues in education. The underlying purpose of this
book is to expose the reader to sometimes antithetical, and at other times complementary, views
concerning the teaching of these subjects, both in Israel and elsewhere in the world.” [Amazon.com]
The introduction offers a comparative historical reading of Holocaust pedagogy in many countries
including Israel, the United States and European countries, arguing that the particular history of each
country led to the Holocaust being taught in particular ways at particular times. Chapter 1: On the
Construction of Memory; Chapter 2: Philosophical Reflections on the Holocaust; Chapter 3:
Constructing the Memory of the Holocaust in Israel; Chapter 4: The Teaching of the Holocaust in
Israel; Chapter 5: On Teaching the Holocaust – Didactic Aspects; Chapter 6: Learning Programs in
Israel; Chapter 7: Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day; Chapter 8: Journeys of Youth to
Poland; Chapter 9: About the Attitudes of Israeli Adolescents towards the Holocaust; Chapter 10:
About the Attitudes of Israeli Arabs towards the Holocaust; Chapter 11: To Remember or to Forget?;
Chapter 12: On the Teaching of the Holocaust Around the World; Chapter 13: On the Teaching of
Genocide. (LA). The final chapter deals with issues of definition (genocide and Holocaust), the United
Nations and genocide, an overview of genocide teaching from several key authors (covered in this list),
and on the teaching of genocide in Israel. (LA)
66
Bosmajian, H. (2002). Sparing the Child: Grief and the Unspeakable in Youth Literature about Nazism
and the Holocaust. New York: Routledge.
“Bosmajian pursues these questions by examining works for children about Nazism by writers who
were either immediately, or through family members, connected to the Hitler Youth movement, and by
examining works for children about the Holocaust by writers were survived the camps—a dramatic
pairing. For the first, Bosmajian probes propagandistic works written for the Hitler Youth, as well as
postwar narratives such as Hans Peter Richter's autobiographical trilogy Friedrich (1961), I Was There
(1962, 1964), and The Time of the Young Soldiers (1967); Barbara Gehrts's Don't Say a Word (1975);
and Horst Burger's Why Were You in the Hitler Youth? Four Questions to My Father (1978). For the
second, she explores such texts as Doris Orgel's The Devil in Vienna (1988) and Anne Frank's The
Diary of a Young Girl (1952). Bosmajian finds both groupings marked by "unresolved mourning" (xv);
they are narratives that tend to limit the representation of that mourning by a rhetoric of concealment.
For the first, there is the impossibility, particularly in a children's book, of a Hitler Youth mourning the
loss of his ideology—and so depictions of the empowerment of youth provided by Nazism, its
theatrical allurements, are almost entirely absent from postwar (though not prewar) works for children.
For the second, there is the impossibility of resolved grief, for such resolution would suggest that one is
moving towards turning away from the memory of those who died. Thus both narrative forms are
marked by a terrible tension that is, Bosmajian argues, mostly played out in the subtexts of children's
books, and this subversion "becomes a personal and cultural screen between painful and guilty
memories and officially proclaimed ethical motivations" (xix).”9
Braham, R. L. (1987). The Treatment of the Holocaust in Textbooks: The Federal Republic of
Germany, Israel, The United States of America. New York: Columbia University Press.
This book presents an overview of the treatment of the Holocaust in the textbooks used in the
Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and the United States. Selection of these three countries was
based on historical, political, and state administration criteria. All three countries are democratic but
vary in terms of history, heritage, and educational system. Each section in this volume presents an
overview of the country's postwar system of education with emphasis on the agencies and authorities
responsible for the selection, production, and distribution of textbooks. A special effort is made to
differentiate among the textbooks used at the various levels of education in the treatment of antiSemitism, Nazism, and the Holocaust. The bibliographies appended to each of the three essays provide
additional sources for the interested reader. The book is divided into three parts with 12 chapters. The
parts include: (1) "Federal Republic of Germany: Germans, Jews and Genocide" (Walter F. Renn); (2)
"Israel" (Ruth Firer); and (3) "The United States of America" (Glenn S. Pate).
Carey-Webb, A. (2001). Literature and lives: A response-based, cultural studies approach to teaching
English. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
9
Schmidt, G. D. (2003). My Mother's Voice: Children, Literature, and the Holocaust, and Sparing the Child: Grief and the
Unspeakable in Youth Literature about Nazism and the Holocaust (Review). The Lion and the Unicorn, 27(2), 277-281.
67
Telling stories from secondary and college English classrooms, this book explores the new
possibilities for teaching and learning generated by bringing together reader-response and culturalstudies approaches. The book connects William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other
canonical figures to multicultural writers, popular culture, film, testimonial, politics, history, and issues
relevant to contemporary youth. Each chapter contains brief explications of literary scholarship and
theory, and each is followed by extensive annotated bibliographies of multicultural literature,
approachable scholarship and theory, and relevant Internet sites. Each chapter also contains
descriptions of classroom units and activities focusing on a particular theme, such as genocide,
homelessness, race, gender, youth violence, (post)colonialism, class relations, and censorship; and
discussion of ways in which students often respond to such "hot-button" topics.
Danks, C., & Rabinsky, L. B., Eds. (1999). Teaching for a Tolerant World, Grades 9-12: Essays and
Resources. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
The essays and resources in this book are designed to help high school English teachers adapt their
own classroom lessons for teaching about genocide and intolerance. Beginning with guidelines
developed by the National Council of teachers of English's Committee on Teaching about Genocide
and Intolerance, the 16 essays present approaches to teaching various works as literature. Essays
include: (1) "Struggling with the Meaning of Tolerance" (Caroline E. Heller and Joseph A. Hawkins
Jr.); (2) "After Freedom: Jim Crow in Life and Literature" (Milton Kleg and Celia Bard); (3) "Noticing
'The Color Purple': Personalizing the Invisible" (Mari M. McLean and Christine M. Gibson); (4) "The
Foreigner at Home: Faces of Asian Diaspora in Tan and Nunez" (Toming Jun Liu); (5) "Teaching
Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'" (Carol Danks); (6) "The Salem Witch Trials: History Repeats
Itself" (Bonnie R. Albertson); (7) "Teaching Conflict-Resolution Strategies through Multiethnic
Literature" (Belinda Yun-Ying Louie and Douglas H. Louie); (8) "Young People Respond to the
Elderly" (Leatrice B. Rabinsky); (9) "Peer Dialogue Journals: An Approach to Teaching Tolerance"
(Kate Kessler); (10) "Defining Genocide: Words Do Matter" (Samuel Totten); (11) "Teaching the
'Holodomor' (Ukraine Famine): Issues of Language, Literary Pedagogy, and Learning" (Judith P.
Robertson); (12) "Teaching about Women in Twentieth-Century Genocides" (Marjorie Bingham); (13)
"Academic and Pedagogical Issues in Teaching the Holocaust" (Sandra Stotsky); (14) "Teaching the
Holocaust in the English Classroom: Hearing the Voices, Touching the History" (Grace M. Caporino);
(15) "Incorporating Poetry into a Study of the Holocaust" (Samuel Totten); and (16) "It's Not Just What
You Teach, But Who You Teach" (Sallie M. Fine). In addition to general resources for teaching about
genocide and intolerance, the book presents annotations of African American, Asian American,
Chicano/Chicana, Native American, Gay and Lesbian, and Holocaust resources.
Davies, I. (Ed.). (2000). Teaching the Holocaust: Educational dimensions, principles and practices.
New York: Continuum.
[From a review in American Secondary Education, 30(2).] Part 1, “Understanding the Holocaust,”
presents a brief but thoughtful history of antisemitism in Europe. Beginning with the development of
Jewish communities in Europe and the conflicts between Jews and Christians in the Roman Empire, the
author of the chapter reflects on the integration of Jews prior to the middle ages and the fears that
developed as the Jews became less separate. The discussion is thorough and careful. It provides the
68
reader with the background necessary to place the Holocaust in social and historical context. The
second chapter provides an understanding of whom the “Jews” were and the religious dimension of this
group of people. The central question that is asked and answered is “What is the nature of Judaism and
of the Jews?” prior to the victimization of the Holocaust. The authors present a clear discussion of
Judaism and life in the Jewish home so that the teacher can operate from a clear understanding of the
strengths of the Jews in Europe before beginning to study the particular event of the Holocaust. Chapter
3 is the shortest and most difficult of the introductory sections. The moral issues surrounding the
Holocaust are difficult for adults to discuss and this can make teaching about them most difficult. The
clear and concise presentation of the issues is excellent and thought-provoking. It provides a sounding
board of teachers as they consider their own responsibilities and as they deal with the recurring nature
of such genocidal events. The final chapter in the introductory section raises the issues and perplexities
related to teaching about the Holocaust. The rationale for teaching the Holocaust from a historical
frame is clearly presented and the need for moral reflection is developed. The author gives the reader a
clear curricular discussion of the teaching of the Holocaust. The horrible things done systematically to
so many people, people like us, are the fundamental issues that must be dealt with by the educator. Part
2 includes discussions of the teaching of the Holocaust in a variety of settings around the world.
Chapter 5 is particularly interesting since it is a discussion of teaching about the Holocaust in Germany.
An interesting discussion of definitions and of the impact of changes in the last three decades will help
the educator better understand this complex issue. Chapter 6 is focused on the Polish interpretation of
the Holocaust, represented through the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. A description of materials
available and the manner in which they can be used in this unique setting is moving and powerful.
Chapter 7 is drawn from the experience of teaching about the Holocaust in the United States. Several
excellent programs are described including the unique resources of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. Chapter 8 concludes this section with a discussion of the teaching of the Holocaust
in England. Of particular value is the discussion of the factors that lead to good Holocaust education
programs. Part 3 develops ways of teaching about the Holocaust in a variety of secondary subjects. The
first draws on the unique role of English in the curriculum. The focus is on using engagement with
Nazi texts as a methodology. The instruction draws on the manipulation of language by the Nazis as
they wrote and spoke before and during the Holocaust. The second focus draws on history as a
discipline. The need for student understanding of the relevance and importance of the historical event
guides a careful study using historical methodologies. The central issues are “what happened and how
do we find out about it using historical moral dilemmas and narrative and stories for participants.
Religious education (or the teaching about religions) provides information that has, given recent events,
becomes more critical than ever. A focus on the six major religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism) is a critical part of this discipline. One major question “Where was
God?” is a central element as students deal with the interpretation of “god” in each religion. A final
chapter focuses on using traveling exhibits to teach special topics such as the Holocaust. This is an
excellent description of the way such exhibits can be used in teaching.
Duboys, T. (Ed.). (2008). Paths to Teaching the Holocaust. Rotterdam: Sense.
“Offers contributions by childhood, middle and secondary teacher educators from various regions
and universities in the continental United States. … Some contributors write about ways in which they
69
infuse existing courses with Holocaust materials, while others focus on where and when to begin the
education of their students with respect to genocide. Curriculum and instruction are examined from the
perspective of existing research. Preparing oneself to teach the material and personal teaching style are
presented in ways that will be helpful both to new and to experienced teachers and those interested in
the kinds of questions embedded in this material. Educators and others will see how events focused
upon in the Holocaust are connected to violations of human rights and social justice committed during
the period of National Socialism. Readers are reminded of the approximate nature of knowledge when
it is not born of lived experience, and are invited to raise questions about the Holocaust and other
genocides. The varied nature of the chapters offers a platform for engaging in discourse likely to pique
the interest of people who have limited experience with the topic, and of those whose knowledge may
be rich and of long standing. Teachers often seek to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and
will find the References of each writer an invaluable resource. The contents of Paths to Teaching the
Holocaust will be useful to educators and others concerned with oppression, human rights and social
justice.” [Excerpted from Amazon.com]
Eaglestone, R., & Langford, B. (2008). Teaching Holocaust Literature and Film. New York: Palgrave
MacMillan.
Gathering together work by leading teachers and researchers in the field, this book explores a
rapidly growing area of the curriculum: Holocaust literature and film. It addresses demanding seminarroom and institutional practicalities, as well as exploring a range of conceptual and theoretical issues
and problems. [Amazon.com]
Fallace, T. D. (2008). The Emergence of Holocaust Education in American Schools. New York:
Palgrave MacMillan.
Fallace offers an account of the explosion of Holocaust teaching in the United States since the
1960s, discussing the roots of this explosion and the major authors/educators involved. Topics include:
the history of states mandating the inclusion of the Holocaust, teaching the Holocaust in New York
City, the ‘affective revolution’ in Holocaust education (including the advent of Facing History and
Ourselves), controversies in defining the Holocaust, the vast media output of Holocaust
representations, critiques of Holocaust education, an overview of the literature on Holocaust
pedagogies and curricula, and extensive notes on teaching the Holocaust in secondary schools.
Contains an extensive list of resources (primary, secondary and curricular materials for use by teachers
– although many of the latter pre-date 1980). (LA)
Fine, M. (1995). Habits of mind: Struggling over values in America’s classrooms. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
“In Habits of Mind, Melinda Fine explores the politics and practice of programs that foster moral
thinking and civic responsibility, highlighting the acclaimed and controversial Facing History and
Ourselves (FHAO) curriculum which uses study of the Holocaust to help students reflect on
contemporary issues of racism, violence, intolerance, and prejudice.” [World Cat]
70
Garber, Z. (1994). Shoah, The Paradigmatic Genocide: Essays in Exegesis and Eisegesis. Lanham,
MD: University Press of America.
Chapter 2 is an overview of an introductory Holocaust studies course taught by the author: “the
main thrust of this essay, an attempt at objective presentation, is to provide some direction for possible
standards in an introductory (i.e., lower division) class in Shoah Studies. This article discusses
background, objective, methodology, theological responses, and limitations. It concludes with
comments on the Written Assignment. Not the final word but a beginning, which perceives the material
it teaches from a student’s point of view, and attempts to make the Shoah learning experience
meaningful and academically responsible.”
Garber, Z., Berger, A. L., & Libowitz, R. (Eds.). (1986). Methodology in the Academic Teaching of the
Holocaust. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
“This is a collection of loosely connected essays dealing with different approaches in the teaching of
the Holocaust. The approaches discussed are literary, theological, and pedagogical. The book is divided
into four parts: (1) Theory and Methods; (2) Teaching Others; (3) Literature and Arts; and (4) Surveys
and Reports. The essays deal with teaching the Holocaust to non-Jewish audiences, teaching about
specific topics like rescue and resistance, teaching the Holocaust in Israel and through literature, and
there is a chapter on experimental drama used by a German-Jewish dance theater. The essays are
uneven and the connecting thread is tenuous; however, some important general questions for the
teacher are raised.”10 Foreword / Franklin H. Littell -- The Holocaust and the chosen people: a
methodological paradox / S. Daniel Breslauer -- Teaching the Holocaust: the introductory course / Zev
Garber -- Asking the questions: background and recommendations for Holocaust study / Richard L.
Libowitz -- Teaching the Holocaust in Israel: the dilemma as a distribing reality and pedagogical
concept / Arye Carmon -- Resistance and submission: teaching about responses to oppression / Ruth
Zerner -- What can anyone do? / John K. Roth -- The by-stander / Hubert G. Locke -- Teaching about
the rescuers of Jews / Lawrence Baron -- Crossing the experience barrier: teaching the Holocaust to
Christian students / James F. Moore -- Memory and meaning: the Holocaust in second generation
literature / Alan L. Berger -- The almost meaning: the quest for the Holocaust in Canadian Jewish
fiction / Rachel Feldhay Brenner -- Ka-Tzetnik's literary portrayal of Holocaust experience: a study of
Kochav ha'efer (Star of ashes) as a model for analysis of Holocaust literature / Moshe Pelli -Experimental drama and the Holocaust: the work of the Jewish-German dance theatre and its
application to the teaching of the Holocaust / Bjorn Krondorfer -- The Holocaust as non-history:
coverage in college western civilization textbooks / Joel J. Epstein -- Problems related to knowledge
utilization in elementary and secondary schools / Marilyn Bonner Feingold -- My papal encyclical /
Harry James Cargas -- The Nazi "blood myth" and the Holocaust / Livia Bitton-Jackson. [World Cat]
Goldenberg, M., & Millen, R. L. (Ed.). (2007). Testimony, Tensions, and Tikkun: Teaching the
Holocaust in Colleges and Universities. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
10
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
71
“The first section of Testimony, Tensions, and Tikkun can be read as an injunction to teach and act
in a manner consistent with a profound cautionary message: that there can be no tolerance for moral
neutrality about the Holocaust, and that there is no subject in the humanities or social sciences where its
shadow has not reached. The second section is devoted to the process and nature of students' learning.
These chapters describe efforts to guide students through terrain that hides cognitive and emotional
land mines. The authors examine their responsibility to foster students' personal connection with the
events of the Holocaust, but in such a way that they not instill hopelessness about the future. The third
and final section moves the subject of the Holocaust out of the classroom and into broader institutional
settings-universities and community colleges and their surrounding communities, along with museums
and memorial sites.” [Amazon.com] Part One contains university faculty members’ reflections on
teaching Holocaust courses in various disciplines. Specific contents include teaching the Holocaust in
conversation with: the arts in Holocaust pedagogy (Feinstein), urban geography (Munn), language
analysis (Benedix), business ethics (Felipe), ethics (Parker, Blumenthal), history (Levine), philosophy
(Patterson), and religious ethics (Pollefeyt). Part Two focuses on “The Process and Nature of Student
Learning” or Holocaust pedagogy. Specific contents include: creating a safe space in which students
can personally connect with the material (Shapiro), teaching the Holocaust at a conservative Christian
university (Todd), holding extra sessions for students to ask questions outside of class (Manemann).
Emphasis on understanding and foregrounding the effect of the material upon students. Part Three
discusses higher education, museums and memorials. Contents include: fighting to teach the Holocaust
in conservative and/or anti-Semitic contexts (Stryker, Harran); teaching in community colleges
(Goldenberg), educating through Holocaust memorials (Smith), and working in a group of scholaractivists to enliven Holocaust teaching (Grob & Knight). (LA)
Hayes, M. R. (Ed.). (1999). Hearing the Voices: Teaching the Holocaust to Future Generations –
Proceedings of the 27th Annual Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches. Merion
Station, PA: Merion Westfield Press International.
Kertzer, A. (2002). My Mother’s Voice: Children, Literature and the Holocaust. Peterborough, ON:
Broadview Press.
Framing her questions both as the daughter of a survivor and as a scholar of children's literature,
Adrienne Kertzer examines the difficulties of fitting the Holocaust into the narrative framework of
North American children's literature. Kertzer explores the problematic place of innocence in children's
books and theorizes an approach that focuses on the child reader's need for knowledge. The intersection
of children's literature and Holocaust representation becomes a productive interdisciplinary space for
assessing the possibilities and limitations both of children's books and of recent approaches to
Holocaust discourse. Believing that Holocaust Studies needs to integrate children's literature into its
theoretical discussions and that children's literature scholarship must similarly situate its discussions of
Holocaust representation in the context of theoretical considerations of adult works, Kertzer uses the
lens of children's literature to problematize the ways! that various adult discourses represent the
Holocaust. [Amazon.com] “Kertzer pursues the questions with a much more personal voice. She
highlights the tension between the limiting narrative structures that are part of children's literature—
structures that may not be part of adult literature but that tend to protect the child reader from horror—
and the narrative purposes of that literature, which are to instruct and "make meaning of what is too
72
easily dismissed as incomprehensible" (211). The structural limitations may, Kertzer suggests, be such
that they prohibit the narrative purposes, so that Holocaust books, particularly when used
pedagogically, may not be doing at all what we might expect them to be doing for a child audience. In
other words, "fiction is acceptable only if it is historically grounded but discrete in the history that it
tells—the equivalent of the painting that blurs the background details of the photograph" (146).
Kertzer's interest is in more recent works, works in which the author's memory is not personal, but
acquired. In narratives such as Carol Matas's Daniel's Story (1993), Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A
Child of War (1998), and Christa Laird's Beyond the Wall (1989), Kertzer questions, How is it that one
can write for a child about genocide? How do you write about mass murder with a sensitive hand? And
if the answer here is to turn to a protagonist's heroism, defiance, and survival, have you undercut not
only the horror of the Holocaust, but its factuality?”11
Landau, R. S. (1998). Studying the Holocaust: Issues, Readings and Documents. London: Routledge.
This book “provides a guide to the philosophical, historical and moral issues involved when
studying or teaching the Holocaust. … [The text] includes: an historical overview of the Holocaust; key
archival material, with helpful introductions; a range of readings, questions and ideas for stimulating
discussion; an examination of the nature of the crime of genocide; a reference section containing brief
biographies of key figures and a glossary of essential terms; [and] a useful review of the historiography
of Holocaust scholarship.” [From back cover.] Although the majority of the book is suitable as a
thematic textbook for students, the introductory chapter explores the Holocaust as an educational theme
including: the continuing relevance of the Holocaust; on teaching the Holocaust as a ‘human’ event (as
a tale of humanity); exploring the distinction between the unique and the universal in Holocaust
pedagogy; a list of key questions for use in teaching the Holocaust, and the importance of using
questions for this purpose; and an overall “enlightened and effective” approach to delivering Holocaust
education that is broken down into a number of “philosophical and educational assumptions”. Most
notably, Part III – Genocide in the Modern Era is a textbook-style overview of the meaning of genocide
and several genocides since the Holocaust. Paraphrases Helen Fein’s categorization of genocides as
ideological, retributive, developmental or despotic. Discusses conditions for genocide and genocide in
action (i.e., what it requires), presenting nine brief case studies including Tasmanian Aborigines,
Armenians, Kulaks (USSR), Roma, Bengalis, Hutu of Burundi, Ache Indians, Cambodians and East
Timorese. (LA)
Lauckner, N. A. & Jokiniemi, M. (Eds.). (2000). Shedding Light on the Darkness: A Guide to Teaching
the Holocaust. New York: Bergahn Books.
An edited collection covering many aspects of Holocaust teaching from the lens of German Studies
in language, media and literature. Most notably, every chapter in the book is written by a university
instructor and includes a full syllabus on the topic of the chapter. Topics covered include using
literature and film (German and non-German), including survivor testimony and in-class visits, an
account of a German literature course on literature and the Third Reich, problems encountered in
11
Schmidt, G. D. (2003). My Mother's Voice: Children, Literature, and the Holocaust, and Sparing the Child: Grief and the
Unspeakable in Youth Literature about Nazism and the Holocaust (Review). The Lion and the Unicorn, 27(2), 277-281.
73
designing/delivering a Holocaust course, the use of genre in literature teaching, teaching on resistance
using literature, teaching a course on Jewish German relations, discussing the implications of the 19451995 period for Jewish German relation including unification and the rise of the New Right in
Germany, using ‘interactive autobiography’ as Holocaust pedagogy. Includes a list of “Important
Historical Readings on the Holocaust and the Nazi Era.” (LA)
Littell, M. S. (Ed.). (1985). Holocaust Education: A Resource Book for Teachers and Professional
Leaders. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press.
A compendium of the major presentations of the Eighth Annual Conference on Teaching the
Holocaust and Its Lessons in Philadelphia, for which the theme was “Lessons of the Holocaust: Signs
of Oppression”. Content germane to pedagogy/curricula includes: remarks on the rise of revisionism,
the state of Holocaust education in the USA in 1985, recommendations for an Early Warning System
for genocide, and seven lessons of the Holocaust, concerns with professional schools post-Holocaust
(Littell); definition of Holocaust and genocide (Locke);and the Holocaust and the obligations of law
schools (O’Brien). The book also contains remarks by Yehuda Bauer and Melvin Mermelstein (who
took a group of Holocaust ‘revisionists’ to court for denial). (LA)
Millen, R. L., Bennett, T. A., Mann, J. D., O’Connor, J. E., & Welker, R. P. (Eds.). (1996). New
Perspectives on the Holocaust: A Guide for Teachers and Scholars. New York: NYU Press.
This book groups together papers from a Holocaust educators’ conference and is divided into three
parts with separate introductions: Viewing the Holocaust in Context, Considering Issues of Teaching
and Curriculum, and Teaching Toward Dialogue – Spiritual and Moral Issues. Part 1 contains essays on
the uniqueness, representations of children, preludes to the Holocaust, and secrecy. Part 2 deals directly
with teaching and curriculum development, including essays on the educational imperative in
Holocaust curricula, Americanizing the Holocaust, interdisciplinary teaching, using literature, the
Holocaust as case study in the social sciences, using witness testimony, teaching on international
responses to the Holocaust, teaching through landscape study, Holocaust denial literature, teaching on
perpetrators, making the Holocaust relevant for non-Jewish students, helping students confront their
own biases, one case study of a novel, and two modes of literary response to the Holocaust. Part 3
contains essays on Israeli-German dialogue on the Shoah, teaching the Holocaust in Germany, Jewish
theology after the Shoah, Christianity and anti-Semitism, implications for medical ethics/practice, and
the impact of the Holocaust on Christian thought. (LA)
Morris, M. (2001). Curriculum and the Holocaust: Competing sites of memory and representation.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
An extensive discussion of curriculum theory and the Holocaust that focuses on “how this memory
is represented and how the process of remembering is taught” (back cover). Chapter 1 features an
extensive literature review of Weaver, Wegner, Ellsworth, Britzman and Simon, etc. on how the
Holocaust might be taught and might be ‘received’ by students. Chapter 2 discusses psychoanalysis,
memory and the unconscious processes that interact with our responses to difficult memories like the
Holocaust. Chapter 3 discusses anti-Semitism and the myriad effects of anti-Semitic representations on
Jews. Chapter 4 is a clarification of the author’s use of the terms memory and history. In Chapter 5,
74
Morris discusses “memory of Holocaust histories” in three parts: perpetrator, victim and bystander
histories. Chapter 6 focusses on Holocaust novels, including literary criticism thereof, and the final
chapter (7) addresses Morris’ notion of a ‘dytopic curriculum’ for the Holocaust and cautions against
making this history safe or less strange through pedagogy. (LA)
Nusan, J. N., Ed. (1992). The Sociology of Genocide/the Holocaust: A Curriculum Guide. Washington,
DC: American Sociological Association.
Petovello, L. R., & Quenk, R. (1997). The Spirit that Moves Us: A Literature-Based Resource Guide –
Teaching about Diversity, Prejudice, the Holocaust and Human Rights (Vol. 1, Grades K-4 and Vol.
2, Grades 5-8). Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House Publishers.
This two-volume resource guide includes lesson plans and bibliographical references for teaching
about the Holocaust. The first volume, revised in 1999, covers grades K-4, and the second volume,
published in 1997, covers grades 5-8. Each guide offers age-appropriate strategies and lesson plans for
teaching students about the fundamental causes of human rights violations and for developing their
awareness of ongoing social issues. Lesson plans include exercises that explore underlying concepts
while teaching students about geography, history, social studies, math, music, and society. Volume 1's
chapters are: (1) "Celebrating Diversity"; (2) "Learning from Many Cultures"; (3) "Creating
Community"; (4) "Confronting Prejudice"; and (5) "Beginning Holocaust Studies." Appendices give
articles and resources for teachers. Volume 2's chapters are: (1) "Cultural Identity: The Positive Power
of Belonging"; (2) "Forging an American Identity: Immigration and Assimilation"; (3) "Differences as
Dividers: Prejudice and Discrimination"; (4) "Doing the Right Thing: Making Moral and Ethical
Decisions"; (5) "Shattered Lives: The Holocaust Begins"; (6) "Lasting Effects: Survivors' Stories"; (7)
"Heroes and Heroines: Those Who Made a Difference"; and (8) "Personal Best: Making a Difference in
Today's World." Appendices include: (1) "A Common Language: Finding Ways To Speak about the
Unspeakable"; (2) a collection of articles for teachers; and (3) documents of the United Nations relating
to human rights. Both volumes include complete, annotated bibliographies, including both print and
non-print resources, and appendices include articles for teachers and helpful information on locating
further resources, including those on Holocaust-related and human rights organizations. [ERIC]
Robertson, J. P., Ed. (1999). Teaching for a Tolerant World, Grades K-6: Essays and Resources.
Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
This book presents essays and resources that address crucial questions regarding how children
should learn about genocide and intolerance and the literature used in teaching these topics. Part 1
(Guidelines on Teaching about Genocide and Intolerance through Language Arts/English Studies
Education) includes the following 2 essays: "Editor's Introduction: On Constructing Memory and Hope
in Childhood" (Judith P. Robertson); and "General Guidelines for Teaching about Intolerance and
Genocide" (Grace M. Caporino and Rose A. Rudnitski). Part 2 (Learning about Intolerance and
Genocide: Questions of Pedagogy) includes 12 essays: "Defining Genocide: Words Do Matter"
(Samuel Totten); "A Letter to My Children: Historical Memory and the Silences of Childhood"
(Timothy J. Stanley); "To Know Me, Read My Story. To Respect Me, Read It Well" (Yeuk Yi Pang);
"Life Ties: Disrupting Anthropocentrism in Language Arts Education" (Anne C. Bell and Constance L.
75
Russell); "Inviting/Supporting Critical Praxis through Picture Books: 'Possibility' in Monica Hughes's
'A Handful of Seeds'" (Christine D. Connelly); "Re-Reading the Bad Guys: Sixth Graders'
Understanding of Nazi Soldiers in 'Number the Stars'" (April D. Nauman); "Tolerance and Intolerance
for African American Children and Families: Lessons from the Movie 'Crooklyn'" (Michelle R.
Dunlap); "Educating beyond Tolerance: Reading Media Images of the 'Hijab'" (Sharon Todd);
"Nightmare Issues: Children's Responses to Racism and Genocide in Literature" (Vicki Zack); "Daniel
Pinkwater's 'Wingman': Exploring Conflict-Resolution Strategies through Multiethnic Literature"
(Belinda Yun-Ying Louie and Douglas H. Louie); "Rights, Respect, and Responsibility: Toward a
Theory of Action in Two Bilingual (Spanish/English) Classrooms" (Beth Yeager, Irene Pattenaude,
Maria E. Franquiz, and Louise B. Jennings); and "Classroom Conversations: Young Children Discuss
Fairness and Justice, Intolerance and Prejudice" (Debbie Miller and Anne K. Goudvis). Part 3 (On
Facing Uncertainty in Teaching) includes the following 4 chapters: "South African Teachers' and
Students' Resiliency in Combating Apartheid Violence" (P. J. Nomathemba Seme); "Teaching Risky
Stories: Remembering Mass Destruction through Children's Literature" (Roger I. Simon and Wendy
Armitage Simon); "Teaching about Worlds of Hurt through Encounters with Literature: Reflections on
a Pedagogy" (Judith P. Robertson); and "'Dimensions of a Lonely Discovery': Anne Frank and the
Question of Pedagogy" (Deborah P. Britzman). Part 4 (Additional Resources) includes the following 6
chapters: "Uncloseting the Classroom Library: An Annotated Bibliography of Teacher Resources"
(Sarah-Hope Parmeter); "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Is the Fairest One of All? Using Children's
Literature to Teach about Aging" (Dona J. Helmer); "African American Resources" (Joseph A.
Hawkins, Jr. and Glenda K. Valentine); "How Long Will Dennis Still Be a Menace? Teacher
Resources for Deregulating Gender Roles in Elementary Classrooms" (Judith P. Robertson and Bernard
W. Andrews); "From Cupboard to Classroom: First Nations Resources" (Elspeth Ross); and "What
Should They Read, and When Should They Read It? A Selective Review of Holocaust Literature for
Students in Grades 2 through 6" (Karen Shawn).
Russell, L. (2008). Teaching the Holocaust in School History: Teachers or Preachers? London:
Continuum.
A book-length study of how the Holocaust is taught in British high school history classes. Contains
a chronology of the implementation of the new Holocaust history curriculum in Britain, as well as the
dynamics of teaching on the Holocaust before/after the new curriculum. Investigates how teachers
construct the Holocaust through their teaching. Russell also documents how the public/government
grappled with the question of whether the Holocaust should be compulsory in school history, and
integrates teacher perspectives as well. The teachers in the study are associated with a pedagogical
continuum from historical to social/moral to emotional. (LA)
Samuels, R. (2007). Teaching the Rhetoric of Resistance: The Popular Holocaust and Social Change in
a Post 9/11 World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
“Teaching the Rhetoric of Resistance analyzes diverse contemporary reactions to the depiction of
the Holocaust and other cultural traumas in museums, movies, television shows, classroom discussions,
and bestselling books. Samuels scrutinizes roles played by historical trauma and the popular media in
the shaping of ethnic identity as it becomes increasingly pertinent against the backdrop of
76
globalization. In concentrating on the multiple ways the Holocaust is represented and received in
different media, Samuels locates four central defense mechanisms that people employ in order to be
able to cope with important ethical lessons regarding historical traumas: identification, idealization,
assimilation, and universalization. Building upon these defense mechanisms, the book is able to set out
effective pedagogical strategies dedicated to overcoming student resistances to critical analysis and
social engagement.” [Amazon.com]
Schreier, H., & Heyl, M. (Eds). (1997). Never Again! The Holocaust’s Challenge for Educators.
Hamburg: Kraemer.
A predominantly German volume on Holocaust education (in English) that contains the first English
translation of “Education after Auschwitz” by Theodore W. Adorno. The book is divided into two
sections: Premises, on conceptual and theoretical concerns germane to Holocaust teaching; and
Approaches, on pedagogical and curricular considerations. Essays in Premises consider: Levinas and
the Holocaust (Peukert); health and education in post-Holocaust context (Wangh); guilt (Hurwitz);
experienced and inherited trauma (Juelich); singularity versus universality in the Holocaust
(Kraushaar); the uniqueness of the Holocaust (Milchman & Rosenberg); and a chapter on acts of
genocide in the 20th century that concludes with ten concise recommendations for including genocide
in school curricula (Totten & Parsons). Essays in Approaches consider: Jewish memory and the
Holocaust (Lozowick); Israeli youth missions to Holocaust sites in Poland (Feldman); museums as sites
of Holocaust pedagogy (Weitzman); Facing History and Ourselves (Johnson); the Americanization of
the Holocaust (Bialystok); Holocaust education in ‘West’ Germany (Heyl); education after Auschwitz
in a multicultural society (Abram); and a German perspective on the Holocaust’s consequences for
education (Schreier). Twelve of the sixteen essays in this volume are derived from presentations at a
Holocaust and education conference in Hamburg consisting largely of German educators that took
place on the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. (LA)
Schweber, S. A. (2004). Making sense of the Holocaust: Lessons from classroom practice. New York:
Teachers College Press.
“Starting with the assumption that all teaching carries with it moral orientations, this book examines
which lessons are conveyed implicitly and explicitly in teaching and learning about the Holocaust.
Through three, very readable case studies, the author reflects on what lessons the Holocaust ought to be
used to express, illuminating important implications for the teaching of other historical episodes.”
[Amazon.com] This book covers a multi-site classroom ethnography of different teachers and their
teaching practices related to the Holocaust. Teaching strategies analyzed include: film (such as
Schindler’s List), traditional lecture, prepared curricula (Facing History and Ourselves – which
Schweber discusses as, in this instance under study, “facing ourselves but not history”), and drama
performance. In the last chapter, Schweber generally discusses the inevitability of particular lessons
being conveyed by many different teachers who handle the same material – the Holocaust. In
particular, she touches on the ethics of mandating morality through pedagogy, the illusion of simplicity
and how this is used to convey a very complex event more effectively (problematic), three continua of
moral geography that inhere in teaching the Holocaust (emplotment, image of historical actors, and
representations of history), the ways in which discussion is used by teachers as a pedagogical tool, and
77
the teachers’ reactions to reading their case studies. Advocates particular professional development
approaches for teachers such as resource-sharing discussions and peer-to-peer reflective mentoring on
Holocaust pedagogy. Ends by underscoring the importance of never simplifying the Holocaust for the
purpose of facilitating its pedagogical delivery. (LA)
Schweber, S. A., & Findling, D. (2007). Teaching the Holocaust. Los Angeles, CA: Torah Aura.
Shawn, K., Goldfrad, K., & Younglove, W. (2008). The Call of Memory: Learning about the
Holocaust Through Narrative – A Teacher’s Guide. Teaneck, NJ: Ben Yehuda Press.
“The anthology offers 27 outstanding short stories by Holocaust survivors and contemporary writers
including Rachmil Bryks, Ida Fink, Bernard Gotfryd, Aharon Megged, Cynthia Ozick, Kurt Vonnegut,
and Elie Wiesel. The anthology is organized chronologically and thematically, allowing teachers to
incorporate selections appropriately throughout any related course of study. From “In the Beginning”
through “The Second Generation and After,” the stories in each of the 11 sections illuminate moments
of the daily lives of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe and offer readers a glimpse of the varied
responses of men, women, and children to the tragedy unfolding around them.” [If ordering a class set,
one obtains an Extensive Teacher’s Guide: “American master teachers, representing public, private,
Catholic, and Jewish schools, field-tested the stories, and in highly-engaging, first-person essays, they
share their classroom experiences and offer immediately useful suggestions for making these short
narratives accessible to learners of all backgrounds and levels. Included are goals and objectives,
vocabulary, relation to state standards, activities, assessment advice, and extensive citations for
research and individualized instruction, including up-to-date Web sites. In addition, college professors
from Israel, Australia, and America provide incisive and detailed literary analyses of each story, along
with scholarly resources. These outstanding essays provide a unique complement to the teaching
suggestions. ” [from Ben Yehuda Press]
Shimoni, G. (1991). The Holocaust in University Teaching. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
[From Fox, 1995.] “Provides a microscopic view of university teaching on the Holocaust in the
United States, Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Part I of the
book, ‘Teaching approaches and resources’, contains four short but useful essays on aspects of teaching
the Holocaust at university level. Part II ‘Selected syllabi’, contains twenty-six examples, with reading
lists and sample examination questions. The syllabi included by Shimoni range from examinations of
the basic history of the Holocaust and the Third Reich (David Bankier, Michael Marrus, Karl
Schleunes, Nechama Tec), to anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, the Third Reich and the Jewish leadership
(Richard Cohen, Richard Libowitz, Dan Michman, David Roskies), to the study of literature and the
Holocaust (Rachel Feldhay Brenner, Sidra Ezrahi, Anita Norich), as well as to Nazi war crimes in
international law and war crimes trials (Henry Friedlander) – to name just a few of the main topics
covered.”12
Short, G., & Reed, C. A. (2004). Issues in Holocaust Education. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate.
12
Fox, J. P. (1995). The Holocaust: Mythologies and education. Patterns of Prejudice, 29(4), 67–72.
78
“The authors examine a range of issues including the need for Holocaust education, the factors that
facilitate or inhibit its evolution, and the indifferent response of the antiracist movement to the
attempted annihilation of European Jewry. The empirical content sheds light on the attitudes and
practices of teachers and on the prospects of drawing on the Holocaust to further the goal of
participatory democracy. The themes and illustrative research are discussed in the context of
developments in two locations, the United Kingdom and Canada, and the findings will be germane to
an international audience.” [From back cover.] Chapter titles (and selected content) are as follows:
Chapter 1: Why Teach about the Holocaust?; Chapter 2: The Development of Holocaust Education in
the United Kingdom and Canada; Chapter 3: Antiracist Education and the Holocaust; Chapter 4:
Curricular, Organisational and Ethical Issues; Chapter 5: Teachers’ Attitudes and Practices; Chapter 6:
Holocaust Education and Citizenship; Chapter 7: Holocaust Curricula; Chapter 8: Holocaust Museums;
Chapter 9: Teaching the Holocaust to Young Children. Chapter 3 is particularly detailed with regard to
the ‘uses’ of the Holocaust in teaching about racism and its exemption from this process in the UK and
Canada (they claim a schism between anti-racist and Holocaust education arose in Canada due to the –
in their understanding – ‘problematic’ definition of racism as the subjugation only of people of colour
i.e., that it excludes anti-Semitism and, therefore, the Holocaust).Chapter 5 details a research study on
teacher practice. Chapter 7 presents an overview of two curricula: Facing History and Ourselves, and
Lessons of the Holocaust. Chapter 8 explores the pedagogical significance of two Holocaust museums:
Beth Shalom in England and the Holocaust Education and Memorial Centre of Toronto. Chapter 9
reports on a study of young children’s understanding of the Holocaust and Jewish culture. (LA)
Short, G., Supple, C., & Klinger, K. (Eds). (1998). The Holocaust in the School Curriculum: A
European Perspective. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Sibelman, S. S. (Ed.). (2004). Teaching the Shoah in the Twenty-First Century: Topics and
Topographies. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press.
This text is divided into two parts, Topics, essays on scholarly or theoretical notions that are
important for one to consider when teaching the Holocaust, and Topographies, essays that document
the pedagogical and methodological strategies/experiences of educators who have taught courses on the
Holocaust. The contents of Part Two (pedagogy) are as follows: using Holocaust literature (JansThomas), an account of an international book-sharing program as Holocaust pedagogy (Shner),
teaching the Holocaust in Appalachia (Pinner), the effects of the Holocaust on the teaching of
philosophy (Lubling), teaching the Holocaust by bringing students to the places it occurred (Lubling,
Baer), and dealing with the rift between the historical record and literary/cinematic representations of
the Holocaust (Sibelman). Each essay (both parts) contains extensive further reading lists, and in Part II
these are designed to be of particular interest to educators who want to proceed similarly. (LA)
Simon, R. I., Rosenberg, S., & Eppert, C. (Eds.). (2000). Between hope and despair: Pedagogy and the
remembrance of historical trauma. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
A collection of theoretical essays on the pedagogical uses of remembrance, as well as remembrance
as/within pedagogy. In the Introduction, the editors offer a theoretical overview of the concept of
remembrance and ask the following question that grounds the anthology: “How might we understand a
79
mindful attentiveness to, learning from, and participation in the memory of the traces of traumatic
history?” They outline two modes of remembrance; as difficult return and as strategic practice. Chapter
1: The Paradoxical Practice of Zakhor (Simon) focuses on the challenges and risks of remembrance as
a duty (zakhor in Hebrew), particularly with regard to the memories of others. Chapter 2: Deferred
Action, Ambivalence, and Difficult Knowledge (Britzman) offers a psychoanalytic account of how The
Diary of Anne Frank is often used pedagogically “to emphasis the idealized outcomes of learning” and
to appeal to students’ identification with Anne Frank. Chapter 3: Anxiety and Contact in Attending to a
Play about Landmines (Salverson) chronicles the author’s experience writing and viewing theatrical
representations of the Bosnian war in the theoretical context of ‘witnessing’. Chapter 4: Rupturing the
Blinds of Emblematic Memory (Rosenberg) is an analysis of monuments to the 1989 École
Polytechnique massacre in Montreal. Chapter 5: Pedagogical Memory and Second-Generation Witness
(Baum) discusses memory, fictional representation and the remembrance practices of the children of
Holocaust survivors. Chapter 6: Artifactual Testimonies and the Stagings of Holocaust Memory (Liss)
problematizes practices of distant witnessing such as classroom encounters, museums and art practices.
Chapter 7: The Middle Passage, Slavery, and the Problem of Creolization (Walcott) explores the
concept of creolization as a pedagogical framing device that could lead students beyond a victim/hero
binary to problems and possibilities of diasporization when studying the history of slavery. Chapter 8:
Reading the Limits of Post-Dictatorship Argentina’s National Conciliation (Di Paolantonio) explores
the limits of national reconciliation projects and their pedagogical implications. Chapter 9: Memory
and Alterity in Post-Genocide Rwanad (Ranck) highlights “some of the shortcomings of hegemonic
discourses of justice, reconciliation, and healing within liberal and humanitarian practices” (p. 208) and
invites “a critical politics of remembrance” (ibid.). Chapter 10: Responding to the Ethical Address of
Past and Present Others (Eppert) accounts for what she terms the literature of historical witness through
a discussion of Kagawa’s novel Obasan on the Japanese internment during World War Two.
Supple, C. (1993). From Prejudice to Genocide: Learning about the Holocaust. Stoke-on-Trent, UK:
Trentham Books. [Revised in 1998.]
A textbook targeted toward “secondary school children” in the UK. [From Fox, 1995.] “In twelve
chapters, Supple not only focuses on the history of the Third Reich and its persecutory and
exterminatory anti-Jewish policies, but in two earlier chapters she quite rightly includes examination of
the Gypsy question and that of the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in 1915. Thus, youngsters are
not only provided with full information about the Holocaust, its course and origins, but also have their
attention drawn to other forms of genocide in the past. […] in her final chapter, Supple mentions
atrocities in East Timor and Bosnia, besides discussing racism in general.”13
Totten, S. (Ed.). (2001a). Teaching Holocaust Literature. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
“Teaching Holocaust Literature is comprised of eleven essays in which noted Holocaust educators
discuss how they have successfully taught poetry, novels, drama, and memoirs to their students at the
secondary level. The text provides in-depth discussions of individual pieces of Holocaust literature and
13
Fox, J. P. (1995). The Holocaust: Mythologies and education. Patterns of Prejudice, 29(4), 67–72.
80
how to teach them in a pedagogically and historically sound manner. Among the literary works
discussed in this book are Eli Wiesel's Night, Dan Pagis' "Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway Car,"
The Diary of Anne Frank, and Ida Fink's "The Key Game." In-depth discussions of literary works
underscore the value and power of Holocaust literature through various genres such as short stories,
novels, memoirs, poetry and drama.” [Amazon.com]
Totten, S. (2001b). Holocaust education: Issues and approaches. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
“Contributed chapters by eminent Holocaust scholars provide critical essays that encourage teachers
to reflect on why and how they teach Holocaust history. The chapters are devoted to addressing some
of the many problematic practices currently being implemented in Holocaust education as well as to
raise critical issues and effective pedagogical strategies. Issues addressed are: methods for assessing
students' knowledge base prior to teaching Holocaust history; teaching the history in a comprehensive
and accurate fashion; the dangers of teaching this history to primary school students, and the emphasis
on studying this history to understand contemporary issues in genocide. Various strategies including
mind-mapping and pre-assessments are offered as well as a host of activities to incorporate the study of
the Holocaust into the curriculum.” [From Amazon.com – Slight repetition to follow.] This book
“raises a host of critical issues and highlights effective teaching strategies related to teaching about the
Holocaust. For example, the essays address the need to reflect deeply on both the purpose and process
of teaching such complex issues; methods for assessing student’s knowledge base prior to teaching
Holocaust history; and the critical need to teach the history accurately. Among some of the many
chapter titles are: “Common misconceptions and inaccuracies that plague teaching and learning about
the Holocaust”; “Complicating students’ thinking vis-à-vis the history of the Holocaust”; “Do the Jews
constitute a race? An issue Holocaust educators must get right”; and “Diminishing the complexity and
horror of the Holocaust: Using simulations in an attempt to convey personal and historical
experiences.”14
Totten, S. (Ed.). (2002). Remembering the Past, Educating for the Future: Personal and Pedagogical
Stories of Holocaust Educators. Westport, CT: Praeger.
“Includes the stories of some of the most noted Holocaust educators working in the United States
today, including their efforts to gain an ever-deepening knowledge about the Holocaust, their initial
efforts to teach about it, and their involvement in curriculum development, staff development, and
other outreach projects. This collection of essays about Holocaust education is by educators involved
primarily at the secondary level of schooling (grades 7 to 12).” [Amazon.com]
Totten, S. (Ed.). (2003). Working to Make a Difference: The Personal and Pedagogical Stories of
Holocaust Educators Across the Globe. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
“This work is comprised of personal essays by some of the most noted Holocaust educators working
in or with Holocaust museums, resource centers, or educational organisations across the globe. These
14
Totten, S. (2004). Selected annotated bibliography: Teaching about genocide. In S. Totten (Ed.), Teaching About
Genocide (pp. 299-327). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
81
distinguished contributors from the United States, Great Britain, Israel, Canada, South Africa,
Germany, and Poland each delineate the genesis and evolution of their own thought and work in the
field of Holocaust education. Their personal narratives discuss those individuals and/or scholarly works
that have most influenced them, their aspirations, the frustrations they have faced, their perception of
the field, their major contributions, their current endeavors, and the legacy they hope to leave upon the
completion of their careers.” [From back cover.] Autobiographical, narrative accounts of well-known
and obscure Holocaust educators on their journeys to becoming so. (LA)
Totten, S. (Ed.). (2004). Teaching About Genocide: Issues, Approaches, and Resources. Greenwich,
CT: Information Age.
The only volume exclusively devoted to genocide pedagogy, or, to how genocide as an historical or
contemporary category ought to be approached in the classroom. Contains essays on pedagogical
practice as well as ten detailed case studies of genocides that can be used by educators. The essays
cover: developing a rationale for teaching genocide (Totten – Ch. 2); an accessible history of genocide
(Bartrop & Totten); critically considering the definition of genocide and its political uses, as well as
pedagogical approaches to introducing this topic in the classroom (Totten – Ch. 4); definitions of
genocide and the study of the Holocaust, discussion of same in the classroom (Huttenbach – Ch. 5); the
most concise/detailed collection of broadly applicable and yet genocide-specific pedagogical
approaches in the review (Totten – Ch. 7); guidelines for conducting a comparative study of
genocide (Huttenbach – Ch. 8); teaching genocide within a human rights framework, the current
fragmentation of genocide and human rights discourse, recommendations for unifying these in the
curriculum and in policy, pedagogical suggestions for doing so in the classroom (Fernekes & Totten);
and a chapter on the intervention and prevention of genocide (Totten – Ch. 10). The case studies are of
Armenia, the Soviet man-made famine (Holodomor) in Ukraine, the Holocaust, Indonesia (1965-66),
Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Iraqi Kurdistan (1988), Bosnia and Rwanda. All case studies give
historical background, overview of the genocide, issues and questions to consider when teaching about
that particular genocide, and recommended reading for further study. Chapter 11 is a twenty-page
select annotated bibliography pertaining to teaching about genocide (includes films and websites).
Totten, S., Bartrop, P, & Jacobs, S. (Eds.). (2004). Teaching about the Holocaust: Essays by college
and university teachers. Westport, CT: Praeger.
This collection of fourteen essays by renowned scholars in the field of Holocaust studies seeks to
reflect on the experience of teaching and researching this complicated and emotional topic. Contained
within are the pioneering stories of those presently engaged in the work of Holocaust education.
Separately, they represent a variety of disciplines and orientations. Collectively, they give evidence of
the strong commitment to continue this important work, and the moral and ethical demands such
teaching, writing, and research place upon all who engage in it. Different perspectives from historical,
philosophical, and religious frameworks come together to create a unique contribution to the literature
on the Holocaust. Educators discuss what they teach, their methodologies and theoretical orientations
and reflect on their own journeys that brought them to this field. [Amazon.com] Includes essays on
anti-racist education and the Holocaust (Short), using theatre to teach on the Holocaust (Skloot), the
82
need for uniquely Canadian Holocaust curricula (Bialystok), the evolution and practice of universitybased Holocaust teaching (Browning), art and the Holocaust (Feinstein), philosophy in the teaching of
the Holocaust (Grob), a course overview (Hass), and teaching the Holocaust in Israel (Keren). Contains
an extensive bibliography of the contributors’ works. (LA)
Totten, S., & Feinberg, S. (Eds.). (2001). Teaching and Studying about the Holocaust. Boston, MA:
Allyn & Bacon.
“Teaching and Studying the Holocaust is comprised of thirteen chapters by some of the most noted
Holocaust educators in the United States. In addition to chapters on establishing clear rationales for
teaching this history and Holocaust historiography, the book includes individual chapters on
incorporating primary documents, first person accounts, film, literature, art, drama, music, and
technology into a study of the Holocaust. It concludes with an extensive and valuable annotated
bibliography especially designed for educators. Chapter Ten instructs how to make effective use of
technology in teaching and learning about the Holocaust. The final section of the book includes a
bibliography especially developed for teachers that lists invaluable resources.” [Amazon.com] “Also
includes a major chapter on Holocaust historiography. It concludes with an extensive annotated
bibliography especially designed for Holocaust educators.”15
Book Chapters
Bartrop, P. R. (1994). Landscape of death, kingdom of night: Children’s literature of the Holocaust. In
W. Parsons & R. Goodwin (Eds.), Landscape and Identity: Perspectives from Australia (pp. 136144). Adelaide: Auslib Press.
Bauer, Y. (1988). Is the Holocaust explicable? In Remembering for the future: The impact of the
Holocaust and genocide on Jew and Christians (pp. 1967-1988). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
“This clearly written essay makes a statement against mystification of the Holocaust. Prof. Bauer
states that the Holocaust is a particular event in history that happened to a certain group of people for
certain reasons at a certain time, but it is also a universal threat to humankind. His thesis is that it is
both explicable and understandable, and he gives models of explanations. If, according to Bauer, it is
not seen as part of human history, it could be considered irrelevant, thus it needs to be explained and
examined in human terms. The essay evaluates the explicability of the Holocaust from the standpoint of
the historian, but is a very important piece for teachers as well.”16
15
Totten, S. (2004). Selected annotated bibliography: Teaching about genocide. In S. Totten (Ed.), Teaching About
Genocide (pp. 299-327). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
16
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
83
Berger, A. L. (1984). Holocaust : The pedagogy of paradox. In I. W. Charny (Ed.), Toward the
understanding and prevention of genocide: Proceedings of the International Conference on the
Holocaust and Genocide (pp. 265-277). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
“This essays [sic] on moral education and the Holocaust discusses the pedagogical paradox in the
teaching and learning about the Holocaust and ‘suggests ways in which pedagogy can refrain from
resorting to destruction.’ The author discusses such issues as Irving Greenberg’s notion of the
‘shattered paradigm’ and the paradoxical relationship that exists between Judaism and Western
civilization.”17
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the Holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny
(Ed.), Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
An annotated review of educational literature on the Holocaust, including substantial opening
remarks on why the Holocaust should be taught, connections to other genocides, and challenges facing
Holocaust educators today. The review includes books and essays on Holocaust education (all post1980 sources are included in this review – there are extensive review of pre-1980 texts as well), other
bibliographies of Holocaust resources, general Holocaust history books and curricula guides.
Fleischner, E. (1997). The door that opened and never closed: Teaching the Shoah. In C. Rittner & J.
K. Roth (Eds.), From the Unthinkable to the Unavoidable: American Christian and Jewish Scholars
Encounter the Holocaust (pp. 19-31). Westport, CT: Praeger.
A personal account of a Jewish/Catholic educator who comes into a pedagogical consciousness
about the Holocaust and the process of teaching her first university course there upon. The author
discusses the pedagogical challenges she encountered (in the 1970s teaching this course), particularly
with regard to students’ reactions to the role of the church in the Holocaust. Her continuing work
focuses on Christian anti-Semitism and the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Discusses
the emerging concern (at the time of writing) with the study of Jewish women’s experiences in the
Holocaust and reclaiming these as a matter of historical record. Urgency of Holocaust teaching today in
the face of continued atrocities (references the Balkans). (LA)
Friedlander, D. H. (1980). Toward a methodology of teaching about the Holocaust. The Holocaust:
Ideology, bureaucracy, genocide. New York: Kraus International Publications.
Littell, M. S. (1998a). Breaking the silence: A history of Holocaust education in America. In D. F.
Tobler (Ed.), Remembrance, Repentance, Reconciliation: The 25th Anniversary Volume of the
Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and Churches (pp. 195-212). New York: University
Press of America.
Locke, H. G. (1998). The Holocaust and the American university: Observations on the teaching and
research in a graduate professional field. In Y. Bauer, A. Eckardt, F. H. Littell, E. Maxwell, R.
17
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
84
Maxwell & D. Patterson (Eds.), Remembering of the Future, Working Paper and Addenda (pp.
1188-1193). New York: Pergamon Press.
In the aftermath of the Holocaust, an atrocity committed with the willing collaboration of the
professions in German society (i.e., doctors, lawyers, business leaders, scientists, pastors, etc.), the
author discusses the philosophical and political implications for the graduate-level education in these
professions in the post-Holocaust world today. Locke is particularly concerned about the emerging
field of ‘public affairs’ as it is preparatory for careers in government, public administration and public
policy; he sees these careers as those most implicated in the Holocaust. Discusses the results of a
survey of public affairs graduate programs on whether they address these implications in their program.
These findings indicate a concern for the author that an overemphasize on strict objectivity, technical
skill, analytic paradigms and “mastery of scientific tools of the analysis and understanding of what
governments do, how and why they do so, and what the outcomes of governments are” is alive and well
in graduate-level public affairs education, and it was this skill set that facilitated the Holocaust. (LA)
Mock, K. (2000). Holocaust and hope: Holocaust education in the context of anti-racist education in
Canada. In F. C. De Coste & B. Schwartz (Eds.), The Holocaust’s Ghost: Writings on Art, Politics,
Law and Education. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.
McClain, R. (2007). Using film media as visual text for studying the Rwandan Genocide. In J. N.
Glasgow & L. J. Rice (Eds), Exploring African life and literature: Novel guides to promote socially
responsive learning (pp. 293-307). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
This chapter describes the pedagogical use of filmic representations of Africa in order to engage
students in the study of the Rwandan Genocide; this is accomplished through the viewing of several
films on the modern contexts of Africa and culminates in an in-depth study of one film, Hotel Rwanda.
The author provides a detailed historical background to the Genocide, lays out objectives for the unit,
and suggests activities for before, during and after viewing. The final activity involves a charitable
project whereby students raise money for the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation.
Rathenow, H-F., & Weber, N. H. (1998). Education after Auschwitz: A task for human rights
education. In C. Holden & N. Clough (Eds.), Children as Citizens: Education for Participation (pp.
95-112). London: Jessica Kingsley.
A brief overview of several approaches to Holocaust pedagogy including brainstorming, acrostics,
poetry, visits to memorial sites, interviewing witnesses, dramatic sketches, role-playing, a
power/privilege exercise called “understanding status”, “sculpturing a statue”, staging and performing
texts as a sketch, and the reflection phase. Provides two examples of similar pedagogies in action as
well as a diagram outlining a visit to a Holocaust memorial (including preparation and debrief). (LA)
Reed, C. A., & Novogrodsky, M. (2000). Teaching the Holocaust in a multiracial, multicultural, urban
environment, in Canada. In F. C. De Coste & B. Schwartz (Eds.), The Holocaust’s Ghost: Writings
on Art, Politics, Law and Education. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.
85
Short, G. (2000). Holocaust education and citizenship: A view from the United Kingdom. In M.
Leicester, C. Modgil, & S. Modgil (Eds), Politics, Education and Citizenship (pp. 3-15). London:
Falmer.
The chapter reports on a study carried out in South East England wherein semi-structured interviews
were conducted with 43 Year 10 students in order to obtain data on how the Holocaust was being
understood in a citizenship education context. Data was gathered on student responses in four parts:
knowledge of the Holocaust, Preventing a repetition, racism and the Holocaust, and personal impact of
learning about the Holocaust. The author gives detailed accounts of all four areas of student comment,
and concludes by concentrating “on aspects of teaching that can be said to have failed in respect of
education for citizenship for, as in all things, it is areas in need of improvement that must dictate policy
implications” (p. 14). Never-the-less, Short believes that “the majority of those who participated in this
research learnt much about responsible citizenship through their study of the Holocaust” (p. 15). (LA)
Strom, M. S., Sleeper, M., & Johnson, M. (1992). Facing History and Ourselves: A synthesis of history
and ethics in effective history education. In A. Garrod (Ed.), Learning for life: Moral education
theory and practice (pp. 131-153). Westport, CT: Praeger.
An in-depth overview of the FHAO program including general orientation and underlying
beliefs/questions, goals, program materials (a detailed overview of the Holocaust and Human Behavior
textbook), feedback from teachers and students, and a discussion of FHAO’s effectiveness. (LA)
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.),
Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
An overview of curricular and inservice teacher training materials on genocide and the Holocaust.
Includes observations on content, methodology and specific suggestions for teaching on the Holocaust,
Armenian genocide, Cambodian genocide and the Holodomor in the Ukraine. The author concludes by
discussing critical challenges for genocide educators and predictions for the field in years to come. The
bibliography is the most extensive encountered to date (albeit pre-1991). All post-1980 resources
from the bibliography are included in this review. (LA)
Conference Papers
Dlin, E. (1997). New paradigms for Holocaust Education? Paper presented at the World Congress of
Jewish Studies, August 3rd.
Ganz, B. C. (1982). Holocaust literature: Our hope for understanding. Paper presented at the Annual
Meeting of the Eastern Regional Conference of the International Reading Association (4th, Boston,
MA, December 2-5, 1982).
Until recently the Holocaust was largely ignored in history books and literature, leaving most
students without even the basic knowledge of an event that can and should have meaning for them.
Nothing can really "explain" it, but literature, because it is concerned with feelings and conveys
86
emotions, can move young people to an empathetic awareness of the subject. Through literature,
students can gain both an understanding of those nearly incomprehensible events that took place
between 1933 and 1945 and a sensitivity to the plight of the victims. Recently a large number of adult
books about the Holocaust have appeared and this interest is now being reflected in books for children
and teenagers. Although teaching students about the Holocaust can be a formidable task, possible
instructional strategies include focusing on: (1) individuals, so students can meet the people who went
through this experience; (2) racism and prejudice, so students can consider the origins of racism and
why people dislike other people; (3) obedience to authority, so students can examine why certain
people are willing to accept questionable orders without protest; and (4) the complexity of the Nazi
organization, so students realize that the Holocaust was not the product of a single will. Selected
bibliographies of Holocaust literature, by grade level, and a resource list are appended.
Johnson, M. (1989). Meeting the challenges of teaching the Armenian genocide in American secondary
schools: Approaches and resources. Paper presented at a conference entitled The Armenian
Genocide: History, Politics, Ethics. [Contact information: Mary Johnson c/o Facing History and
Ourselves, 25 Kennard Rd., Brookline, MA 02146 – current as of 1991.]
“In this paper, Johnson argues that ‘the study of the Armenian genocide is a subject that has
enormous potential for revitalizing social studied and history offerings in American high schools.’ She
goes on to delineate three approaches for teaching about the Armenian genocide that have proved
effective in secondary school settings: study the Armenian genocide within the context of the history
and culture of the Middle East; incorporate a study of the genocide within a survey of world history;
and examine the Armenian genocide as a case study of historical denial. She concludes by discussing
the possibility of creating resources that could ‘enhance and enrich’ the aforementioned approaches.’”18
Maitles, H., & Cowan, P. (2008). More open to diversity? The longer term citizenship impact of
learning about the Holocaust. Reflecting on Identities: Research, Practice & Innovation,
Proceedings of the tenth Conference of the Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Europe Thematic
Network (ed. Ross, A., & Cunningham, P.). London: CiCe. Retrieved 01 September 2009 from:
http://cice.londonmet.ac.uk/members/pdfs/2008_521.pdf
This is the third stage of a longitudinal study that investigates the learning of the Holocaust on
pupils’ citizenship values. We firstly compared primary pupils’ values before and after their learning of
the Holocaust; and secondly tracked these pupils into secondary to compare their attitudes with their
peers who had not studied the Holocaust in primary school. It involves 200 pupils from a
predominantly white rural community in the West of Scotland with very few ethnic minority pupils.
The core group are now aged 15-16 years and this study continues to investigate their citizenship
values using a values survey. This study is of interest to those involved in citizenship education,
Holocaust education, antiracist and values education.
18
Totten, S. (2004). Selected annotated bibliography: Teaching about genocide. In S. Totten (Ed.), Teaching About
Genocide (pp. 299-327). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
87
Maitles, H., & Cowan, P. (2007). Making the links: The relationship between learning about the
Holocaust and contemporary anti-Semitism. Citizenship Education in Society, Proceedings of the
tenth Conference of the Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Europe Thematic Network (ed. Ross,
A., & Cunningham, P.). London: CiCe. Retrieved 01 September 2009 from:
http://cice.londonmet.ac.uk/pdf/2007_431.pdf
Learning about the Holocaust is an important part of understanding the past to avoid repeating the
horrors of the past. There is a seeming paradox that although there is more learning about the Holocaust
than ever before, there is an increase throughout Europe of racism in general, including anti-Semitism.
Our research, sponsored by the Scottish Executive) was quantitative longitudinal questionnaires in two
Scottish primary schools whom we followed into secondary to examine their values and attitudes
before and after learning about the Holocaust; we compared these with pupils who did not study the
Holocaust. We also compared methodologies and resources used by the teachers to attempt to
determine their impact.
McRoy, J. J. (1982). Content analysis of essays from a cross-national survey: Implications for teaching
strategies in Holocaust Studies. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the New Jersey
Education Association (Atlantic City, NJ, November 11, 1982).
The content of essays written by randomly selected samples of 1500 U.S. and 500 British secondary
students on the topic "What have I learned about Adolf Hitler?" were partitioned into theme-related
assertions and analyzed. An experimental group of 150 9th- and 11th-grade male students who had
studied the Holocaust also contributed papers that were compared with those in a control sample of
U.S. males. General awareness of the meaning of the Holocaust was relatively high for both British and
American students, although the former possessed a broader range of knowledge of historical
phenomena associated with the event. Students who had studied the Holocaust had a more
sophisticated understanding of the topic. Questionnaires soliciting views on curricular issues pertinent
to the Holocaust were also completed by 84 voluntarily participating U.S. teachers. Findings suggest
that Holocaust curricula should be introduced at the ninth grade and should stress the interplay of
psychological and historical factors in genocide within a value-oriented framework.
Schwartzman, R. (1997). “Telogology” as a rhetorical basis for Holocaust education. Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association (83rd, Chicago, IL, November
19-23, 1997). Retrieved 21 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 413 617):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED413617&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED413617.
Pointing out that the growing body of literature on the Holocaust has been accompanied by concern
about how knowledge of the Holocaust may be conveyed, this paper argues that elucidating links
between terminology and policy invites reconsideration of what Holocaust studies should accomplish.
Close textual analysis of historical artifacts is used as a prelude to constructing alternatives to rhetoric
that culminates in destructive action. Using Kenneth Burke's concepts of "telos" and "logology," it
traces the biologically rooted terminology of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany as it built toward a
88
crescendo of eliminating populations deemed racially inferior. The paper contends that identification of
key metaphors--in this case, biological and medical terms--can reveal how linguistic resources that
foster bigotry and genocide persist without necessarily becoming manifest in overt acts of violence.
Topics discussed include: the philosophy and method of telogology and its roots in classical Greek
rhetoric; the unfolding rhetorical telos toward genocide; and pedagogical applications and exercises-concrete methods for constructing responses to the terminological and ideological choices presented via
the rhetorical telos, i.e., metaphorical redirection and comic reframing. The paper concludes that the
challenge facing those who engage in Holocaust studies is to cultivate an accurate understanding of the
past while trying not to relive it, and that telogology, by concentrating on evolving patterns of language
use, offers a way to appreciate how momentum built toward a mentality that would treat genocide as a
logical outcome and necessary consequence of racial doctrines.
Stone, F. A. (1989). Doing intercultural literary sociologies of education: An analysis of four case
studies. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education
Society (33rd, Cambridge, MA, March 30-April 2, 1989). Retrieved 26 August 2009 from ERIC
(ED No. 310 035):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED310035&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED310035.
When authors portray social perspectives and address the themes of growing up and schooling, their
books become potential literary sociologies of education. Four case studies are presented that
demonstrate how materials of this kind can contribute to intercultural teacher education. Case study 1,
"Educational Perspectives in Modern West Indian Novels," is based on a 1984 study of 16 authors from
the Commonwealth Caribbean. Their portrayal of growing up in five English-speaking Caribbean
societies presents insights into the educational adjustments emigrants from these societies must make.
Case study 2, "Young People Caught Up in a Catastrophe: Experiences of Children and Youth Who
Survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915," is based on a study of six survivors' accounts. It suggests
that if today's youth read such accounts and reflected upon the impact of genocide on people their age,
they would be more committed to preventing genocide in the future. Case study 3, "Growing Up
Mormon: LDS Educating for a Caring Community as Portrayed in Eight Recent Novels," summarizes a
1987 study about the moral concerns emphasized in the character formation of youth in Mormon
communities by examining the novels of six Mormon authors. Case study 4, "Five Contemporary
Novelists' Views of Growing Up Turkish in the 1980s: A Literary Sociology," is based on works
written in Turkish and illustrates the role of translation in literary sociology. A model of intercultural
literary sociology processes is presented and the main works utilized in each case study are noted.
Thomas, G. P. (2000). Educating for empathy and tolerance: Holocaust Studies and the teaching of
writing. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and
Communication (51st, Minneapolis, MN, April 12-15, 2000). Retrieved 18 August 2009 from ERIC
(ED No. 441 233):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED441233&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED441233.
89
The Holocaust is a powerful topic for writing classrooms because it elicits strong emotions from
most students at the same time that it is remote enough to keep from overwhelming them (at least at
first). At the same time the topic presents a minefield for the unwary or naive writing instructor--it is
important, for example, to emphasize the rhetorical aspects of the subject and encourage students to
study other examples of ethnic or religious exclusivity, bureaucratic indifference, eugenics, and
genocide. Most important, the topic can demonstrate to students how serious, sustained inquiry can
reveal facts, attitudes, and opinions that will shape their personal intellectual landscape. Some reasons
for using the Holocaust in a writing course are: accessibility (the Holocaust is a story with a beginning,
middle, and end); the emotional force of the topic; the emotional distance afforded by the topic; the
moral complexity of many of the issues; the historical complexity of the subject; and a dialect about the
role of language in a bureaucracy and what constitutes acceptable discussion. The phenomenon of
Holocaust denial might also be a worthwhile subject in a writing class. Can tolerance and empathy be
fostered through a study of the Holocaust? Probably, but students' thinking should not be expected to
change in direct ways.
Research Reports
Berman Center for Research & Evaluation in Jewish Education. (2006). Best Practices in Holocaust
Education: Report to the San Francisco Jewish Community Endowment Fund. New York: Jewish
Education Service of North America. Retrieved 01 September 2009 from
http://www.sfjcf.org/endowment/grants/programs/SFJCEFJESNA%20Holocaust%20Education%20Full%20Report.pdf
This research was commissioned to inform decision-making by the board of the Holocaust
Memorial/Education Fund about its future directions and funding priorities and to inform funders and
agencies providing Holocaust education more broadly. In addition to providing general information
about “best practices” in Holocaust education, Holocaust education delivery systems, and the training
of Holocaust educators, this report also responds to an interest in considering alternative educational
models to address the diminishing access to survivors (who are aging and passing away), whose firsthand presentations have been a centerpiece of many of the educational programs to date. [NOTE:
Appendices are indexed in the Curriculum Guides section below.]
Bickford, Louis. (2009, February). Transforming a legacy of genocide: Pedagogy and tourism at the
Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. New York, NY: Memory, Memorials and Museums (MMM)
Program, International Centre for Transitional Justice. 26 pp. Retrieved 17 August 2009 from
http://www.ictj.org/static/Asia/Cambodia/ICTJBickford_KHM_ChoeungEK_pa2009.pdf.
Excerpt from BACKGROUND: “From November 15 to 17, 2007, ICTJ carried out a pilot survey of
visitors at Choeung Ek, one of Cambodia’s notorious “killing fields.” Between 1975 and 1979, the
Khmer Rouge government killed some 20,000 people here, the majority of whom first had passed
through the notorious Tuol Sleng prison and detention center. Choeung Ek is one of the estimated 500
killing fields found throughout Cambodia. In 1980, one year after invading Cambodia, the Vietnamese
90
found mass graves at this site. Since then, a total of 8,985 skeletons have been exhumed from the site.
The remains were treated with chemicals so they could be preserved and displayed in a memorial.2 Of
the 129 mass graves discovered, 86 remain untouched. In 1988, the Cambodian government’s
ministerial and municipal authorities created a new memorial at the site. They moved the skeletal
remains to a concrete stupa, or Buddhist shrine, and erected explanations of Choeung Ek’s tragic
history. Since then, little has changed within the site itself, except for the addition of a few signs near
the entrance. The entrance donation is $2 for foreign visitors, and free for Cambodians. Guided tours
are available in English (with tips accepted).” The aim of the ICTJ survey was to ascertain the
pedagogical impact of the memorial installations with an eye to improving the delivery of content
pertaining to the genocide. The survey involved 72 visitors to the site, of which seven were
Cambodian; the lack of access by Cambodians was highlighted in the study as one of the drawbacks to
the site, as it seems to cater to international tourists.
Feingold, M. (1985). Report on the status of Holocaust education in the United States and resources
available to the elementary and secondary school teacher. Submitted to the United States Holocaust
Memorial Council, Washington DC. 167 pp.
“This report review extant Holocaust curricula for elementary and secondary schools. It cites
available resources and integrates information regarding their scope, educational level, appropriateness
for groups with special backgrounds or interest, and possibilities for further adaptation or revision. In a
section prepared by some of the curriculum developers, innovative staff development programs and
creative uses of community resources are identified. Recommendations are offered in regard to the role
that the U.S. Holocaust Council might exercise in the dissemination of Holocaust education.”19
Fox, J. P. (1989). Teaching the Holocaust: The Report of a Survey in the United Kingdom. Leicester:
National Yad Vashem Charitable Trust and Centre for Holocaust Studies, University of Leicester.
[See Plowright, 1991 in Journal Articles section.]
Glickman, Y., & Bardikoff, A. (1982). The Treatment of the Holocaust in Canadian History and Social
Science Textbooks. Toronto: B’nai B’rith.
“The authors examine ‘the degree to which Canadian history and social science textbooks inform
and sensitize Canadian students to the events of the Holocaust. Evaluated by a panel of independent
judges and presented in comparative perspectives, 72 history and social science textbooks authorized
for use in Canada’s secondary schools were found to have offered inadequate treatment of the subject
matter. … In addition, 208 high school students of the Toronto area polled for the purposes of this
report confirmed the rather meager contribution of current textbooks to the understanding and
knowledge of the Holocaust.’”20
19
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
20
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
91
Glynn, M.T., Bock, G., & Cohn, K.C. (1982). American youth and the Holocaust: A study of four
major Holocaust curricula. New York: National Jewish Resource Center.
“The authors analyze the impact of the subject of the Holocaust on students who study the
Holocaust through one of four major Holocaust curricula in four different communities: Brookline, MA
(Facing History and Ourselves); Great Neck, NY (Social Studies – Holocaust Curriculum); New York
(The Holocaust, A Study of Genocide); and Philadelphia (The Holocaust – A Teacher Resource). The
study discusses methodology – how data were obtained, case studies describing each of the four
programs, the instruction used and the effects of programs on the students. The conclusion states that
students gained a greater understanding of the event itself and the factors that contributed to the
Holocaust without ‘shattering their moral structures.’”21
Kanter, L. (1998). Forgetting to remember: Presenting the Holocaust in American college social
science and history textbooks. ED 439 039. Retrieved 12 October 2009 from ERIC:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=
no&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=no%3Aed439039&spelling
=yes
A study followed up and elaborated upon the college textbook section of Glenn S. Pate's (1987)
study of "The Holocaust in American Textbooks." After surveying elementary, high school, and some
college textbooks to determine both the extent and the nature of their Holocaust coverage, Pate
concluded that across the educational spectrum most U.S. textbooks were "woefully inadequate."
Combining the quantitative and qualitative instruments of the earlier study to examine the
representation of the Holocaust in current college survey texts in social science and history, the present
study found that the average college student could complete a variety of "survey" courses in history and
social science without seriously confronting the Holocaust. Appendixes list the textbooks examined
(sociology, political science, U.S. history, and world history) and provide an analysis of the survey
questionnaire.
Supple, C. (1991). The Teaching of the Nazi Holocaust in North Tyneside, Newcastle and
Northumberland Schools: A Report. Newcastle: North Tyneside MBA.
University of Cincinnati Evaluation Services Center. (2003). An assessment of Holocaust education in
Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati Evaluation Services Center.
USHMM. (2004). State profiles of Holocaust education – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
Beyond our walls. Retrieved 12 October 2009 from
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/states/index.php?state=WV
Encyclopaedia Entries
21
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
92
Dlin, E., & Gillerman, S. (1990). Holocaust education: United States and Israel. In I. Gutman (Ed.),
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust (Vol. 2) (pp. 420-424). New York: Macmillan.
A survey of Holocaust education practices in the U.S. and Israel, that begins with the assertion that
the most advanced and widespread Holocaust education occurs in these countries (and Canada). In the
U.S., the Holocaust is most often deployed in moral education using a perpetrator/victim/bystander
model. This complements the underlying ideology of American society (i.e.g, democracy, pluralism,
individual responsibility for shaping society, etc.). Offers a historical overview of how Holocaust
education came to be so widespread, including the challenges that have arisen in the process and the
different approaches used (curriculum development, workshops for teachers, etc.). Some American
Jewish leaders have begun to express worries about the Holocaust as the defining event of Jewish life.
Surveys continue to show that Holocaust education today is widespread in schools. In American
universities, a concern arises in that often there is a Holocaust course that exists on an island with very
few Jewish history courses offered alongside it (i.e., lack of context); a second concern is that the
professors who teach ‘the course’ on the Holocaust are often without specialized knowledge. In Israel,
public schools are mandated to teach on the Holocaust, for a certain number of hours (30) and using a
historical (not moral, as above) approach. Israeli education eschews the bystander/perpetrator focus and
concentrates on Jewish victims. Two extremes exist, one of which focuses on the place of the
Holocaust in the context of Jewish history and anti-Semitism (it was unique) and the other focuses on
‘man’s inhumanity to man’ (includes other genocides). Every university in Israel has numerous courses
on the Holocaust or a separate department. Aspiring history teachers must complete at least one such
course. (LA)
Fox, J. P. (1990). Holocaust education: Great Britain. In I. Gutman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the
Holocaust (Vol. 2) (pp. 418-420). New York: Macmillan.
A general overview of the Holocaust in British education, based on a survey of attitudes and
practices in schools and universities. Main themes include a relative absence thereof, attitudes against
highlighting ‘one aspect of WWII’ in history education, and the insular British-focussed nature of
much history education. Questions on the Holocaust have started to appear on high level examinations,
and a survey revealed that many religious studies departments cover the Holocaust. In schools, the
Holocaust was mainly found to be ‘deployed’ as a vehicle for moral or anti-racist education. Concludes
with a brief discussion on whether this instrumental use of the Holocaust is positive or negative, and
the hope that more study will arise. (LA)
Schatzker, C. (1990). Holocaust education: West Germany. In I. Gutman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the
Holocaust (Vol. 2) (pp. 424-425). New York: Macmillan.
From the end of WWII until the late 1950s, the Holocaust was not taught in German schools; this
changed with a wave of anti-Semitic vandalism. There have been measures across all states to address
Holocaust education in schools, but not a research survey to ascertain how this is done. An analysis of
German history textbooks found three trends: teaching on Holocaust is a moral obligation; part of civic
education; or a basic indispensable element of history. Generally, the textbooks remove the Holocaust
93
from Jewish history and historical anti-Semitism (including in German history), and do not analyze the
roots of Nazism and the Third Reich. Scholarship of late on the Holocaust does not seem to have
influenced these textbooks.
Totten, S. (2001). Holocaust education in the United States. In W. Laqeuer & J. T. Baumel (Eds.), The
Holocaust Encyclopedia (pp. 305-312). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Totten provides an account of American Holocaust education in the present (2001) as well as a
historical overview of its development since WWII. He remarks that “teaching about the Holocaust in
both public and private schools across the United States is still extremely limited, rudimentary, and
shallow.” He surveys the development of unique Holocaust education programs such as FHAO and
Life Unworthy of Life (both reviewed herein), Holocaust education in American colleges and
universities, obstacles to teaching the Holocaust and reception/effectiveness of Holocaust curricula.
Totten ends on an upbeat note, citing the proliferation of journal/educational magazine special issues
on Holocaust education, and the emergence of young scholars who are investigating the effects of
Holocaust curricula in various school contexts. (LA)
Theses
Bardikoff, A. (1987). Exploring the relationship between attitudes and moral development through an
examination of student reactions to a course on the Holocaust and human behaviour. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation. University of Toronto.
The purpose of this research was to study the relationship between attitude development and moral
reasoning. Beginning with a careful examination of the psychology of prejudice, this thesis has
formulated a theoretical justification for viewing prejudice as a function of cognitive-developmental
level. Emphasizing the importance of perspective-taking, empathy and critical thinking in both the
process of attitude development and moral development, the study explored adolescent attitudes by
examining a secondary school class’s reaction to a course on the Holocaust and human behaviour. The
course, taught twice a week to secondary school students in a city of Toronto alternative school,
focussed on the Holocaust as an example of prejudice and racism in the extreme. Beginning with
concepts or prejudice and discrimination in general, the curriculum presented anti-Semitism as a
particular manifestation of hatred. An historical overview of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries
followed, allowing for a discussion of anti-Semitism, Nazism, and the Holocaust, in reference to
history, politics, economics and religion. The course explored the history and experience of the
Holocaust through the use of literature, documentary evidence, film, and survivor testimony. Central to
this section of the curriculum was constant reference to, and study of, the context of individual choices
and decisions which resulted in people becoming victims, bystanders, and victimizers. Fundamental to
this process was a discussion of human behaviour and the complex factors involved in understanding
authority, obedience, discrimination, victimization, resistance, and survival. The students were required
to keep daily journals wherein they recorded their thoughts about specific lessons and the impact of the
course. A measure of moral reasoning was administered before and after the course. Impressions
94
gained from measures of moral reasoning, the student journals, and the teaching of the course helped in
the formulation of a model integrating moral developmental principles and attitude formation.
Crouch, M. W. (1996). The Holocaust in undergraduate education: A status survey and interpretive
synthesis of topics, textbooks, and resources. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Wilmington
College.
This study consisted of a survey of colleges and universities accredited by Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools offering undergraduate courses specifically on the Holocaust in
1994, the departments offering them, course syllabi topics, and required textbooks or readings, and
audiovisual resources. The completion and analysis of these data provide an overview of the status of
undergraduate Holocaust education in the mid-Atlantic region. An independent panel of Holocaust
scholars and survivors was also surveyed for those experts' recommendations for departments, topics,
and course materials deemed most fitting from their perspective for an undergraduate course on the
Holocaust. A synthesis of the course syllabi and the panel's responses may be interpreted as a course
guide.
Donvito, C. E. (2003). A descriptive study: the implementation of the 1994 New Jersey
Holocaust/Genocide Mandate in New Jersey public middle schools. Unpublished dissertation,
Seton Hall University.
The purpose of this research study was to describe the levels of implementation of the 1994 New
Jersey Holocaust/Genocide Mandate in New Jersey public middle schools, and to ascertain the factors
most frequently associated with those levels of implementation. The primary data was collected from a
survey mailed to 93 principals of New Jersey public middle schools. The questionnaire consisted of
five sections organized to collect data on the implementation of the Holocaust/Genocide Mandate using
questions derived from Dawidowicz (1992): Where is it taught? Who teaches it? How is it taught?
What is taught? Why is it taught? The findings of this study indicated that more than half (58%) of the
schools reporting showed an acceptable level of implementation of the Mandate. In each of the areas of
Resources, Content, Methods, Rationales, and an overall Total group, the criteria for an acceptable
level of implementation were met or exceeded. Teacher preparation, ongoing teacher professional
development, the methods, strategies, and assessments used, the resources used, and the rationales
given for teaching the Holocaust, indicated a significant relationship with the level of implementation
of the Mandate, as did the school input variables of school instructional structures and school setting.
Other variables showing a relationship to the implementation of the Mandate were the content/themes
addressed, teacher assignment, and the number of teachers involved in Holocaust/Genocide instruction.
School location, school size, number of teachers, and grade level distribution did not make a difference
in the level of implementation of the Mandate. The 1994 New Jersey Holocaust/Genocide Mandate was
cited most frequently as the most important reason for Holocaust/Genocide education. The resource
materials and professional development opportunities provided by the New Jersey Commission on
Holocaust Education showed a significant relationship to the level of implementation of the Mandate.
The results of the study showed the importance of the 1994 New Jersey Holocaust/Genocide Mandate
in promoting instruction in Holocaust/Genocide education New Jersey public middle schools. The
95
study also affirmed the success of the work of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education in
providing teachers with resources, materials, and professional development opportunities.
Ellison, J. A. (2002). From one generation to the next: A case study of Holocaust education in Illinois.
Unpublished dissertation, Florida Atlantic University.
Currently a debate is underway concerning the current state of Holocaust education in the United
States. Some scholars believe that its overall state is quite healthy, while others believe that it is in deep
need of repair. To date, the literature about Holocaust education does not allow the debate to be
answered because even the most basic analytic information is lacking: who teaches it, where it is
taught, when it is taught, how it is taught, and why it is taught. For purposes of this study a new
Holocaust questionnaire was developed and sent to a random sampling of public high schools in
Illinois. Two research questions were formulated. The first was to answer those aforementioned basic
analytic questions. The second was to ascertain those factors that cause particular schools to emphasize
Holocaust education more than other schools. Two major hypotheses were considered in relation to
emphasis: school-related factors and teacher-related factors. Correlations and multiple regression
analyses were performed in order to ascertain those factors most statistically associated with emphasis.
Given the limitations of the model, most factors that related to emphasis were directly or indirectly
related to teacher training and preparation in Holocaust education.
Fallace, T. D. (2004). The construction of the American Holocaust curriculum. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Remembering the Holocaust has become a central part of American culture. The Holocaust has also
become an important topic in the nation's schools. By the 1990s many states had adopted or mandated
their own Holocaust curricula in addition to the dozens of organizations dedicated to Holocaust study
and education in the United States. This rise in interest was accompanied by a public debate over how
to represent the Holocaust properly in American life, making the Holocaust one of the most
controversial historical topics of the late twentieth century. This study traced the construction of the
Holocaust curriculum through historical case studies of five of the first Holocaust curricula taught in
American classrooms, through which I present two major arguments. First, that Holocaust education
was a grassroots movement engineered by school teachers--many of whom were not Jewish. These
teachers introduced the Holocaust as way to help students navigate the moral and ethical dilemmas of
the time. Certain researchers have suggested that Jewish elites pushed the Holocaust into the American
consciousness, or that this interest was initiated by events in popular culture. My research will
complicate both these claims. My second argument is that the intense debate over how to represent the
Holocaust in the curriculum has been misinterpreted as a cultural clash over different interpretations of
the event--the Jewish version vs. the "Americanized" one. This explanation is too simplistic. The
controversy is better understood as a curricular debate over the teaching of history. For nearly a
century, educational researchers, interest groups, and historians have argued over the role and purpose
of history in the schools. Having entered into this debate, the topic of the Holocaust has made these
issues more conspicuous to the general public.
96
Fischman, J. V. (1996). The teaching of Holocaust literature in American universities. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, Faculty of the Graduate School, State University of New York (Buffalo).
This study surveys university transmission of knowledge of the Holocaust through reading,
studying, and responding to Holocaust literature. Description of the present state of Holocaust
education assumes importance in light of recent elementary through secondary level state mandates and
strong recommendations for such pedagogy. To implement these administrative directives, it is
necessary to ascertain the current status of Holocaust education. Teachers are prepared for the
classroom in universities; therefore the study centers on this level. The task of describing and
understanding Holocaust education through the teaching of Holocaust literature leads to the
consideration that a multiple approach is required. A two-form questionnaire (for teachers or nonteachers) was sent to random populations drawn from interest groups of the IRA and MLA. An
additional form was sent to a population of known, published educators. Ten eminent Holocaust
literature educators were personally interviewed, and an open-ended, ten question protocol was
followed. Study findings reveal that indirect teaching of Holocaust literature is prealent in universities
in the United States even though full courses dedicated to the subject are less common. Holocaust
works are taught often in Honors Program courses. Non-teacher respondents give lack of awareness
and/or knowledge of the subject, lack of materials, lack of time, and lack of appropriateness for their
area of specialization as reasons for why they do not teach Holocaust literature. They, however, also
offer instances of their indirect teaching of specific Holocaust works. While twelve works are
employed by over 50% of the known population, a canon does not exist per se. Teaching Holocaust
literature is a multidisciplinary task; historical context is vital. Differences do exist between courses
which require the reading of these works and other literature courses; these include preparation,
materials, methods, and evaluation. The affective content of this literature is both essential and
problematic for both teachers and students. Conclusions within the context of Holocaust education
include recognition of the need for standardization of course content, for college instructor
certification, and for longitudinal study of the affect of teaching, reading, and responding to Holocaust
literature.
Frampton, W. (1989). A descriptive study to ascertain curriculum guidelines for Holocaust education
as reported by state departments of education. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Temple
University.
The purpose of this study was to examine the provisions by the state departments of education for
Holocaust education. The study encompassed the fifty states in the United States with the contact
person being either the Director of Curriculum or a person delegated with the responsibility. A major
question with twelve sub-questions guided the study. Data were gathered from the fifty state
departments of education through a mailed questionnaire, designed and implemented in accordance
with Dillman's Total Method; a 100 percent rate was obtained. A review of the related literature
showed no comprehensive role played by state departments of education in Holocaust education. Two
computer assisted searches were conducted in 1986 at the beginning of the study and again in 1989.
Findings. (1) There is no requirement for teaching Holocaust education currently operating at state
departments of education. (2) American history, world history and social studies were identified most
often as the primary areas in which Holocaust education is taught. (3) State departments of education
97
provided no evidence that they initiate programs on Holocaust education. (4) Attempts have been made
by teachers to interest the state in developing a curriculum on Holocaust education. (5) Changing state
policy to provide for Holocaust education must be presented to the state in proposal form. Conclusions.
Holocaust education has made little impact at the state departments of education with a requirement
unlikely.
Geiss, S. A. (1997). Implementing Holocaust education curriculum to comply with Florida
legislation 233.061 at the middle school level. Master’s Final Report, Nova Southeastern
University, 1997. Retrieved 12 October 2009 from ERIC (ED 422 215):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal;jsessionid=KTlLNpRzJdnzGjLHXqVPBMT
Mb7JLlc5ZKJkv4wnCnRyy4SK4kpLb!735627472?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED422215&ERICExtSearch_SearchTyp
e_0=no&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&newSearch=true&rnd=1255400939352&searchtype=key
word
This program was developed and implemented to correct noncompliance with Florida Education
Legislation 233.061, to increase knowledge of basic facts surrounding the Holocaust and to increase
positive tolerance attitudes of diversity. The objectives for the program were to increase the instruction
of the Holocaust by 75%; increase the student's knowledge of the Holocaust by 30%; and increase
positive tolerance attitudes of diversity by 10%. The target group of teachers were required to instruct
the Holocaust using an author designed curriculum. All the program objectives were met with the target
groups improving dramatically teacher and student knowledge of the Holocaust. Appendixes include a
parent letter, grade level curriculum, suggested projects, and grade-level teacher resource packets.
Hernandez, A. A. (2004). Voices of witness, messages of hope: Moral development theory and
transactional response in a literature-based Holocaust studies curriculum. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Ohio State University.
The professional literature of the Holocaust is replete with research, references, and
recommendations that a study of the Holocaust, particularly for middle and high school students, is
most effective when combined with an extensive use of Holocaust literature. Scholars and educators
alike advocate the use of first-person testimony whenever and wherever possible in order to personalize
the Holocaust lessons for the student. This study explore students' responses to first-person Holocaust
narratives through the lens of reader response theory in order to determine if prolonged engagement
with the literature enhances affective learning. This study also explores the students' sense of personal
ethics and their perceptions on moral decision-making. By examining their responses during prolonged
engagement with first-person narratives, herein referred to as witness narratives , and evaluating these
responses based on moral development theories developed by Kohlberg and Gilligan, the study also
seeks to determine whether there are significant differences in the nature of response that can be
attributed to gender. Lastly, the study explores students' views on racism, and how or if an extended
lesson on the Holocaust causes affective change in students' perceptions of racism and their role in
combating it within our society.
98
Holt, E. (2001). Implementation of Indiana’s resolution on Holocaust education by selected language
arts and social studies teachers in middle schools/junior high schools and high schools.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana State University.
Although it has been over fifty years since the world learned of the horrors committed by the Nazis
against those considered "undesirable", many attitudes that fostered the "Holocaust" are still with us.
Prejudice and discrimination are a part of the social fabric of our lives. This study examined how
teachers in Indiana implemented the 1995 Indiana Concurrent resolution on teaching about the
Holocaust, specifically in middle schools/junior high and high schools. Selected teachers were those
currently in reading/language arts and social studies from grades 6-12, since these grades and subject
areas are where Holocaust study typically occurs. A survey was distributed to 254 teachers of
reading/language arts and social studies throughout the state with 92 teachers responding from 45 of
Indiana's 92 counties. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Major findings were that:
(1) 80 percent of respondents were unfamiliar with the resolution regarding teaching about the
Holocaust but many were incorporating Holocaust education into the classrooms; (2) most respondents
felt comfortable with their background knowledge for teaching about the Holocaust but reported most
knowledge was gained through self-study; (3) teachers used a variety of resources and strategies for
teaching about the Holocaust; (4) most teachers considered the Holocaust an important subject for their
students and felt the topic could be used in various age-appropriate settings; and (5) many teachers
stressed the concerns about communication of legislative actions to the classroom teacher and proper
funding for implementation of state legislated expectations. Included in the appendices are an annotated
bibliography for Holocaust study and a timeline of the Holocaust from the National Council for the
Social Studies.
Lindquist, D. H. (2002). Towards a pedagogy of the Holocaust: Perspectives of exemplary teachers.
Unpublished dissertation, Indiana University.
The study examines practices by which knowledgeable and experienced teachers of the Holocaust
make fundamental decisions regarding the treatment of the topic in their classrooms. It considers four
components (rationale, methodology, content, and dilemmas and issues) involved in developing and
implementing meaningful courses of instruction about the Holocaust. The study's six informants are
Fellows of both the Mandel Teacher Fellowship Program of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum and the Teacher Fellowship Program "The Holocaust and Jewish Resistance," sponsored by
the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. They represent different genders, personal
backgrounds, levels of formal education, content areas of expertise, grade levels of instruction, and
geographical locations. Each informant was interviewed extensively regarding the four components,
with their responses being compared to and contrasted with relevant articles from research literature
about the teaching of the Holocaust. Findings indicate that Holocaust education focuses on the event as
a study of human behavior and as a force for contemporary social change. It is moving toward an
increasingly central role in contemporary education because it generates high-level interest on the part
of students, leading them to demonstrate sophisticated thinking processes while considering important
themes. Effective methodologies for teaching the Holocaust require attention to the power of language,
the contextualization of the event within modern history, and personalization. In developing curricula,
teachers must select materials that are historically accurate and comprehensive while ensuring
99
sensitivity in the use of graphic depictions of devastating circumstances. Participants discussed unique
challenges that educators face in teaching the Holocaust as a result of community and institutional
pressures, the existence of the denier movement, matters of age-appropriateness, the Jewish
perspective, and the intensity with which teachers approach the subject. Based on these findings,
teachers should: (1) be aware of the complex nature of the subject and the teaching environment;
(2) limit potential problems by becoming highly knowledgeable in both the history and the pedagogy of
the subject; (3) establish well-defined rationales for teaching the subject; and (4) serve as advocates for
Holocaust education in their schools and communities. In so doing, they will be able to present a topic
that is highly complex and emotionally charged to students in a manner that is sound historically and
pedagogically.
Mitchell, J. P. (2004). Methods of teaching the Holocaust to secondary students as implemented by
Tennessee recipients of the Betz-Lippman Tennessee Holocaust Educators of the Year Award.
Unpublished dissertation, East Tennessee University.
Teaching the Holocaust is a challenging task. Not only do educators have a responsibility to impart
the historical information surrounding these events, but issues of humanity are also an important part of
the lessons. As of 2001, Holocaust education has been mandated by at least 6 states in the United
States. At least 11 others, including Tennessee, have task forces or commissions responsible for
promoting Holocaust education and providing professional development opportunities and materials
for teaching such units. It is conceivable that additional states will enact legislation requiring Holocaust
studies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore methods of teaching Holocaust education
in a variety of subject areas to secondary students in grades 7 through 12, as implemented by recipients
of Tennessee's Belz-Lipman Holocaust Educator of the Year Awards. These individuals have been
recognized, through an application and committee selection process, as outstanding and successful
teachers in this field. The researcher interviewed 17 of the 39 award recipients from across the State of
Tennessee to determine commonalities in the resources, materials, and instructional methods used by
the teachers. The participants included 4 males and 13 females, representing language arts (8) and
social science (8) teachers from the middle school and high school levels. One participant taught a class
in which students could obtain credit in both academic areas. The findings of this study included the
importance of teacher training in this area; participants spoke of regularly attending sessions offered by
reputable Holocaust organizations. This study also found commonalities in resources and materials
used, such as specific titles of poetry, literature, and movie selections. Additionally, instructional
methods such as group discussions, writing assignments, student project activities, and assessment
strategies were frequently discussed. The importance of personalizing Holocaust history was
emphasized throughout the study. The results indicate that students and teachers benefited from these
lessons. While the findings of this study significantly contribute to the field of Holocaust education in
Tennessee, the need for additional research is also addressed. To ensure successful, meaningful,
pedagogically sound lessons, attention to this topic must be an on-going endeavor.
Prince, K. (2001). An investigation into the problems of, and possible solutions to, teaching the
Holocaust as part of the History National Curriculum Key Stage 3. Unpublished dissertation,
University of Sussex.
100
Reed, C. A. (1993). Building bridges: The anti-racist dimensions of Holocaust education. Unpublished
doctoral dissertation. University of Toronto.
This thesis provides an overview of anti-racist education and offers one illustrative case study of
anti-racist work in a classroom setting. I have divided the discussion of anti-racist education literature
into two sections, a review of the more theoretical work and a review of the praxis of anti-racist
education. As much of the anti-racist literature emanates from Britain, British writers are featured.
However, some Canadian and American writers are also discussed. As an illustrative example of antiracist education in a classroom I provide a case study of a curriculum Facing History and Ourselves as
it was taught in a Toronto classroom. As a participant observer, I offer a detailed reconstruction of what
went on in the classroom, what the students wrote in their journals as well as what was
studied/discussed in the curriculum. I argue that the Facing History and Ourselves curriculum embodies
both the concerns of anti-racist theoretical literature and the elements of anti-racist praxis. As such, this
case study is presented as an example of good anti-racist education.
Schweber, S. A. (1999). Teaching history, teaching morality: Holocaust education in American public
high schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.
The Holocaust emerged as an occasional topic of public high school social studies curricula only in
the late 1970s. By the early 1990s, by contrast, the Holocaust had become a mandated subject of study
in numerous states. Because of the publicity surrounding such landmark events as the opening of the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the high acclaim and massive distribution of Schindler's List , and
the fiftieth anniversaries of many turning points in Holocaust history, the visibility of the Holocaust in
public discourse had increased tremendously. The importance of Holocaust education, once mainly the
concern of Holocaust survivors and Jewish groups, had found consensus among a much larger public.
Underpinning this consensus was the widespread belief that education about the Holocaust, by virtue of
its subject matter alone, is a venue for instilling moral values in students. This study empirically
examines that assumption, investigating the teaching of the Holocaust as a moral endeavor. By
analyzing the practice of four teachers who came highly recommended, the study provides models of
expertise in this largely uncharted territory. Three research questions guided the work: How do
experienced high school teachers teach about the Holocaust? What moral lessons do they convey
implicitly and communicate explicitly? And, what is their impact on students? Data was gathered over
two years of field work which involved attending class sessions, interviewing teachers and students,
collecting students' work and distributing surveys. Analyzed using the lens of Elliot Eisner's
educational criticism, four case studies resulted which trace the moral and informational dimensions of
Holocaust curricula as they were originally designed and subsequently transformed into the planned,
enacted and experienced curricula. The four cases depict a range of representations of the Shoah, their
informational and moral dimensions, and their impacts on students, thus providing answers regarding
what models to emulate, what pitfalls to avoid, and what issues to consider in the important work of
teaching about the Holocaust.
Spector, K. (2005). Framing the Holocaust in English class: Secondary teachers and students reading
Holocaust literature. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
101
In this qualitative research study of three secondary school Holocaust literature units in the Midwest,
I examined responses from 3 teachers and 126 students as they constructed the Holocaust in English
class. The participants at the first site, Adams 2003, were part of a middle class suburban community
and were within a school with 98% Whites. I returned to this site in 2004 to co-teach the Holocaust
literature unit with the teacher with a critical literacy focus. Over the two years, 91 8 th grade students
and 1 teacher participated in the study at Adams. The second site, River Hill 2004, was in a high
poverty urban center with 98% Blacks. The total number of participants at River Hill was 35 10 th
graders and 2 teachers. I spent 369 observational hours within the three schools, and I tape recorded
class sessions, small group discussions, and interviews with teachers and students. I also collected all
written or drawn artifacts that the students produced. I began analyzing data by looking for the
narrative frames (Ricoeur, 1984, 1988) participants used to interpret the Holocaust. Within these
frames, I used critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995; Gee, 1997; Rogers, 2004) to further
analyze the data. I found that teachers and 79 of 126 students at both schools used religious narrative
frames to interpret Night (Wiesel, 1982), sometimes with lethal implications for Jews. I also found that
students at Adams in 2003 and 2004 used narratives of hope to interpret the The Diary of Anne Frank
(Goodrich & Hackett, 1994). In order to maintain their hopeful narratives, students eviscerated Anne
from her treacherous surroundings and even stashed her death in what Morris (2001) referred to as
"memory holes." Students in all three units also enfigured Hitler as the sole, and demonic, perpetrator
of the Holocaust, enfigured Jews as sheep being led to the slaughter, and claimed to learn 368 different
lessons. As for the teachers, they each wanted their students to learn lessons of tolerance through their
study of the Holocaust, and none of the three teachers taught students the history of antisemitism before
the 20th century.
Vartanian, N. E. (2000). When history hurts: An analysis of the influences upon the teaching of
genocide in U.S. public schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College Columbia.
This paper is a multi-faceted exploration of the issues facing, and influences upon, teaching the topic
of genocide in U.S. public schools. Just as genocide is a phenomenon that does not arise in isolation-devoid of historical, social, and political influences--the obstacles to teaching about genocide must be
considered in their full context, as well. As such, this paper addresses the following questions: Why
should schools teach about genocide? How does controversial information become suppressed? What
happens in a state where curriculum is developed and legislative measures are taken to teach the topic?
What are the implications of having a foreign power exert influence over these processes? In order to
explore these issues, I initially lay out a rationale for the teaching of the topic of genocide, which in
itself is a politically--and therefore pedagogically--controversial subject of study. From there, I offer a
literature review of the sociology of knowledge, using readings that address issues of the
marginalization of information via power and pedagogy. I then examine historical, social, and
pedagogical issues involved in the "non-teaching" of genocide. This leads into a political analysis,
specifically of the effect of genocide denial and the influence of the Turkish government's efforts to
suppress acknowledgment and study of the Armenian Genocide. As an important case of this denial
and influence, I outline the process of developing genocide curriculum and a mandate to teach the topic
within the state of New Jersey. Finally, I address the implications of those influences upon the pursuit
of knowledge in the context of U.S. schools. While noting points of progress that have been made with
102
regard to the teaching of this topic, I propose that the study of genocide--and ultimately history--is
compromised by denial and suppression of information. I argue for the mainstreamed inclusion of this
history in social studies textbooks, as a means of both circumventing revisionist efforts as well as
institutionalizing mandates that are enacted.
Witt, J. A. (2000). A humanities approach to the study of the Holocaust: A curriculum for grades 7-12.
Unpublished dissertation, Illinois State University.
The legislature of the State of Illinois has mandated that the Holocaust be taught in all Illinois public
schools. Teachers be given as much assistance and guidance to fulfil that mandate. Since there was no
funding allocated or support given to help implement that requirement, this curriculum is designed to
meet that need. This dissertation includes nine chapters and an introduction. Each chapter addresses an
individual topic or issue of the Holocaust designed to give the teacher necessary historical, background
information. Each chapter includes lessons to be used in the classroom that address the issues in the
topic. In order to make the history of the Holocaust relevant to the children of the twenty-first century,
students must view this event through the eyes of the victims and the perpetrators. Therefore this
curriculum includes primary source documents, survivor testimony and eyewitness accounts. In
addition, lessons in art, music and literature have been included to address the importance of an
interdisciplinary approach to the study of the social studies. All lessons have been designed to meet the
Bradley Commission guidelines for teaching history in the schools. Therefore each lesson addresses the
Vital Themes and Narratives and History's Habits of the Mind as established by the Bradley
Commission and adopted by the National Council for the Social Studies. Furthermore, the dissertation
follows the guidelines established by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Other
Alberta Teachers’ Association for the Social Studies Council. (1982). One World (Special issue on
genocide and the Holocaust), 20(1).
“This special issue contains several essays/articles/pieces on various aspects of genocide: ‘Preparing
teacher candidates to teach about genocide and Holocaust’ by Joseph Kirman; ‘A resource guide to
genocide in the twentieth century’ by Bohdan Krawchenko; ‘Canada, refugees, and the Holocaust’ by
Irving Abella and Harold Troper; ‘The Holocaust and historical fraud’ by Mark Silverberg; and ‘The
Holocaust and Christian theology’ by Gregory Baum.”22
Holt, E. R. (1992). “Remember our faces” – Teaching about the Holocaust (ERIC Digest). Retrieved
10 September 2009 from ERIC (ED 345 990):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=
22
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
103
no&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=no%3Aed345990&spelling
=yes
A Holocaust survivor recently implored social studies teachers to "remember our faces." This
becomes an especially poignant plea when one considers the ages of the Holocaust survivors, rescuers,
and liberators. This generation will soon be gone. Who will remain to tell their stories? As the 50th
anniversary remembrance of World War II continues, the significance of the European Holocaust and
its implications for teaching social studies at the middle and high school must be considered. Too often
the Holocaust is forgotten in the recitation of dates and battles, commanders and campaigns. The
annihilation of more than six million Jews cannot be described in the one or two paragraphs devoted to
the Holocaust in the average social studies text. Though Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, and other
Nazi death camps are synonymous with horror, what of the identities of the victims of those camps?
How do educators teach about those individuals who died in the camps, of those survivors who left the
camps forever changed, or of those rescuers who risked their lives to help others? The goals of this
ERIC Digest are to: (1) present a rationale for Holocaust education; (2) discuss curriculum placement
for inclusion of the topic; (3) list organizations and resources available to help educators in teaching
about the Holocaust; and (4) provide a bibliography of relevant materials in the ERIC database. [ERIC]
104
CURRICULAR RESOURCES
Online Resources
All of the website links in the following section are operational as of 13 October 2009.
Adventures in Free Schooling. Teaching Imperialism, Colonialism, and Racism in United States
History: A Board Game About Columbus. http://freeschools.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/teachingimperialism-colonialism-and-racism-in-united-states-history-a-board-game-about-columbus/
Contains instructions for building and playing the game and before and after preparation/reflection
activities for students. Presents an anti-colonial and anti-racist telling of the contact story for students.
American University – Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Genocide Teaching
Project: Model Lesson Plan.
A detailed lesson plan for grades 10-12 on the nature and causes of genocide, with particular
attention paid to Sudan. This lesson plan pays particular attention to oral scripts for teachers and
contains prompts to that effect. Includes extension ideas for helping the people of Darfur and
background information sheets for students.
Anne Frank Educational Trust. http://www.annefrank.org.uk/node/102
A website containing online exhibitions and lists of teacher resources on Anne Frank’s diary.
Anti-Defamation League. Curriculum Connections.
http://www.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/
A collection of lesson plans, subdivided by category. Under Holocaust and Genocide Studies are
three relevant lesson plans. Two of these are centered on the Holocaust and follow the lives of
individual survivors (Abraham Foxman, the director of ADL) and righteous gentiles. The third is a
secondary-level multi-lesson unit plan titled “The Promise of Never Again: The Struggle to Prevent
Genocide in the Post-Holocaust Era.” This contains four lessons on the history of contemporary
genocide in the aftermath of the Holocaust and covers: the ideal of ‘never again’; one Holocaust
survivor’s campaign to end genocide; barriers erected to prevent genocide since the Holocaust; and
genocide in Darfur – is the world doing enough? Each lesson contains handouts and resources,
activities and discussion questions.
Armenian Education Centre: Collection of Educational Materials on the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
http://www.armenian-educationcenter.org/home/index.html
A site maintained by a grassroots organization of educators who develop curricular materials on the
Armenian genocide. Available materials include: “two lesson plans along with support material, maps,
105
historical background, vocabulary definitions, as well as an updated bibliography, and web sites;”
frequently-asked questions; and website links for further study.
Armenian-Genocide.org. Educational Resources. http://www.armenian-genocide.org/education.html
Contains a resource guide (curricula, scholarship, primary source documents, eyewitness accounts,
literature, culture, and history), maps of the genocide, a guide to instructional videos, links to curricular
documents on the genocide, encyclopedia entries, suggested readings, and frequently-asked questions.
Art and Remembrance. Online Virtual Gallery and Educator Guide: Through the Eye of the Needle –
Fabric of Survival by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz.
http://www.artandremembrance.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.showEducation&gclid=CP2rnPCt9
JwCFdZM5QodfnCBsg
“The primary goal of Art and Remembrance's educational programs is to open the minds of schoolage children to the powerful experiences of victims of social injustice, as narrated through art. Through
guided study on the works of A&R artists, students will be encouraged to reflect upon and gain a
greater understanding of important issues such as cultural diversity, prejudice, the Holocaust, and other
historical and contemporary manifestations of racism. Through the study of narrative art, A&R also
hopes to empower children to share their own stories, and to learn about various techniques that will
enable them to do so through art.” Contains student questions pertaining to the Krinitz exhibition as
well as multimedia resources and a guide for educators.
British Library. Voices of the Holocaust. http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/voices/holocaust.html
“Voices of the Holocaust consists of oral history testimonies gathered from Jewish men and women
who came to live in Britain during or after WWII. These testimonies are personal, individual, true
stories, that describe the hardships of life during Hitler's reign.” The website includes complementary
information cards on the background to the Holocaust (for contextualizing the testimonies), reference
materials (maps, statistics, glossary, chronological chart), activities using the resources and teachers
pages (activities, worksheets, links and suggestions for use of the testimonies).
Centre for Excellence on the Study of Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance. Teaching
Resources. http://www.csuchico.edu/mjs/center/teaching_resources/index.html
Contains archived teacher resources on the web, organized by genocide as follows: Armenian
(lesson plans), Cambodia (books, websites, photography), Holocaust (articles, timelines, resources,
etc.), Rwanda (articles, books, websites), Sudan (maps, books, websites, timeline), Bosnia (websites,
books). Also includes sections on Iraq, Argentina, East Timor, Nanking and the U.S.S.R. A section on
Native Americans was in development as of 10.13.2009.
Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota. Virtual Museum.
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/museum/
Contains online (mostly interactive) museum exhibitions in PDF form related to genocides including
Sudan, the Holocaust, Armenian, and Cambodian.
106
Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota. Curriculum Models.
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/educational/curriculum.html
Extensive clearinghouse of online curricular resources pertaining to the teaching of genocide, most
notably the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Features an extensive list of links for teachers as
well as PowerPoint presentations for use in teacher trainings on genocide pedagogy. Includes a list of
unreliable genocide education resources.
The Choices Program. Confronting Genocide: Never Again?
http://www.choices.edu/resources/detail.php?id=36
“Confronting Genocide: Never Again? traces the evolution of the international community's
response to genocide and examines how the United States has responded to five cases of genocide. The
evaluation of multiple perspectives, informed debate, and problem solving strategies that comprise this
unit enable students to develop their own policy suggestions concerning America's response to future
genocide.” Focus on policy and the American response to genocide (for older students). The resource
comes with a five-day lesson plan for teachers as well as supplemental materials (on Darfur). This and
other CP resources must be purchased for downloading or mailing; however, this supplemental lesson
on the genocide in Sudan is free: http://www.choices.edu/resources/twtn_genocide.php.
Cobblestone Publishing. Teacher’s Guides for Armenia and Armenian Americans.
http://www.cobblestonepub.com/resources/fac9909t.html
http://www.cobblestonepub.com/resources/cob0005t.html
This publishing company provides teacher’s guides for two of its books for children on the
Armenian genocide; the guide for Armenia is not terribly extensive, but the Armenian Americans guide
was prepared by a teacher and is incredibly detailed. Provides information on grade level adaptations,
complementary resources, activities, and online resources. The book is not required for the Armenian
Americans guide as it is broadly geared to the history/culture of Armenia and the genocide.
CNNfyi.com. Lesson Plan: Return to Kosovo. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/fyi/news/05/08/kosovo.lp/
A two-period lesson plan covering the conflict in Kosovo using CNN media materials as primary
source documents. Discussions are followed by students preparing a presentation on either a
government agency or private relief agency rebuilding Kosovo.
Educator’s Reference Desk. Crisis in the Balkans. http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/World_History/WRH0206.html
While not explicitly referencing the genocide that occurred in Bosnia, this five-day simulation of the
Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s provides important background study for a further exploration of
the genocide that occurred there.
Education World. Lesson Planning Article: Crisis in Kosovo – Web Resources for Classroom Lessons.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson108.shtml
107
A very thorough article detailing dozens of web resources that teachers can use in designing lessons
on the Kosovo conflict. Includes links to timelines, background information, maps, biographies, human
rights organizations in Kosovo and governmental websites.
Facing History and Ourselves. http://www.facinghistory.org
FHAO is the best known human rights education organization in the United States and has published
(see other categories in this list) books for use by teachers on the Holocaust and other genocides.
Members of FHAO can access complete lesson/unit plans on the Armenian genocide, resources for
teaching on the Cambodian genocide (e.g.,
http://www.choosingtoparticipate.org/explore/exhibit/stories/everyone), video testimony on BosniaHerzegovina, materials on Rwanda, an extensive unit plan on Darfur (e.g.
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/darfur-now) and resources on the Holocaust.
Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (1997-2009). A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust.
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/
“The Teacher's Guide is designed to provide an overview of the Holocaust through text, original
source documents, graphics, photographs, art, movies, and music. The website allows teachers to view
the Holocaust through three different "lenses"--Timeline, People, and the Arts. Additional resources are
provided in the Student Activities and Teacher Resources sections. […]The Timeline section focuses
on the history of the Holocaust, chronicling the years from 1918 to the present. Hitler's rise to power
was the initiation of a period that wrought great fear and destruction. Millions were forced to live in
ghettos, only to be deported later to concentration camps. The tragic details remained obscure until the
liberation of the death camps and the further revelations during the Nuremberg War Trials. The
subsections of the Timeline section offer a simplified outline for examining the evolution of the
Holocaust. However, it should be kept in mind that many of the following categories overlap. […]The
People section investigates the human drama of the Holocaust. The participants are grouped according
to their particular situations, whether forced or chosen. As in any other facet of life, the groups are not
mutually exclusive. […] [The Arts section explores the connections between art, literature and music,
National Socialism and the Holocaust.] The Student Activities section provides materials for teachers
to use as a framework for a Holocaust unit of study. This section has been divided into activities for
elementary, middle, and high school. Nevertheless, teachers should carefully consider the
appropriateness of any activity for their particular students. Teachers are also encouraged to submit
lesson plans for consideration for future editions of A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. All lesson
plans are edited and evaluated by experts in the field prior to being added to the Student Activities
section. The Teacher Resources section provides a treasure chest of reference materials. The response
to A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust has been overwhelming. During the month of February 2000,
over 1,700,000 hits were registered on the site. [The site is being continuously updated.]”23
The Genocide Education Project. http://www.genocideeducation.org/
Barron, A. E., & Winkelman, R. (2001). A teacher’s guide to the Holocaust: An online resource. Social Education, 65(3),
140.
23
108
GEP is the parent project for two resource websites on the Armenian genocide:
www.teachgenocide.com for teachers and www.learngenocide.com for students. The teacher website is
the Armenian Genocide Resource Library for Teachers (secondary) and features teaching guides,
videos, resource lists, documents and maps, survivor accounts, links to news/media resources and
extensive links to further websites on the Armenian genocide. The student website is an “interactive
lesson plan” called Nicole’s Journey that focuses on the experiences of an Armenian-American
adjusting to life in the United States.
Holocaust Education Development Programme. Institute of Education, University of London.
Contains extensive lesson resources, although most are available to participants who have
completed the IOE Continuing Professional Development program on Holocaust education. However,
many of the resources on this page (videos, lessons, resource materials) are accessible.
The Holocaust Educational Trust. Resources. http://www.het.org.uk/content.php?page_id=16
The website contains sections for students and teachers. Teachers can order resource packs that are
based on eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust, each containing lesson plans and curricular materials.
For example, the Lessons of the Holocaust Teaching pack “contains flashcards, a book of reproducible
resources (including maps, newspapers and other documents), display posters, teacher guidelines and a
60 minute video which illustrates the various factors that led to and culminated in the Holocaust.”
Additional audiovisual resources are also available on order.
Holocaust Museum Houston. Rwanda Genocide Lesson Plan. http://www.hmh.org/page.asp?id=10
A secondary-level lesson plan on the Rwandan genocide that uses online resources and focuses on
the perspective of General Romeo Dallaire. Contains activities based on both films and readings, as
well as an excellent series of questions for use in analyzing a photo archive
(www.nytimes.com/library/world/Africa/index-rwanda-children.html) on the genocide. The final
assignment involves selecting one of four quotations and either agreeing or disagreeing with its author,
using four very well-structured essay questions as a guide.
Holocaust Museum Houston. Holocaust Teacher Packet.
http://www.hmh.org/file_repository/teacherpacket_200310151017.pdf
Originally intended for teachers whose classes have visited the museum, this packet contains the
following: vocabulary, timeline, suggested readings for students, an annotated videography and
reproducible maps for use in the classroom.
Jewish World Watch. Teaching Tools on Darfur.
http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/educate/jwwcurricula.html
Contains one extensive curriculum (grades 6-10) on Genocide/Tolerance [“Genocide/Tolerance
Curriculum designed to be used in public schools as part of a tolerance unit. In this curriculum, the
genocide in Darfur is the example of what happens when there is extreme intolerance. This is a 4 part
curriculum, with each part being 30 minutes.”] and one brief reading-based lesson plan (grades 4-9) on
109
Darfur [“Lesson about the actual situation in Darfur and the history of how the genocide started. This
curriculum can be combined with any of the other curriculum.”]
Learning about the Holocaust through Art. http://www.holocaust-education.net/
A searchable online exhibition of art pertaining to the Holocaust. Contains a comprehensive teacher
guide to using the collection in class, three levels of student activities indexed by age (10-12, 13-15 and
16+), and several study resources. Upon joining (for free), a member may curate their own collection
and respond to the artwork.
Learning and Teaching Scotland. Lesson Ideas: The Arts and the Holocaust.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/antisectarian/activitiesandlessons/secondary/lessonIdeas/index.asp
An annotated list of teaching resources and activities on the Holocaust adapted from
http://www.reelingwrithing.com/holocaust/download.htm; the original resource pack is to be used in
combination with a play performance on the White Rose Society, a group of young German anti-Nazi
activists in WWII.
Lost Boys of Sudan – Educational Study Guide. http://www.lostboysfilm.com/learn.html#classroom
Lesson plans for use with the documentary film Lost Boys of Sudan. “The study guide includes
sample classroom lesson ideas collected from several middle school, high school, and college
instructors who have successfully used the documentary in their classrooms. The lesson ideas provide
creative approaches for sharing the story of the “Lost Boys” and refugee stories in your classes. The
Study-guide also contains nine thematic essays by leading journalists and scholars working in fields
related to issues that arise in the documentary. These essays provide valuable background material on
the civil war in Sudan, the current crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, information on refugees and refugee
resettlement in the United States, and much more.” The lesson ideas and thematic essays are also
available for separate download.
Michigan State University, College of Education. Holocaust Resources Unit.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/letsnet/NoFrames/Subjects/ss/b4u6.html
A guide for teachers on integrating online content into lessons or units on the Holocaust with an
annotated list of relevant websites.
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. Genocide in Darfur, Inaction in the Security
Council. http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/darfur.html
“The materials here include two explanatory readings about the Darfur genocide followed by
questions for discussion and suggestions for encouraging students to act in solidarity with human
beings they are never likely to see or meet but who desperately need help.” Also includes additional
related websites for further study.
110
National Geographic Xpeditions. What’s Happening in Darfur? (Grades 6-8) and Darfur and the
Janjaweed. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/03/g68/africadarfur.html and
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/03/g912/africadarfur.html
Two detailed geography and current events lesson plans (6-8, 9-12) on the Darfur crisis. “Students
may have heard about the crisis in Sudan on the news; this lesson offers them both background and
current information (as of August 2004) about the situation there. The lesson covers the current conflict
between the people of Darfur and the Janjaweed militia, its impact on the people of Darfur and
neighboring countries, and the international response. The lesson can be used in conjunction with math
lessons on charting percentages.”
New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, New Jersey Department of Education.
http://www.state.nj.us/education/holocaust/curriculum/
A website containing state curriculum guides for K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 on teaching the Holocaust, as
well as an instructional guide to teaching about the genocide in Darfur and a resource titled “Words for
all time: Lessons of the Holocaust told in students’ own words”.
New York Times Learning Network. Daily Lesson Plans.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/archive.html
A detailed archive of lesson plans for upper elementary and secondary students that are based on
NY Times articles detailing current events. All lesson plans are thorough and novel, suggesting out-ofthe-ordinary approaches to learning about genocide such as creating a classroom exhibition or planning
a teach-in for other students. Aside from the lesson plan activities, each plan contains vocabulary,
discussion questions, very detailed extension activities and interdisciplinary connections.
Two lesson plans are described in detail here, and a list of others follows.
 Putting a Face to the Numbers: Revealing First-Hand Accounts of Historical Genocide.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20040116friday.html “In this lesson, students
learn about how hearing about experiences of genocide can make an impact on students. Then,
students create a text on the history of genocide, using first-hand accounts and other primary
sources as the focus of the text.” The lesson plan for grades 6-8 and 9-12 begins with a NY Times
article on a survivor of the Rwandan genocide in dialogue with a Holocaust survivor. The lesson
extends to independent group studies of particular genocides in history.
 Cambodia’s Quest for Justice: Learning about the Legacy of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20071114wednesday.html “In this lesson,
students learn about the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and how
the regime's legacy of genocide and other crimes against humanity continues to impact the
country today.” Students transform the classroom into a gallery on the legacy of the Khmer
Rouge (sources are suggested), participate in a specialized “fish bowl” discussion, and conclude
by writing speeches indicting former Khmer Rouge leaders to be tried in Cambodia (prompt
provided).
111
 Digging Deeper Into Darfur: Creating Infographics to Illustrate the Conflict in Darfur.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20070530wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Stop the Fighting and Start Uniting: Investigating Current Peace Talks Around the World. [Focus
on Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.]
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20060503wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Asking About Armenia: Learning and Teaching about the Modern History and Culture of
Armenians.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20060419wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Sorrow in Sudan: Understanding the Complexity of the Darfur Conflict.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20051019wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Sadness in Srebrenica: Learning About the War in Bosnia.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20050713wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Coming to Terms with the Past: A Teach-In about Post-Holocaust History.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20050921wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Conversations with the Past: Exploring Holocaust Experiences through Writing and Art.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20050128friday.html?searchpv=learning_less
ons
 Tribal Truths: Exploring the American-Indian Perspectives Toward the Bicentennial of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20030616monday.html?searchpv=learning_le
ssons
 The Killing Fields: Documenting Ethnic Division and Ethnic Cleansing Throughout Modern
History.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20021002wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
112
 Crisis in Kosovo: U.S. Intervention in Kosovo – A Global History Lesson Plan.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19981007wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
 Striking Out At the Serbs: Analysis of the Positions of Important Figures in the Conflict in
Kosovo.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19990324wednesday.html?searchpv=learning
_lessons
Oxfam Education. Darfur: Teaching about the Issues.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/darfur/
“Giving a teachers’ and students’ guide to the conflict, and providing testimonies from children
living in refugee camps in Darfur, this resource helps to make this complex topic comprehensible to
students aged 13+. Sections include: a history of the conflict; stories from young people living in the
camps about their daily lives, the fears they face, and their hopes for the future; information about
Oxfam’s work in Darfur; and ideas for actions students might take about the issues. There are also
ideas for lessons you might conduct around the subjects raised.”
Public Broadcasting Service – Teacher Center. Ghosts of Rwanda – Teacher’s Guide to Using the Film.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/ghosts/
This guide offers classroom teachers an array of opportunities to teach history and to explore the
notion of individual and collective responsibility. Contains pre-viewing, viewing and post-viewing
lesson plans as well as lesson plan extensions. Situates the genocide in its historical context.
Public Broadcasting Service. Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State – Learning Resources.
http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/learning/
An extensive set of teaching materials for high school and college/adult education classrooms based
on the PBS series Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State. Includes teaching guides for each one-hour episode,
a community guide for adult education screenings, a timeline, biographies of key figures, a glossary
and lists of related resources (websites, bibliography and organizations).
Public Broadcasting Service. Coping with Genocide in Cambodia.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/educators/history_cambodia.html
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 centered on a song by Cambodian artist Prach Ly. Focuses on the
remembrance of historical trauma, links to a video on the genocide also produce by PBS.
Public Broadcasting Service. The Flute Player – Lesson Plan.
http://www.pbs.org/pov/thefluteplayer/lesson_plan.php#part1
A lesson plan for use with the PBS film production The Flute Player, a biopic of a survivor of the
Cambodian genocide who was adopted by an American family as a child and who returns twenty years
later to Cambodia. “While most of Arn’s family, and 90 percent of the country’s musicians, were
113
killed, Arn was kept alive to play propaganda songs on the flute for his captors.” Also includes a PDF
further reading list (accessible from the main film site: http://www.pbs.org/pov/thefluteplayer/). An
extensive discussion guide is also available on the site that can be adapted for classroom use.
Remember.org: A Cybrary of the Holocaust. http://www.remember.org/
Remember.org offers contributors (survivors, liberators, historians, and teachers) a place to connect
and share the best research resources and stories through art, photography, painting, audio/video, and
remembrance. Remember.org also hosts the following K-12 adaptable curriculum on the Holocaust and
genocide initially developed by the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust education:
http://remember.org/hist.root.holo.html.
The Southern Institute for Education and Research. Teaching Guides.
http://www.southerninstitute.info/teaching_guides/teaching_guides.html
Offers three downloadable teaching guides: using the film Schindler’s List to teach the underlying
lessons of the Holocaust; exploring the role of everyday people in the events of the Holocaust; and
exploring the actions of the Righteous Gentiles/examining Christian attitudes during the Holocaust.
State of Virginia – Commonwealth of Knowledge. Before the Holocaust: The Armenian Genocide of
1915. http://www.knowledge.state.va.us/cgi-bin/lesview.cgi?idl=891
A lesson plan for use with the ABC News segment “The Forgotten Genocide”. Includes objectives,
purpose, materials, procedure, detailed discussion questions, web resources and bibliography.
Teaching Tolerance. http://www.tolerance.org
Teaching Tolerance is a clearinghouse of curricular materials for teachers (most of them free) and
also offers a magazine. They have a searchable database of materials for educators by grade, subject
and keyword. On the Holocaust, One Survivor Remembers (http://www.tolerance.org/kit/one-survivorremembers) is a kit featuring a 40-minute documentary, collection of primary related documents, a
resource booklet including a timeline and teacher’s guide with lesson plans. Articles from the magazine
can also be accessed through searching the website, and many of these cover the Armenian
(www.tolerance.org/teach/magazine/features.jsp?p=0&is=30&ar=323), Cambodian, and Bosnian
genocides from a teacher’s point of view, as well as genocide pedagogy more broadly considered.
United Nations. Lessons from Rwanda: The United Nations and the Prevention of Genocide. Online
Exhibition and Discussion Guide.
A multimedia clearinghouse of resources for teachers including pictorial exhibits, individual
multimedia testimonies from Rwandan survivors, links to audiovisual materials (and discussion guides
for these and others), key documents relating to the genocide, and details on the commemoration by the
United Nations.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Belfer Exemplary Lessons Initiative.
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/prodev/beli/2003/
114
A perpetually-updated website with exemplary lesson plans on the Holocaust selected by a panel of
pedagogical and historical experts. Current lessons include: Pre-World War II European Jewish Life
Photo Project; Individual Responsibility and Resistance During the Holocaust; Bringing the Holocaust
Unit to Closure – Implications for the Future; A Poetic Finale; Organizing the History; Learning from
the Early Stages of the Holocaust; and Who is Responsible When Genocide Occurs? [The latter is a
USHMM lesson plan using examples from Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur.]
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Ten Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust.
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/guideline/
Includes a justification for teaching about the Holocaust, guidelines on age appropriateness of
lessons and materials, ways in which the Holocaust can be adapted for different grade levels (i.e., in
terms of the lessons that can arise from its study at different ages), and a list of ten methodological
guidelines for teachers including contextualize the history, translate statistics into people, etc.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Five Guidelines for Teaching about a Genocide.
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/guideline/#5_guidelines
A list of five guidelines that build on the above Ten Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust,
but are more generally addressed to genocide as a phenomenon. The list includes: define genocide,
investigate the context and dynamics that have led to genocide, be wary of simplistic parallels to other
genocides, analyze American (an American site) and world response, illustrate positive action taken by
individuals and nations in the face of genocide.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Resources and Materials.
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/resource/
A brief list of links to relevant online resources on the Holocaust in a variety of formats.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Online Exhibitions.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/
A wide-ranging exhibition website containing a variety of online exhibits on genocides including the
Holocaust, Rwanda, Congo, and Sudan. Each exhibit takes a different form, but are high quality and
multimedia-driven. These include e.g., full Flash multimedia journals (Congo), photo journals with
commentary (Rwanda), etc.
Urban Morgan Centre for Human Rights, University of Cincinnati. The International Court of Justice
Considers Genocide (A Simulation – Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Serbia/Montenegro).
http://homepages.uc.edu/thro/genocide/index.html
“This interactive website encourages its visitors to play the role of a judge at the International Court
of Justice (ICJ). The case brought by Bosnia in 1993 charges genocide and seeks damages from Serbia
and Montenegro, the former Yugoslavia. You can explore the facts, research the law, and consider
opposing arguments that support one side or the other. You can earn a perfect score of 100 by
identifying all the best facts and arguments that support each side. After receving your score, you will
115
be asked for the different issues presented to decide in favor of either Bosnia or Yugoslavia and to
write an answer that explains your reasoning. You may then compare your reasoning with the actual
opinion of the ICJ on that issue before writing a personal conclusion reflecting on reasons you agree or
disagree with the court's judgment. Alternately, you may proceed directly to learn the court's decision
without first reviewing all the background facts and legal authority and without any role playing
advocacy. At any time you are ready to learn the outcome, simply choose from the main menu below a
judgment for either Bosnia or Yugoslavia, and you will be presented with the ICJ's actual decisions.”
Utah Education Network/Utah State Office of Education. Anne Frank in the World, 1929-1945 –
Teacher Workbook. http://www.uen.org/annefrank/
An extensive companion to the study of the novel in elementary (grades 3-6) or secondary (7-12)
classrooms. Features dozens of lesson plans, contextualizing readings, timelines and extra resources.
Washington College of Law. (2009). The Genocide Teaching Project.
http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center/rwanda/lesson.cfm
The Project provides resources to teach about the legal concept of genocide in high schools,
including a discussion of the Genocide Convention (1948), a brief overview of genocides that have
taken place throughout history, and the types of behavior and actions which may lead to genocide. Our
two lesson plans include a 90-minute lesson on the genocide in Rwanda and a 45-minute lesson on the
current violence in Darfur, Sudan. After the students learn about these two crises, the lessons conclude
by having the students identify actions they can take - both as individuals and as a group - to impact the
situation in Sudan and to ensure that genocide does not happen again. Therefore, the Center encourages
high school teachers as well as advocates and practitioners to use these lesson plans to teach young
people about the need to take responsibility for egregious abuses and to speak out for those with no
voice.
Washington State Holocaust Education Center. Teaching the Holocaust: Handouts, Lessons &
Resources for Teachers. http://www.wsherc.org/teaching/handouts.aspx
An excellent website with handouts for teachers and students, six documents with Holocaust-related
lessons and activities, a teaching blog, teacher guides for books and films, materials for planning a
Yom Hashoah ceremony, and a list of suggested websites.
Web English Teacher. Holocaust Resources. http://www.webenglishteacher.com/holocaust.html
A teacher resource website that contains a long list of free online teacher guides pertaining to
individual books/films, etc. on the Holocaust and teaching the historical background.
Yad Vashem – The International School for Holocaust Studies. Online Educational Resources.
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/index.asp
The definitive, mammoth resource for Holocaust educators with content in over 20 languages.
Lesson plans, ceremony guidelines, educational guidelines, an e-Newsletter for educators, a concise
encyclopaedia of the Holocaust, online exhibitions and interactive features for students, maps,
116
photographs, book reviews and readings. Also offers online courses. In addition, the Holocaust
Resource Centre, also at Yad Vashem, is the world’s largest online database on the Holocaust.
Yellow Star Foundation: Helping educators develop sensitive, effective lessons about the Holocaust.
http://www.yellowstarfoundation.org/index.htm
“The Yellow Star Foundation website builds on the great success of Dr. Robert Fisch's book, Light
from The Yellow Star: Lessons of Love From the Holocaust, to teach junior high school and high
school students about the Holocaust. The Yellow Star Foundation website includes lesson plans, video
clips, a teachers’ forum, classroom ideas, links to resources (books, videos, and web sites), classroom
dos and don’ts, information about the Holocaust, and profiles of projects successfully used in other
parts of the country.” Teacher resources on the website include lesson plans, 10 tips for teaching on the
Holocaust, an interactive map of Mauthausen concentration camp, a year-by-year timeline,
bibliography and glossary.
Curriculum Guides in Print
Adams, C. (1985). Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide: Introduction (The Human Rights
Series, Vol. I). Albany, NY: New York State Education Department, Bureau of Curriculum
Development.
Designed to assist secondary school social studies, English, and humanities teachers as they teach
about the Nazi Holocaust, the first of two volumes serves as an introduction to the concept of human
rights. Divided into a rationale and two units, each unit includes a statement of purpose, a list of
objectives, and a group of learning activities and student materials. Because the guide is not a textbook,
but rather a collection of materials and activities about the Holocaust and other examples of genocide,
the learning activities are not arranged in a developmental order and may be taught in any sequence. A
chart presenting a model for a two-week course of study provides lesson topics objectives, and
questions. Following a rationale for studying about the Nazi Holocaust and genocide, Unit I deals with
the roots of intolerance and persecution, denial of reality, indifference, prejudicial attitudes,
conformity, and obedience to authority. Unit II, "Precursors of the Holocaust," focuses on genocidal
theories, pseudoscientific racism, technological aspects of genocide, and a case study explaining the
plight of the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire during the deportation of 1915 to 1916.
Handouts are included and guidelines for helping teachers deal with sensitive topics, design lessons,
and select those readings which best fit his or her course or program are provided. SEE VOLUME II
(next) AND VOLUME III (Litynsky, 1986 below).
Adams, C. (1985). Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide: Introduction (The Human Rights
Series, Vol. II). Albany, NY: New York State Education Department, Bureau of Curriculum
Development.
Designed to assist secondary school social studies, English, and humanities teachers as they teach
about the Nazi Holocaust, the second of two volumes serves as a continuing introduction to the concept
117
of human rights. Building on the first volume, which dealt with the roots of intolerance and persecution
and precursors of the Holocaust, this volume focuses primarily on the Nazi Holocaust and its
implications for our future. Because the guide is not a textbook, but rather a collection of materials and
activities about the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, the learning activities are not arranged
in a developmental order and may be taught in any sequence. This second volume, beginning with Unit
III, examines anti-Semitism--traditional, religious, and racial; Nazi thought; the Nazi rise to power;
"The Final Solution"; perpetrators and victims; responses by individual institutions and nations; and
judgment, justice, and survivors. Unit IV, "Implications for Our Future," contains three sections
focusing on individual choices, group choices, and connections. The bulk of the guide consists of
student handouts, including time-lines, photographs, readings, memoranda, telegrams, and other
primary source materials. A bibliography correlated to Unit titles concludes the guide.
Apsel, J., & Fein, H. (Eds). (2002). Teaching about Genocide: An Interdisciplinary Guidebook with
Syllabi for College and University Teachers. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.
“A new and revised edition […], this booklet is comprised of two introductory essays (one on the
history and status of genocide education, and one that addresses pedagogical issues germane to
teaching about genocide), and course syllabi and other resources (e.g., study questions, topic reports,
research, exams, and bibliographies). The section containing the syllabi are broken down into the
following sections: Armenian Genocide; Holocaust; Genocide and Holocaust; Genocide; and
Genocide, Human Rights and International Affairs.”24
Armenian Assembly of America. (1988). Teachers’ Manual on the Armenian Genocide. Washington,
DC: Author.
“This booklet provides teachers with copies of official U.S. consular reports, telegrams, maps,
newspaper accounts, and other documents from the early 1900s that can be used in developing a
classroom presentation on the Armenian genocide. Among the topics addressed are the following:
‘Cooperation and Betrayal’; ‘International Outrage, Humanitarian Relief, and a Mandate for Armenia’;
and ‘Denial’. The materials are aimed for use in the middle or high school classroom.”25
Armenian National Committee. (1988). The Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923: A Handbook for Students
and Teachers. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
“This handbook provides a succinct overview of Armenian history, and presents a discussion of the
Armenian genocide and its aftermath. The contents include the following: ‘The Armenians: An
Historical Overview,’ ‘The Genocidal Process: 1915-1923,’ ‘The Aftermath,’ and a Bibliography. It
includes worksheets, maps, timelines, and charts. This handbook was specifically developed to assist
school districts in California ‘in the development of workable curricula on the Armenian tragedy’ so as
24
Totten, S. (2004). Selected annotated bibliography: Teaching about genocide. In S. Totten (Ed.), Teaching About
Genocide (pp. 299-327). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
25
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
118
to facilitate their implementation of the state’s new Model Curriculum for Human Rights and
Genocide. Its suggestions regarding learning activities are very weak.”26
Bardikoff, A., & Griesdorf, J. (1985). The Holocaust: A Unit of Study for Grade Nine English. North
York: The North York Board of Education.
Berman Center for Research & Evaluation in Jewish Education. (2006). Best Practices in Holocaust
Education: Report to the San Francisco Jewish Community Endowment Fund – APPENDICES.
New York: Jewish Education Service of North America. Retrieved 01 September 2009 from
http://www.sfjcf.org/endowment/grants/programs/SFJCEFJESNA%20Holocaust%20Education%20Report%20Appendices.pdf
Contains resources on programs, sources, assessment, a selected bibliography of academic books
and articles, a selected list of Holocaust organizations, teaching guidelines from the Holocaust Museum
Houston, and California resources and legislation pertaining to Holocaust teaching.
Bialystok, F. (1991). The Holocaust. Toronto: Ministry of Education – Independent Learning Centre.
Bialystok, F. (1999a). Holocaust Education: Topics for Independent Study Projects in History.
Toronto: Holocaust Education and Memorial Centre.
Bialystok, F. (1999b). The Wiesenthal Centre Posters: An Education Guide. Toronto: Toronto Board of
Education.
Bialystok, F., & Walther, B. (1985). The Holocaust and its Contemporary Implications: An
interdisciplinary curriculum (3 vols.). Toronto: Toronto Board of Education.
Bialystok, F., & Weintraub, S. (1990). Voices of Survival: A Teacher’s Guide. Montreal: Canadian
Jewish Congress.
“This education guide is designed for use in secondary schools [and] ... may be used in conjunction
with the documentary [Voices of survival] or as a resource for a unit on World War II, or the
Holocaust, or Judaism and Jewish history.” [World Cat]
Bill, W. E. (1988). Breaking the Sacred Circle. Olympia, WA: Washington Office of the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 26 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 302 347):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED302347&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED302347.
Intended as a basis for student discussions on American Indian issues, this article provides
background on American Indian and Alaskan Native spiritual values and the white man's disruption of
the Sacred Circle of Life. The foundation of the philosophies of North American indigenous peoples
26
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
119
was the idea of cyclical reaffirmation and the goal of maintaining a harmonious balance with nature.
Traditional Indian activities were conducted with the circle in mind, reflecting the belief that the power
of the world and nature worked in circles. Native societies were cooperative and depended on each
facet of the environment for sustenance. Plants and animals were accorded equal value with humans, a
view that made large scale exploitation impossible. The whiteman broke the Sacred Circle and placed
the Indians in "boxes" with restrictions that prevented the traditional life and caused a loss of spiritual
power. In this regard, the most serious of the white man's actions was the formation of the reservation
system, an alternative to genocide. Land was a spiritual ingredient of Indian cultures; removal to the
reservation broke the Indians' ties to sacred ancestral lands and led to spiritual and cultural
disintegration. Warfare, disease, alcohol, missionary zeal, the 1887 Allotment Act, and removal of
children to government schools contributed to the destruction. Today, Native Americans retain their
reverence for the land and seek to strengthen the reservation and village, as the only land base left to
them. This article contains many quotes from historical and contemporary Native American leaders, a
vocabulary list, and study questions.
Bolkosky, S. M., Elias, B. R., & Harris, D. (1987). Life Unworthy of Life: A Holocaust Curriculum –
18-Lesson Instructional Unit. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Study of the Child.
[From Teaching for a Tolerant World] “Very structured lesson plans begin with “Questions of
Personal Responsibility” and end with “Consequences and Implications.” Includes classroom activities,
time line, comparison/contrast questions, glossary terms, readings, accompanying videotapes.” “This
curriculum contains an 18-lesson instructor’s manual with a student text, and a 60-minute video-tape
containing documentary film footage and original testimonies of Holocaust survivors. Each lesson
requires a single class period and contains lesson objectives, a list of key glossary terms, instructional
materials, and a sequence of steps to follow for teaching the lesson. There are some structural
problems. The readings are brief and thus the whole treatment of the Holocaust is rather superficial. It
does contain some interesting readings, however.”27
Bortkiewicz, Y., Ruzylo, V., & Wynnyckyj, O. (1989). The Great Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933.
(Contact St. Sofia Separate School, Mississauga, ON L4X 2N9).
“This package (which was not available for review) is a curriculum resource developed by the
teachers of St. Sofia School. The package is divided into three key divisions: Grades 1-3 (Primary
Division), Grades 4-6 (Junior Division), and Grades 7-8 (Intermediate Division).”28
Brewer, B. J., Bijwaard, P.A., & Payne, L. P. (Eds.). (1987). Teaching the past describes todaytomorrow: Human Rights Education Focus – The Holocaust. Richmond, VA: Virginia Department
of Education.
27
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
28
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
120
“In the foreword to this curriculum guide, it is stated that the publication ‘is designed to serve as a
guide for teaching about human rights issues with attention focused on the Holocaust.’ The curriculum
comprises the following sections: ‘A Chronology – Using the Holocaust and the American Timelines’;
‘The Holocaust – A Historical Perspective’; ‘The English Approach’ (which comprises the following
components: A. Simulations; B. Suggested List of Writing Ideas; C. Sample Essay Questions; and D.
Sample Student Work); “The Social Studies Approach” (which comprises the following components:
‘Activities for Development’; ‘Activities for Extension’; and ‘Sample Test Questions’). It concludes
with a General Appendix which includes the following: ‘Correlation of the English and Civic Units’;
‘Vocabulary Lists’; ‘Resource Readings for Teachers’; ‘Collateral Reading List for Students’; ‘AudioVisual Materials’; ‘Address of Resources’; and ‘Resource Contact/Persons/Organizations.’”29
California State Department of Education. (1988). Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide.
Sacramento, CA: CSDE.
Concern for human rights is a major element in the California State Board of Education's "HistorySocial Science Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve," and
this document contains resources and guidelines to help teachers and curriculum developers integrate
the teaching of human rights into their courses. Part l of this document contains a model that can be
used by developers of curricula. This section also provides the philosophical basis for including studies
on human rights and genocide in the curriculum; the location in the History-Social Science Framework
where these learnings can be integrated; and questions that will engage students in critical thinking on
this topic. Part 2 contains curriculum resources to help school districts develop their history-social
science curriculum. Appendix A is a summary of where human rights and genocide are addressed in
the History-Social Science Framework and includes: (1) the goals and curricula that focus on human
rights and genocide; (2) course descriptions; and (3) criteria for evaluating instructional materials.
Appendix B offers vignettes that provide background to teachers on issues and events of human rights
and genocide, including: (1) chapters 3, 5, and 6 of the Connecticut State Department of Education's
resource guide, "Human Rights: The Struggle for Freedom, Dignity and Equality"; (2) "The Armenian
Genocide"; (3) "The Ukrainian Genocide"; and (4) "Mass Murder and Genocide of Poles During World
War II." [ERIC] [Also reviewed in Totten, 1991.]
Cargas, H. J. (1985). The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: American
Library Association Publishing Services.
Approximately 500 titles about the Holocaust are presented from many fields: history, philosophy,
religion, political science, psychiatry, fiction, and the arts. The bibliography encompasses all aspects of
Holocaust scholarship, from the rise of Nazism to studies of survivors' offspring. Both primary and
secondary sources, including oral histories and photo collections and films, are presented. The book is
designed as a tool for upper-level high school students, college students, and the general public. The
first fourteen chapters are: Anti-Semitism and the Rise of Nazism, Histories of the Third Reich and the
Holocaust, Biographies and Memoirs of Hitler and Other Nazis, Ghetto and Regional Histories, The
29
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
121
Camps, Memoirs of the Victims, Jewish Resistance, Assistance and Betrayal in the Nazi-Occupied
Territories, International Indifference, Justice, Reflections on the Holocaust, Survivors and the Second
Generation, The Arts, and Collections. The final chapter is an essay by Dan Sharon providing guidance
for students researching the holocaust. It is followed by lists of reference works, periodicals, and
resource centers, and geographic and author/title/subject indexes.
Chalk, F. (1989). Introducing Genocide into the University Curriculum. Montreal Institute for
Genocide Studies: Occasional Papers.
“This paper describes the design and implementation of a course on genocide that is taught at
Concordia University by Frank Chalk, Professor of History, and Kurt Jonasson, Professor of Sociology.
Among the components addressed are the following: rationale, a definition and typology of genocide,
the composition of students in the course, the design of the course, a list of texts and recommended
readings, and a course outline.”30
Classroom Notes Plus: A Quarterly of Teaching Ideas, 18(4). Retrieved 17 August 2009 from ERIC
(ED No. 479 711):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/51/cc.pdf.
An NCTE publication for English teachers. This issue contains a special section entitled “Focus on
Teaching about the Holocaust”, and the Teacher Talk section has pointers for teachers on teaching the
Holocaust including on clarifying goals for teaching it, appropriate non-fiction resources and
alternatives for students who are not allowed to watch Schindler’s List.
Connecticut State Department of Education. (1987). Human Rights: The Struggle for Freedom, Dignity
and Equality. Hartford, CT: Author.
“Includes a major section on the Holocaust and very brief overviews of the issue of genocide and the
Cambodian genocide. Its discussion of the definition of genocide is incorrect, and of the Armenian
genocide it says: ‘Some look upon the treatment of the Armenians by Turkey during World War I as
genocide.’”31
Dagan, B. (1987). Helping Children Learn about the Shoa. London: Sternberg Center for Jewish
Education.
“This is a guide for teachers interested in presenting a school program on the Holocaust to younger
age groups (kindergarten and primary school). There are suggestions for stories and poems which help
teachers think about how to approach the subject without traumatizing the students. The author
30
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
31
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
122
discusses such subjects as: how to prepare the child for the encounter with the Holocaust; what themes
one can deal with; what are some typical questions children ask; and what is the role of the teacher.”32
Department for Education and Employment. (2000). Holocaust Memorial Day: Remembering
Genocides, Lessons for the Future, Education Pack. London: DfEE.
Dimensions: A Journal of Holocaust Studies. (2003). Using testimonies for researching and teaching
about the Holocaust. 17(1). Retrieved 8 September 2009 from
http://www.adl.org/education/dimensions_17/default.asp.
Contains a discussion of testimony pedagogy as well as an overview of some key testimonial works
by Holocaust survivors and rescuers. Historical use of testimonies in Holocaust education in the 20th
century. Lesson plan for using a novel by author Nechama Tec in grade 6 – college classrooms.
Facing History and Ourselves. (1989). Facing History and Ourselves: Elements of Time – Holocaust
Testimonies. Brookline, MA: FHAO.
Facing History and Ourselves. (2004). Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the
Armenians. Brookline, MA: FHAO.
An extensive overview of the Armenian Genocide intended for classroom use. “The Chapters are
listed in the Table of Contents as follows: Chapter I, Identity and History; Contains: What's in a name?;
Multiple Identities; Am I Armenian?; and Generations. Chapter II, We and They; Contains: The
Ottoman Armenians; Iron Ladles for Liberty Stew; Organizing for Change; Humanity on Trial; The
Sultan Responds; Seeking Civil Rights; Humanitarian Intervention; Showdown at Bank Ottoman; and
The Rise of the Young Turks. Chapter III, The Young Turks in Power; Contains: Bloody News from
Adana; Ideology; Ideology in Action; Neighbor Turns Against Neighbor; Planning Mass Murder; and
Dictating Religion. Chapter IV Genocide; Contains; Evacuation, Deportation, and Death; Under the
Cover of War; The Round Ups Begin; The German Connection; Following Orders; Women and
Deportations; Cries Ringing in My Ears; and Targeting the Greeks and the Assyrians. Chapter V, The
Range of Choices; Contains: Remembering Rescue; Trying to Make a Difference; Official Policy;
Taking a Stand; The American Ambassador in Constantinople; Talaat and the Limits of Diplomacy;
They Eyes of the World; Saving the Armenians; Armenian Relief; and The Story of Aurora
Mardiganian and "Ravished Armenia". Chapter VI, Who Remembers the Armenians?; Contains: A
Mandate for Armenia?; Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization; War, Genocide, and Human
Rights; The Armenian Republic and the New Turkey; Acquitting the Assassin; Rewriting History; The
Legacy of a Witness; Remembrance and Denial; Denial, Free Speech, and Hate Speech; Demanding
Justice; Meeting the Past; and The Crime of Genocide. The chapters are followed by an index. [ERIC]
Flaim, R. F., & Reynolds, E. W. Jr. (Eds.). (1983). The Holocaust and Genocide: A Search for
Conscience – A Curriculum Guide. New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
32
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
123
Designed to facilitate teacher development of a secondary unit on the Holocaust and genocide, this
multidisciplinary curriculum guide provides a wide variety of classroom-tested objectives, learning
activities, and materials. The guide is organized into six units which may be taught in sequence or used
in part as supplementary materials: the Nature of Human Behavior, Views of Prejudice and Genocide,
the Rise of Nazism in Germany, From Persecution to Mass Murder, Resistance and Intervention, and
Issues of Conscience and Moral Responsibility. For each unit, an overview precedes a list of terminal
and performance objectives, a glossary, and list of activities. The latter consists of a three-column chart
which matches performance objectives with learning activities, materials, and commentary. All reading
materials listed are tagged to appropriate reading level: below average, average, and above average
difficulty. Appendices consist of a bibliography, list of audiovisual materials and distributors, three
newspaper feature stories about the Holocaust, and the table of contents for the student anthology
related to this curriculum guide. SEE ALSO Furman (1983).
Fernekes, W. R. (1998). Holocaust: Teacher’s Guide. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press.
Highly detailed unit for high school students comprising three lessons: Anti-Semitism, Genocide,
Human Rights. The instructional methodology accounts are rich and accessible, and activities within
the lesson take a variety of forms including KWL (know, want to know, learn) strategies, creative
writing, etc. Each lesson is organized around key questions that are bold-faced in the text. There are
two sets of evaluation strategies proposed: written homework assignments (with evaluation criteria)
and a test bank for each chapter (containing questions in multiple choice, true/false, etc. formats). (LA)
Francis, G., Inoue, K., & Orrick, S. (2001). Examining Human Rights in a Global Context. Stanford,
CA: Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Retrieved 18 August
2009 from ERIC (ED No. 470 402):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED470402&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED470402
The United Nations' founding in 1945 and the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights reflected the international community's growing commitment to the protection and recognition
of what is now referred to as human rights. Despite increased international attention, human rights
violations continue to occur at the local, regional, national, and global levels. This unit introduces
students to the concept of human rights and adds issues to that concept to heighten their awareness of
the complexities of protecting human rights. Students are encouraged to consider multiple perspectives
when discussing case studies from around the world. The unit introduction contains a rationale and
introduction to lessons; unit goals; connections to curriculum standards; materials needed; time
required; subjects and suggested grade levels; simulation overview; and icons. Lesson 1, "What Are
Human Rights?" considers an appropriate definition of human rights. Lesson 2, "Minorities, Minority
Rights, and Genocide," asks students to consider their personal experiences with discrimination and to
develop a working definition of minorities and minority rights and then looks at genocide. Lesson 3,
"Civil/Political Rights," asks students to identify civil/political rights issues and uses six real case
studies to delve deeper into these issues. Lesson 4, "Women and Human Rights," asks students to
reflect on gender stereotypes they may hold and to think about the origins of such assumptions. The
124
lesson focuses on biological and socially constructed differences between males and females to
examine why women may be more impacted by certain human rights violations than males. It uses case
studies from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Honduras to discuss the feminization of poverty. The unit
concludes with a "Unit Debriefing" that highlights contemporary controversies surrounding the
protection of human rights. Appendices contain additional resources.
Freedman-Apsel, J., & Fein, H. (1992). Teaching about Genocide. A Guidebook for College and
University Teachers: Critical Essays, Syllabi, and Assignments. Ottawa, ON: Human Rights Centre,
University of Ottawa.
This guidebook is an outgrowth of a 1991 conference on "Teaching about Genocide on the College
Level." The book is designed as an introduction to the subject of genocide to encourage more teachers
to develop new courses and/or integrate aspects of the history of genocide into the curriculum. The
book is divided into two parts. Part 1, "Assumptions and Issues," contains the essays: (1) "The
Uniqueness and Universality of the Holocaust" (Michael Berenbaum); (2) "Teaching about Genocide in
an Age of Genocide" (Helen Fein); (3) "Presuppositions and Issues about Genocide" (Frank Chalk);
and (4) "Moral Education and Teaching" (Mary Johnson). Part 2, "Course Syllabi and Assignments,"
contains materials on selected subject areas, such as anthropology, history, history/sociology, literature,
political science, psychology, and sociology. Materials include: "Teaching about Genocide" (Joyce
Freedman-Apsel); (2) "Destruction and Survival of Indigenous Societies" (Hilda Kuper); (3) "Genocide
in History" (Clive Foss); (4) "History of Twentieth Century Genocide" (Joyce Freedman-Apsel); (5)
"Comparative Study of Genocide" (Richard Hovannisian); (6) "The History and Sociology of
Genocide" (Frank Chalk; Kurt Jonassohn); (7) "Literature of the Holocaust and Genocide" (Thomas
Klein); (8) "Government Repression and Democide" (R. J. Rummel); (9) "Human Destructiveness and
Politics" (Roger Smith); (10) "The Politics of Genocide" (Colin Tatz); (11) "Genocide and
'Constructive' Survival" (Ron Baker); (12) "Kindness and Cruelty: The Psychology of Good and Evil"
(Ervin Staub); (13)"Genocide and Ethnocide" (Rhoda Howard); (14) "The Comparative Study of
Genocide" (Leo Kuper); (15) "Moral Consciousness and Social Action" (Margi Nowak); and (16)
"Selected List of Comparative Studies on Genocide" (Helen Fein).
Furman, H. (Ed.). (1983). Holocaust and Genocide: A Search for Conscience – A Student Anthology
(Vols. I-II). New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
A collection of readings and activities on the Holocaust for secondary students is coordinated with a
teacher's curriculum guide. Material is divided into units covering the nature of human behavior, views
of prejudice and genocide, the rise of Nazi Germany, Nazi persecution and mass murder, resistance to
the Nazis, and related issues of conscience and moral responsibility. Each unit contains 10 or more
reading selections which include songs, personal accounts, essays, short stories, and examples of
propaganda. Each reading is accompanied by a series of discussion questions or supplementary
activities and relevant vocabulary. Artwork of the period is also included. SEE ALSO Flaim &
Reynolds (1983). [ERIC] “Not a very educationally sound program.”33
33
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
125
Frazier, L. (1981). Elementary School Guide for Teaching about Human Rights. Detroit, MI: Detroit
Public Schools, Department of Social Studies.
Human rights are those essentials of human existence that are inherent in the species. They are
moral claims that satisfy the basic needs of all human beings. Ten major goals and numerous objectives
were developed to undergird the Detroit (Michigan) curriculum, and this guide is established around
the 10 major goals for teaching students about human rights with activities and resources appropriate
for elementary students. Each of the 38 lessons is structured around one of the major goals and
provides objectives, learner outcomes, activities, and resources. The 10 goals help develop
understandings that: (1) all people are interdependent; (2) all ethnic groups are unique and worthwhile;
(3) the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of the
Child are a goal for world peace and cooperation; (4) governments at national, state, and local levels
affect one's human rights; (5) self-esteem in individuals is enhanced through the knowledge of human
rights; (6) all people must be treated with dignity and respect; (7) apathy and indifference foster
inhuman conditions; (8) racism, sexism, and genocide have been the results of political and economic
structures of particular societies; (9) people have historically attempted to make their world a better
place in which to live; and (10) myths and stereotypes about different people should be eliminated.
SEE ALSO Todorov (1981) and Nash (1981).
Future Leaders Colloquium, Northside College Preparatory High School. (2006). The Cambodian
Genocide Curriculum. Retrieved 13 October 2009 from http://www.cambodianassociation.org/files/Cambodian%20Genocide%20Curriculum.pdf.
A student-generated curriculum on the Cambodian genocide that contains extensive background
information (French colonization, pre-genocide Cambodia, etc.), lesson plans, detailed timelines,
assessments and worksheets. “This curriculum begins to examine the topic of the history of genocide. It
begins with an activity that uses the children’s book Brunidar to connect to the Holocaust, one example
of genocide. Later, the students will explore the definition of genocide, measure how much they know
about it, demonstrate its statistics, and delve into the different examples of genocide. The curriculum
incorporates a variety of activities including analytical reading questions, writing assignments,
assessments, and reading personal narratives. It culminates with a press conference in which the
students will take on the roles of historians, genocide leaders, and investigative reporters to explore the
history, motives, and reasons behind these genocides. Ultimately, it is in this stage that they will learn
the importance of remembering these genocides in order to prevent them from happening again.”
Glanz, J. (2001). Holocaust Handbook for Teachers: Materials and Strategies for Grades 5-12.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishers.
Greenman, L. (1996). Leon Greenman, Auschwitz Survivor 98288: A Resource for Holocaust
Education Produced in Association with the Exhibition on the Life of Leon Greenman. New York:
Jewish Museum New York.
Grobman, A., & Fishman, J. (Eds.). (1995). Anne Frank in Historical Perspective: A Teaching Guide
for Secondary Schools. Los Angeles, CA: Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust.
Retrieved 15 September 2009 from ERIC (ED # 391 710):
126
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_
&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED391710&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED391
710
This guide helps secondary students to understand "The Diary of Anne Frank" through a series of
short essays, maps, and photographs. In view of new scholarship, the historical context in which Anne
Frank wrote may be studied to improve the student's perspective of recent history and of the present. A
drawing shows the hiding place in the home where the Frank family lived. The essays include: (1) "The
Need for Broader Perspective in Understanding Anne Frank's Diary" (Joel S. Fishman); (2) "The
Uniqueness of the Holocaust" (Alex Grobman); (3) "Anne Frank's World" (Elma Verhey); (4) "Anne
Frank and the Dutch Myth" (Elma Verhey); (5) "A New Perspective on Helpers of Jews During the
Holocaust: The Case of Miep and Jan Gies" (Dienke Hondius); (6) "Teaching the Holocaust through
the Diary of Anne Frank" (Judith Tydor Baumel); (7) "Examining Optimism: Anne Frank's Place in
Postwar Culture" (Alex Sagan); (8) "Dutch Jewry: An Historical Overview"; and (9) "Chronology of
the Frank Family and the Families in the Secret Annex." A selected bibliography accompanies the text.
Gutman, Y., & Schatzker, C. (1984). A teacher’s guide to the Holocaust and its significance.
Jerusalem: Historical Society of Israel.
Hartley, W. L. (1998). The Holocaust in Hungary and Poland: Case studies of response to genocide.
Curriculum Project. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program, 1998 (Hungary/Poland).
Retrieved 18 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 439 036):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED439036&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED439036.
This curriculum project was designed primarily to be incorporated into a larger world history unit on
the Holocaust and World War II. The project can be adapted for a lesson on 'situational ethics' for use
in a philosophy class. The lesson requires students to examine a historical case and to write and discuss
that particular case. The project's lesson aims to get students to examine critically such issues as "Man's
inhumanity to man"; and "How could this happen?" These issues would be framed against the backdrop
of the organized resistance to Nazi occupation that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto in the spring of
1943. The project is organized along the traditional lines of a lesson plan, and includes summary notes,
questions to be answered both in writing and group discussion, as well as references to several general
works on the Holocaust. (Contains 15 references of books and videos.)
Hanna, J. C., & Maddalena, G. (1994). Respect, Reflect, Resolve. Ten Anti-Violence Lessons for Use in
Middle and High School. Washington, DC: Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center.
This teacher's guide provides 10 interactive lesson plans to educate youth about the consequences of
violence. The lessons explore the different kinds of violence in society, conflict resolution through
mediation, the behaviors that constitute sexual harassment, statistics on violence, ways to avoid
domestic violence and the use of deadly force, the impact of television violence, sentencing
enhancement statutes for gang activity, non-violent theories of social change, the problems facing
minorities in Germany, and foreign policy alternatives to ethnic violence, civil wars, and genocide. The
127
teaching strategies challenge students to solve problems peaceably through mediation and creative
thinking. Beginning with the premises that respect is an unalienable right and that disrespect has no
place in a democracy, the first priority of this curriculum is to foster respect for the inherent worth of
all human beings. Once respect is established, the second step to avoiding violence is to reflect, to have
the courage to think and to act clearly. Resolution, the third step, implies choosing an alternative that
will allow everyone to walk away from a conflict with their worth as an individual intact. The book
provides handouts to supplement mediation exercises, suggestions for resource persons, and guidelines
for implementing a mediation program.
Hirsch , M., & Kacandes, I. (2004). Teaching the representation of the Holocaust. New York: Modern
Language Association.
The volume is divided into four parts. Part I, "Critical Paradigms," offers a range of interdisciplinary
views and overviews of research into the Holocaust and its representations. Specifically, contributors
look at recent historical research (Bergen), at anti Semitism and its long history in Europe (Heschel &
Gilman), gender (Horowitz), the role of language(s) in representing the Holocaust (Rosen), authenticity
in the representations by witnesses' narratives and memory (Ezrahi), trauma (Brodzki), and literary and
cinematic representations of perpetrators (Zeitlin). Finally, Eric Weitz's contribution aims to
contextualize the problem of teaching representations of the Holocaust with regard to the historical
embeddedness of the Holocaust in the twentieth century and the historical contingency of its
representations, carefully situating them within discourses of nation and nationalism. Part II focusses
on "Genres" and comprises chapters on poetry (Gubar), fiction (Hungerford), diaries and memoirs
(Stark), audio and video testimony (Hartman), cinema (Lubin), drama (Rogowski), children's literature
(Kertzer), and second-generation fiction (Sicher). Included in this part are also chapters on memory and
the Holocaust Monument debates (Young) and visual culture (Bathrick). Part III is a compilation of
chapters on "Selected Texts." Not only do we find novel contributions on widely taught texts and other
materials – for example, Celan's Todesfuge (Baer), Wiesel's Night (Weissman), Levi's Survival in
Auschwitz (Druker), Anne Frank's diary (Bos), Lanzman's Shoah (Spitzer). There are also chapters on
less widely used sources and representations, notably Ranen Omer-Sherman's contribution on teaching
works by Dan Pagis. Omer-Sherman describes how Pagis's poem Written in Pencil in the Sealed
Railway-Car can be used to raise students' awareness of the many untold and unnarratable stories of
and about the Holocaust and how Pagis's enigmatic and incomplete poem may help students to think
about testimony, memory, and commemoration. The last part, "Classroom Contexts," comprises reports
from courses taught in different teaching contexts, as well as methodological considerations of how
representations of the Holocaust could be taught at tertiary level. Marcia Horn discusses the benefits of
multiperspectivity of the subject and reports on a multidisciplinary course at a liberal arts college.
Renée Hill reports on a course on Holocaust and genocides at a historically black university setting.
David Scrase describes a Holocaust studies program that reaches out to the wider community in an
attempt to facilitate dialogues between "town and gown," and Joshua Charlson discusses the Holocaust
as a topic to be covered in a Jewish-American literature course. Finally, Michael Rothberg introduces
the "Countermonument Project," which requires students to develop a Holocaust monument, and
128
Sondra Perl resonates on the "transformative power" of writing-response journals in classes on the
Holocaust.34
The History and Social Science Teacher, 21(4) – Special Issue: Teaching the Holocaust. (1986).
A practice-focused issue of a periodical for teachers including articles by Kirman, Bialystok and
others. Themes are: Holocaust Studies in the History Program (Bialystok), Holocaust Studies as AntiRacist Education (Wells & Wingate), The Holocaust in Literature (Carrier et al.), Children’s Poetry and
Spiritual Resistance, James Keegstra and Holocaust denial in teachers (Kirman), and teaching the
Holocaust at the Intermediate Level (Samuelski). (LA)
Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, Miami. (1990). The Holocaust: Can it happen to me?
Tallahassee, FL: State of Florida, Department of Education.
An extensive high school curriculum guide with readings that comprises ten lessons on the history,
context, and development of the Holocaust. The authors indicate that there is repetition among the ten
lessons in order for teachers to be able to take any one lesson on its own. Lesson themes include the
signs of genocide, steps to the Holocaust, Hitler and the rise of the Nazi party, refugee
crisis/persecution years, ghettos, the Final Solution, resistance, rescuers, liberation and its aftermath,
and implications for today and the future. Each lesson is standardized in the following format:
Introduction, Objectives, Teacher Preparation (fairly extensive), Vocabulary, Content Overview,
Suggested Activities (ranging from ‘in their shoes’ brainstorms to essays e.g., “Write an essay entitled,
‘How is prejudice learned?’”), Student Readings, Student Handouts, Evaluation and Recommended
Resources (these are necessary for the lesson i.e., the readings in the guide are not sufficient). Contains
a detailed directory of American Holocaust organizations (circa 1990). (LA)
Kuropas, M. B. (1985). The Forced Famine in Ukraine 1932-1935: Curriculum and Resource Guide
for Educators. Washington, DC: U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine.
“This curriculum is divided into two sections: a teacher’s guide and student worksheets. The
teacher’s guide comprises the following: a rationale, goals, behavioral objectives, information sheets,
suggested student activities, a vocabulary list, and a bibliography. Also included is a key collection of
outstanding eyewitness accounts. The course outline is as follows: (1) Russia and Soviet Union; (2)
Ukraine and Its People; (3) Soviet Policy and Force Famine (1921-1939); (4) The Famine Press Coverup; (5) Soviet Disinformation Today; (6) Ukraine in Recent Times 1940-1980; and (7) Food as a
Political Weapon. While the information published herein is fairly comprehensive, the pedagogical
components of the curriculum are weak in that the activities are routine and not very challenging.” 35
Litynsky, W. (1986). Case Studies: Persecution/Genocide (The Human Rights Series, Vol. III).
Albany, NY: New York State Education Department, Bureau of Curriculum Development.
34
Schmenk, B. (2008). Review. Seminar: Journal of Germanic Studies, 44(3), 393-394.
35
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
129
A continuation of the study of those factors that lead to persecutions and acts of genocide is
presented. As students read the materials included in the case studies, they should be referred to the
organizing concepts discussed in "Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide: Introduction. The
Human Rights Series, Volume I." Unit 1 in that volume defines the following five concepts as they
apply to the roots of intolerance and persecution: denial of reality, indifference, prejudicial attitudes,
conformity, and obedience to authority. Students reapply these concepts as they study about the forced
famine in the Ukraine and the actions of the Khymer Rouge in Cambodia. [ERIC]
Margolis, P. (1990). Caring Makes a Difference: Responding to Prejudice, Genocide, and the
Holocaust – A K-8 Curriculum. Lincroft, NJ: Brookdale Community College, Center for Holocaust
Studies. Retrieved 26 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 391 707):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED391707&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED391707.
The goal of this teaching guide is to help students develop a positive self-image, behave as
responsible individuals, and accept differences in order to have the tools to challenge the forms of
prejudice and discrimination that confront society. The Holocaust and continuing genocides are
prejudice in its most extreme form. The Holocaust raises the most serious questions and concerns about
the nature of human behavior; the role of the perpetrator; the bystander; and the victim. The goals of
the lessons and activities are to raise the level of awareness, critical thinking skills, and problem
solving techniques through dilemmas, readings, and discussions. Teachers can decide which lessons to
use based on the level of maturity of the students. The guide consists of lesson plans and activities,
professional resource materials, and suggested resources for obtaining additional materials. The units
are developed by grade levels and topics and include: (1) Grades K-2: "Learning How to Be Friends";
(2) Grades 3-4: "Communities Are People"; (3) Grades 5-6: "People Are People"; and (4) Grades 7-8:
"Choosing to Make a Better World."
Massachusetts State Department of Education. (1999). Massachusetts Guide to Choosing and Using
Curricular Materials on Genocide and Human Rights Issues. Malden, MA: MSDE. Retrieved 18
August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 447 021):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED447021&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED447021.
This guide, a response to Massachusetts legislation, makes recommendations on curricular materials
and resources related to teaching about genocide and human rights. The guide stresses the importance
of students acquiring knowledge about genocide and human rights issues to deepen their understanding
of both past and current events. It emphasizes relevant material from the Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks for History and Social Science and English Language Arts, as well as key documents that
support the protection and preservation of human rights. The guide offers recommendations for
locating, selecting, and teaching curriculum materials. Following an introduction, the guide is divided
into these sections: "Background: The Education Reform Act of 1993"; "Teaching about Genocide and
Human Rights Issues: Guiding Principle"; "Scope, Sequence, and Developmental Considerations";
130
"Academic Content: The Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework"; "United States
History"; "Selections from Core Knowledge"; "World History"; "Selections from Core Knowledge";
"Strands and Learning Strands"; "Reasoning, Reflection, Research, and Content in History and Social
Science"; "Connections to English Language Arts"; "Choosing Instructional Materials and Programs on
Genocide and Human Rights Issues"; "The Internet as a Tool for Researching Genocide and Human
Rights Issues"; and "Resources for Teaching about Genocide and Human Rights Issues". Appendixes
contain three key documents.
Merti, B. (1984). The World of Anne Frank: Readings Activities, and Resources. Portland, ME: J.
Weston Walch.
A general resource for the junior high school teacher to accompany the diary. Contains fifty pages of
reproducible student readings on the history and context of the diary and Anne Frank’s life. Activities
are organized around the same themes as the student readings, as follows: The Franks Suffer
Persecution in Germany; Nazi Terror Moves to Holland; The Franks Go into Hiding; Who Are the
People in the Secret Annexe?; The Secret Annexe Residents Live and Die in Nazi Prisons; Mr. Frank
and Anne’s Diary Testify Against Nazi War Criminals; and Anne Frank Lives on in the World. The
activities provided for each theme are of the same kind and are quite formulaic; each theme contains
vocabulary, reading comprehension (and a quiz), discussion questions (with answers!), short essays,
and topics for research reports. This is mixed up slightly at the end with a section on Extending Student
Interest, featuring ideas for putting on a play with a Holocaust theme, a list of books and audiovisual
materials, and a bibliography. A set of photos is also provided. (LA)
Ministry of Education of British Columbia. (2000). L’Holocauste: Responsabilité sociale et civisme
international – Ressource pédagogique à l’intention des enseignants de Sciences humaines 6.
Victoria: Author.
The only French-language resource in the review, intended for Grade Six students in the French
Immersion programme in BC. Contains five lessons as well as a detailed list of general suggestions for
teaching on the Holocaust. The lessons all take the Holocaust as a starting point but link its themes to
broader goals of citizenship and moral education. Lesson topics include social responsibility and
stereotypes, one case study of a child victim, creating a historical map, further case studies and critical
reflections. Includes a list of related resources in French. The activities are quite diverse, and evaluation
strategies are addressed in each lesson. (LA)
Mullin, J. (1999). The Great Irish Famine. Moorestown, NJ: Irish Famine Curriculum Committee and
Education Fund, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2009 from ERIC (Eric No. 439 056):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED439056&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED439056.
Between 1845 and 1850, more than a million Irish starved to death while massive quantities of food
were being exported from their country. A half million were evicted from their homes during the potato
blight. A million and a half emigrated to the United States, Britain, and Australia, often on board
rotting, overcrowded "coffin ships." This is the story of how that immense tragedy came to pass. The
131
necessary historical and political context for a study of the Irish Famine is provided in the teacher's
synopsis. Following the synopsis is a student summary that provides an historical overview and
concludes with seven questions. Six lessons follow the student summary: (1) Laws; (2) Racism; (3)
Eviction; (4) Mortality; (5) Emigration; and (6) Genocide. A synopsis gives an overview of the relevant
Irish and English history and contains 47 footnotes and a 15-item bibliography. Each unit of study
begins with a list of performance objectives, teaching/learning strategies and activities, and
instructional materials/resources.
Myers, K. (1993). Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – Reproducibles and Teacher Guide.
Latitudes Reproducibles Series: Resources to Integrate Language Arts & Social Sciences. Logan, IA
: Perfection Learning Corporation.
A packet of reproducible resource materials for older elementary students that can be used alongside
a novel study of the diary, but also to teach on the Holocaust more generally. The pack has five
sections: About the Novel (synopsis, biography, critics’ comments, key excerpts, glossary), About the
Holocaust (timeline, map of Europe with concentration camps, Holocaust viewpoints from famous
figures, letters written from concentration camps, official government documents), About Anne’s
Experiences (letters, diary entries, personal accounts), Comparative Works (excerpts from Holocaustrelated books, poems, two pages from Maus, and suggested reading list) and Suggested Activities.
Particularly notable is the fact that accompanying activities for every single reproducible are provided
for a wide variety of competency areas (reading, speaking, writing, thinking, etc.), and for individual or
group study. (LA)
Nash, E. (1981). High School Guide for Teaching about Human Rights. Detroit, MI: Detroit Public
Schools, Department of Social Studies.
This is a high school guide for teaching about human rights prepared for use in the Detroit,
Michigan public schools. The guide presents a number of overall goals and specific educational
objectives in the area of human rights. Each of these objectives is paired with corresponding classroom
activities and resource materials. Topics of study include equality of race, the interdependence of
people, the need for mutual understanding, the role of government in human rights, the impact of
apathy in fostering inhumane conditions, the ways in which racism, sexism, and genocide develop, and
the destructive effects of myths and stereotypes. SEE ALSO Todorov (1981) and Frazier (1981).
New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. (1995). The Holocaust: The Betrayal of Mankind –
Curriculum Guide for Grades 7-12. Trenton, NJ: NJ Commission on Holocaust Education.
New York State Department of Education. (1985). Teaching about the Holocaust and Genocide:
Introduction – The Human Rights Series (Vol. 1). Albany, NY: Bureau of Curriculum Development
“This volume, which is the first of three in The Human Rights Series, serves as the introduction to
teaching about human rights and genocide. It has been specifically designed to provide assistance to
secondary school social studies, English, and humanities teachers as they prepare and teacher about the
main concepts and events vis-à-vis human rights and genocide facing humanity in this century. Divided
into a rationale and two units (the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide), each unit includes a
132
statement of purpose, a list of objectives, and a group of learning activities and student materials.
Following a rationale for studying about the Holocaust and genocide are two units of study: Unit I is
entitled ‘The Roots of Intolerance and Persecution,’ and Unit II is entitled ‘Precursors of the
Holocaust.’ Unit I is divided into the following sections: ‘Denial of Reality,’ ‘Prejudicial Attitudes,’
‘Conformity,’ and ‘Obedience to Authority.’ Unit II is divided into: ‘Genocidal Theories,’
‘Pseudoscientific Racism,’ ‘Technological Aspects of Genocide,’ and ‘The Armenians.’ The latter
section is actually a case study and examines the fate of the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire
during the genocidal period of 1915-19.”36
New York State Department of Education. (1986). Case Studies, Persecution/Genocide – The Human
Rights Series (Vol. 3). Albany. NY: Bureau of Curriculum Development.
“The authors state that this volume constitutes a ‘continuation of the study of those factors that lead
to persecutions and acts of genocide.’ This volume comprises the following sections: ‘Forced Famine
in Ukraine,’ ‘Human Rights Violations in Ukraine,’ ‘The Killing of Cambodia,’ ‘Human Rights
Violations in Cambodia,’ ‘Guidelines for Case Studies,’ and ‘Bibliography.’”37
Office of Community Services and Human Relations, Pinellas County Schools. (1998). The Holocaust,
Classroom Connections: Guidelines for Holocaust Education Grades K-12. Petersburg, FL: Florida
Holocaust Museum.
Parsons, W. S. (1989). Everyone’s Not Here: Families of the Armenian Genocide – A Study Guide.
Washington, DC: Armenian Assembly of America.
“This study guide was ‘…developed primarily for use with the educational videotape Everyone’s
Not Here: Families of the Armenian Genocide … The videotape and the study guide provide a personal
rather than a broad historical view of the genocide. Survivors describe their efforts to remember and
preserve their experiences … The readings, lessons, and activities presented in this study guide are
designed to provide educators with flexibility. Suggestions range from a single class presentation, to a
series of lessons which enhance existing courses, to a separate unit of study. There are four parts to this
study guide. Part I suggests lessons for establishing a context before viewing the videotape and is
divided into two sections: the first section provides four sample lessons for introducing the videotape,
and the second section contains readings, questions, and activities for developing an historical
background to the Genocide. Part II provides lessons for discussion activities after viewing the
videotape along with suggestions for reading and writing assignments. Part III is a transcript of the
videotape, and Part IV (developed by social studies educator William Fernekes) describes sample
36
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
37
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
133
course outlines which incorporate the videotape and the issues it raises.’ The information presented is
factually sound and the pedagogical methods suggested are well thought out and extremely practical.”38
Porter, J. N. & Hoffman, S., Eds. (1999). The Sociology of the Holocaust and Genocide: A Teaching
and Learning Guide. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.
An extensive curriculum guide for teaching the sociology of the Holocaust that covers the selection
of curricular materials, the place of the Holocaust in the sociology classroom, and sample syllabi and
course overviews. Despite its title, the book mainly deals with the Holocaust, and the editor’s
introduction firmly decries the application of the label ‘genocide’ to many atrocities including the
massacre of indigenous peoples in North America or the trans-Atlantic slave trade. However, several
such examples appear on a list chronology later on in the book (p. 143). ‘Part I: Special Section on the
Sociology of Genocide and the Holocaust’ contains discussions on the uniqueness of the Holocaust, the
Goldhagen controversy (author of Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Everyday Germans and the
Holocaust), and the unique sociological concerns regarding the Holocaust. ‘Part II: The Teaching of the
Holocaust and Genocide’ covers moral sociology and the Holocaust, problematics of Holocaust
teaching, introducing genocide in the university curriculum (covering a whole range of genocides), and
the aforementioned chronology. Part III is an entire reproduced issue of Social Education 55(2), which
contains informational and pedagogical articles on a great number of genocides (these are surveyed in
the articles section of this review, but are usefully reproduced entirely in this volume). Part IV contains
17 syllabi for courses on genocide and/or (usually just) the Holocaust, as well as a six-page discussion
of innovative teaching strategies for this material. Part V is a list of Resource Centers and Resource
People including prominent Holocaust scholars and heads of relevant organizations. (LA)
Quenk, R. (1997). The Spirit That Moves Us: A Literature-based Resource Guide (Teaching about the
Holocaust and Human Rights, Volume II for Grades Five through Eight). Gardiner, ME: Tilbury.
[From a review in Social Studies, 89(1).] Such teaching and learning about the Holocaust
exemplifies the spirit of Rachel Quenk's resource guide for teachers. As the book's subtitle proclaims,
literature forms a predominant part of the guide, supported by exemplary lesson plans and teaching
ideas. The Holocaust is not treated in isolation but is set within a broader concern about cultural
identity, prejudice, discrimination, and moral decision making. Quenk considers the lasting effects of
the Holocaust, with its heroes and heroines and its impact on the behavior of persons, groups, and
institutions today. The appendixes offer reprints of teaching guidelines and a Holocaust summary from
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's education program. The author also included reprints
of United Nations declarations and covenants that outline ideals that were established in principle, if
not in practice, following the Holocaust and the creation of the UN.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. (2000). Key Stage 3 Schemes of Work: Unit 19 – How and
why did the Holocaust happen? London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Retrieved 13
October 2009 from http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/pdf/secondaryschemes/his19.pdf.
38
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
134
A unit in the Stage 3 history curriculum in the UK. “In this unit pupils learn about how and why the
Holocaust happened. Its main emphasis is developing pupils’ understanding of historical concepts, such
as cause and consequence, and their ability in higher order ‘thinking skills’.” Incredibly detailed.
Includes a focus on Anne Frank.
Rabinsky, L. B., & Danks, C., Eds. (1989). The Holocaust: Prejudice unleashed. Worthington, OH:
Ohio Department of Education. Retrieved 26 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 331 752):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED331752&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED331752.
Young people can learn many valuable lessons from studying the Holocaust. They learn of the tragic
results of apathy. They learn about tremendous acts of bravery and courage. They learn about the
misuse of education by the perpetrators of the Holocaust. Teaching about the Holocaust is vital for
educators committed to inspiring new generations to build a world of peace. This document is a 10-day
unit that examines the following: the consequences of apathy; the chronology of the Holocaust; the
culture of a people; the road to the "Final Solution"; responses to the Holocaust; and the meaning of the
Holocaust in today's world. All lesson plans, content materials, classroom strategies, and student
projects were assembled by Ohio teachers from their most successful teaching efforts in Holocaust
education. Examples of students' poetry in response to their Holocaust studies also are included. [From
Teaching for a Tolerant World: Ten units appropriate for English or History classrooms. Includes
background mini-lectures, historical documents, literary pieces, vocabulary, student activities,
annotated Videography, and bibliography.]
Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario. (2001-2003). The RJCO Holocaust Education Teacher
Training Program Kit. Toronto: RJCO.
The kit contains three volumes and associated brochures: the actual workshop manual guide given to
participants (teachers) in the RJCO teacher training program, a copy of the USHMM’s excellent
resource manual Teaching about the Holocaust (reviewed elsewhere herein) and the USHMM
publication Resistance during the Holocaust (not specifically a teacher guide). The only RJCOproduced volume – the teacher training program manual – does not contain a table of contents (is hard
to use) and appears to offer supplemental information to a highly directed program. Topics include:
identification of self, guidelines for conducting a study of the Holocaust in the classroom, and the
history and lexicon of the Holocaust. Most of the information is brief and not cited, with the effect that
the manual is not terribly accessible or usable for those who have not completed the workshop. (LA)
Robinson, M. (n.d.). Curriculum Guide: The Conflict in Darfur and Eastern Sudan. Amnesty
International USA Human Rights Education Program. Retrieved 13 October 2009 from
http://www.instantkarma.org/doc/Final_Curriculum_Draft.pdf.
“This teaching guide is intended to provide a framework for engaging students in activities and
lessons that will allow them to gain a greater understanding of issues that seem difficult and complex.
The conflict in Darfur and eastern Chad is extremely complicated and this curriculum guide seeks to
address many related issues in the most comprehensive and responsible manner possible. This
135
curriculum guide is designed to offer teachers and students an accessible way to approach learning
about the conflict, as well as the opportunity to delve deeper into specific issues such as the role of
women and girls and the conflict as it affects refugees and IDPs. Though this guide is designed to be as
comprehensive as possible, there are many other facets of the conflict that may be explored. Though it
is possible for any of the lesson plans to be used independently, educators are encouraged to use all
three if possible. Unless students have a significant amount of prior knowledge on the conflict, Lesson
1 [an introduction to the conflict] will most likely be necessary.” The guide also includes a glossary
that includes links to definition and examples, and a list of further resources.
Rossel, S. (1992). Teacher’s Guide: The Holocaust –The World and the Jews. West Orange, NJ:
Behrman House.
A very strong teacher guide and resource supplement that was developed in the classroom for use
with the textbook of the same name in grades seven and up, or with strong grade six students. Unlike
many other curriculum guides, the focus of the guide is on historical documentary evidence (primary
source materials and published accounts from eyewitnesses, as well as some fictional/dramatic
treatments). Organized into three units: The Holocaust (overview); The World and the Jews; and
Resistance, Rescue, and Justice. The author places a special focus on the aftermath of the Holocaust, as
well as global responses throughout its duration (Part II). Can be used in combination with a workbook
by M. J. Sugarman titled “The Historian’s Notebook” that leads students in analyzing historical
documents through small group study. (LA)
Salmons, P. (2000). Reflections. London: Imperial War Museum.
“This resource pack contains 34 detailed lesson plans and worksheets for History, English, Religious
Education, Citizenship and PSHE, comprising a cross-curricular scheme of work for Year 9 and GCSE
students, together with archive photographs and artefacts from the exhibition on flashcards, overhead
transparencies with full-colour maps and documents, and a CD-ROM. A students' guide to the
Holocaust, Torn Apart, complements this inter-disciplinary approach, stimulating reflection and
discussion of key themes and issues.”39
Scher, L. (Ed.). (1987). South Carolina Voices: Lessons from the Holocaust.. Raleigh, NC: North
Carolina Council on the Holocaust and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
[From Teaching for a Tolerant World.] Eleven teaching lessons with handouts that include primary
source documents, interviews, maps, newspaper accounts, excerpts from speeches. Provides lesson
plans, overviews, and “extend” sections to further student exploration.
Shawn, K. (1989). The end of innocence: Anne Frank and the Holocaust. New York: International
Center for Holocaust Studies, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
39
Salmons, P. (2001). Moral dilemmas: History, teaching and the Holocaust. Teaching History, 104 (September), 34-40.
136
[From Teaching for a Tolerant World.] Excerpts from the diaries lead to background information
and are followed by questions for lessons and reflection. Includes twenty-three short readings for
further study.
Singer, A., Ed. (2003). The Holocaust and history. Social Science Docket, 3(1). Retrieved 17 August
2009 from ERIC (ED No. 481 630):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/7c/32.pdf.
The Docket is a publication produced by the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra
University to which teachers and researchers submit articles. This special issue features numerous ideas
from practicing teachers on how to integrate the Holocaust in the History curriculum.
Smith, S. S. (2000). Learning about the Holocaust (Rev. ed.). Newark, UK: The Holocaust Centre,
Beth Shalom.
Soumerai, E. (1987). The Terror-Famine in Ukraine: A Study of Communism under Stalin 1932-1933.
Hartford, CT: Connecticut Western Massachusetts Center for Human Relations, National
Conference of Christians and Jews.
“This case study/curriculum is divided into two sections: ‘Teacher Guide’ and ‘Student Text’. Both
were written by Eve Soumerai, a Holocaust survivor and secondary school teacher in Connecticut. The
teacher’s guide comprises the following: unit objectives, suggested teaching procedures, ‘informational
questions,’ discussion questions, a vocabulary list, and a brief bibliography. The student text comprises
key informational sheets (‘Industrialization,’ ‘Dekulakization,’ ‘Collectivization,’ ‘Terror Famine,’ and
‘Epilogue’), plus the same informational and discussion questions as found in the teacher’s guide. A
note to the teacher states the following: ‘This mini-unit examines the use of famine as one weapon of
totalitarian regimes to subjugate people. It is designed to extend for 5-10, or more, class sessions and
can be easily adapted for use in required English and social studies curriculum [sic]. To give the unit
authenticity, some of the text includes eyewitness accounts.’”40
The Spiro Institute for the Study of Jewish History. (1994). Teaching the Holocaust. London: The
Spiro Institute.
“This pack consists of around 100 loose pages of narrative explanation, ‘source’ materials
(documents, maps, illustrations, etc., together with reading lists for particular topics) and teacher’s
notes and class exercises, divided into three sections: ‘The rise of political and racial anti-semitism’;
‘Weimar and the growth of Nazism 1919-1933’; and ‘The Holocaust’. There is also a glossary which at
least emphasizes the distinction between the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. [Fox
disagrees with the way the three sections are divided because the Holocaust did not start on 30 January
1933 as this scheme implies] […] On the other hand, the pack sets out, however briefly, the conflicting
historiographical arguments about the inception of the Nazi extermination policy and programme,
listing as well some of the key dates of 1941 – although strangely, only months and years, not days, of
40
Totten, S. (1993). Educating about genocide: Curricular and inservice training. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A Critical
Bibliographic Review (pp. 194-225). New York: Facts on File.
137
most key events are given at that point and elsewhere. […] the Spiro Institute pack is also especially
useful for teachers and pupils in that, in its loose-leaf – and therefore easily reproducible and
distributable – form, it is highly flexible as a teaching and learning tool.”41
The Spiro Institute for the Study of Jewish History. (1997). Lessons of the Holocaust. London: The
Spiro Institute.
Following Spiro (1994) and the heavy criticisms from Fox (1995) thereof [see footnote 8 below],
this is a revised set of resources. “The contents comprise two handbooks, an hour-long video and a
number of flashcards, display posters and reproductions of a range of primary source documents. One
of the handbooks, Information for Teachers, is divided into three sections. The first covers the
historical background to the Holocaust and was written by the distinguished academic Robert Wistrich.
[…] With the historical overview complete, the handbook devotes a couple of pages to consider the
‘Lessons of the Holocaust’. This rubric is somewhat misleading as much of the section merely
summarises what has gone before. […] The second part of the handbook offers comprehensive
guidelines on teaching the Holocaust in the context of the National Curriculum for England and Wales.
Much of what is written is now out of date, but the lesson plans, in both their shorter and longer
versions, remain very useful. […] All the lessons last an hour and include extracts from the
accompanying video. […] Every lesson has clear learning objectives and is differentiated by ability. In
addition to the recommended lessons, guidance is given on how other curricular areas – English,
geography and religious education – could be taught so as to broaden students’ knowledge and
understanding of the Holocaust [critiques religious education parts as may convey that Judaism was the
reason Jews were targeted]. […] The handbook ends with questions for discussion, a page of suggested
essay titles and a bibliography consisting of teaching texts, academic histories of the Holocaust and
survivors’ biographies.” The second handbook, Lesson Resources, includes “maps, documents,
eyewitness accounts, literature, press articles, rescuers’ case studies and resistance testimonies.” 42
Strom, M. S. (1994). Facing History and Ourselves – The Holocaust and Human Behavior. Brookline,
Ma.: Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation, Inc.
Facing History and Ourselves strives to encourage students to personalize history lest it never be
repeated. Therefore, this 500-page resource textbook on the Holocaust focuses on the behaviour,
motivations and impulses of the people involved therein. Chapter One – The Individual and Society
explored community dynamics, individuality, stereotyping, eugenics, legacies of prejudice, social
exclusion, conformity, identity, etc. Chapter Two – We and They builds on Ch. 1 but from the
standpoint of nation building and national identity formation; here the Holocaust and anti-Semitism
begin to appear, although slavery and colonization of North America are also discussed. Chapters 3-10
carry the reader through the Holocaust from a highly personalized pedagogical perspective, and
Chapter 11 – Choosing to Participate concludes the book by drawing parallels between righteous
Gentiles and people in American history (this is written for American schools) who have stood up
41
Fox, J. P. (1995). The Holocaust: Mythologies and education. Patterns of Prejudice, 29(4), 67–72.
42
Short, G., & Reed, C. A. (2004). Issues in Holocaust Education. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate.
138
against oppression committed by their own people against others (i.e., white solidarity activists during
segregation, etc.). Students are challenged to ‘take a stand’ against racism, anti-Semitism, etc. in
multiple case studies of injustice, etc. Contains an index of audio-visual resources. (LA) [From
Teaching for a Tolerant World: Over five hundred pages in length, this resource book emphasizes
democratic participation and includes history, readings, original sources, and pre-reading sections.
Questions and connections to students’ lives are presented.]
Supple, C., & Perks, R. (1993). Voices of the Holocaust: A Cross-Curricular Resource Pack. London:
The British Library Board.
“Published by the British Library National Sound Archive, this well-presented and excellently
conceived pack contains four audio-tapes and a seventy-page A4-sized booklet (containing useful
‘teaching’ information) of recorded interviews with Holocaust survivors. Although the compilers
explain that this pack is ‘a resource designed to meet [Britain’s] National Curriculum requirements’ in
history and a range of other subjects [ref removed], educators anywhere can make good use of it.”43
Tatelbaum, I. (1985). Through Our Eyes. Jerusalem: I.B.T. Publishing.
“This is one of the only curriculum/book [sic] geared for the elementary school. It is divided into
eighteen units and each unit deals with a specific aspect of the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of
children. The excerpts include children’s diary entries and survivors’ testimonies. The book is
organized in a chronological order and since most of the excerpts are very short, the information is
rather disjointed and would require a great deal of teacher guidance to give it coherence. Since the topic
is very difficult to present to younger children, the very concept of a textbook for elementary age
children is troublesome, but if an elementary school teacher needs some materials on the Holocaust,
this book may be helpful.”44
Teaching History, 104: Teaching the Holocaust. (2001). London: The Historical Association. Retrieved
12 October 2009 from: http://www.history.org.uk/resources/secondary_resource_871_12.html
[SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED].
“Special 64-page themed edition of Teaching History including: Uniqueness, redemption and the
Shoah, Teaching pupils to reflect on significance, Teaching the Holocaust: The experience of Yad
Vashem, Working as a team to teach the Holocaust: a language centred approach, Moral dilemmas,
Challenging stereotypes and avoiding the superficial, Armenia and much more.” (Includes Kinloch,
2001 and Kitson, 2001).
Todorov, K. (1981). Middle School Guide for Teaching about Human Rights. Detroit, MI: Detroit
Public Schools, Department of Social Studies.
43
Fox, J. P. (1995). The Holocaust: Mythologies and education. Patterns of Prejudice, 29(4), 67–72.
44
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
139
This is a middle school guide for teaching about human rights prepared for use in the Detroit,
Michigan public schools. The guide presents a number of overall goals and specific objectives in the
area of human rights. Each objective is paired with corresponding classroom activities and resource
materials. Topics of study include equality of race, the interdependence of people, the need for mutual
understanding, the role of the government in human rights, the impact of apathy in fostering inhumane
conditions, the ways in which racism, sexism, and genocide develop, and the destructive effects of
myths and stereotypes. SEE ALSO Nash (1981) and Frazier (1981).
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (1995). Teaching about the Holocaust: A Resource Book
for Educators. Washington, D.C.: USHMM.
One of the most widely-cited guides for this purpose. The first part of the text focuses on visiting the
Museum, but the lion’s share of the text is devoted to teaching resources. These include the Museum’s
famous guidelines for teaching on the Holocaust, suggested topic areas for a Holocaust course, an
overview of the history, chronology, a guide to using the Museum’s online resources, information on
the services offered by the Museum and how to access them, and an extensive annotated
bibliography and videography, both with detailed introductions on how these materials might be used
in the classroom. The bibliography is divided into books for middle school, high school and adult
audiences, and further subdivided by the kind of resource (e.g., history general, history specific, fiction,
memoir, biography, etc.). The videography [see below as well] classifies films with a key
(documentary, survivor testimony, docudrama, animation, drama, black and white, color, close
captioned), as well as by subject (overviews, life before the Holocaust, perpetrators, racism/antiSemitism, mosaic of victims, ghettos, camps, resistance, rescue, international and American responses,
liberation, war crimes trials and related films on the Armenian genocide and the building of the
Museum). Each video is accompanied by an age-level recommendation. (LA)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (1993). Annotated Videography. Washington, DC: United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 21 August 2009 from ERIC (ED No. 380 337):
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_nfpb=t
rue&searchtype=keyword&_nfls=false&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED380337&ERICExtS
earch_SearchValue_0=ED380337.
This annotated list of 43 videotapes recommended for classroom use addresses various themes for
teaching about the Holocaust, including: (1) overviews of the Holocaust; (2) life before the Holocaust;
(3) propaganda; (4) racism, anti-Semitism; (5) "enemies of the state"; (6) ghettos; (7) camps; (8)
genocide; (9) rescue; (10) resistance; (11) responses; (12) perpetrators; (13) liberation; (14) postHolocaust; (15) Anne Frank; (16) Janusz Korczak; and (17) related films. The introduction contains a
rationale for the use of videotapes as a teaching tool. A key to the guide describes the type of video,
including whether the film is a documentary, survivor testimony, a docu-drama, animation, or drama,
as well as whether the film is in color or black and white. Availability information also is provided with
the source, address, and telephone number.
The University of the State of New York. (1985). Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide. The
Human Rights Series (Volumes I and II). NY: Author.
140
Designed to assist secondary school social studies, English, and humanities teachers as they teach
about the Nazi Holocaust, the second of two volumes serves as a continuing introduction to the concept
of human rights. Building on the first volume, which dealt with the roots of intolerance and persecution
and precursors of the Holocaust, this volume focuses primarily on the Nazi Holocaust and its
implications for our future. Because the guide is not a textbook, but rather a collection of materials and
activities about the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, the learning activities are not arranged
in a developmental order and may be taught in any sequence. This second volume, beginning with Unit
III, examines anti-Semitism--traditional, religious, and racial; Nazi thought; the Nazi rise to power;
"The Final Solution"; perpetrators and victims; responses by individual institutions and nations; and
judgment, justice, and survivors. Unit IV, "Implications for Our Future," contains three sections
focusing on individual choices, group choices, and connections. The bulk of the guide consists of
student handouts, including time-lines, photographs, readings, memoranda, telegrams, and other
primary source materials. A bibliography correlated to Unit titles concludes the guide. [ERIC]
Warren, M. J. (1988). Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – Teacher Resource Unit. Dubuque, IA:
Center for Learning.
A detailed high school curriculum to accompany a novel study, containing ten lessons: Impact of
WWII, Prejudice, Propaganda, The Annexe, The People in Anne’s Diary, Events in the Diary, Anne
Frank: A Personal Profile, Anne Frank: The Writer, Anne – After the Annexe, and The Holocaust.
Each lesson contains objectives, detailed notes to the teacher, procedure, and high quality handouts (on
vocabulary, historical context, key biographies, etc.). Pedagogical activities include vocabulary matchups, personal reflections (guided and detailed), discussion questions, various stencils, textual analysis
and role plays (both imaginary and performance-based). Supplementary materials include tests and
answer keys, optional activities and a bibliography. (LA)
Wieser, P. (1995). Anti-Semitism: A warrant for genocide. Social Education, 59(6), C4-C6.
Presents a high school lesson plan illustrating the breadth and scope of German anti-Semitism
before and during World War II. Includes four lists describing anti-Semitic and German Jewry laws.
Includes student objectives, instructional procedures, and instructions for students.
Willis, A. (1997). Teaching Holocaust Studies with the Internet: Internet Lesson Plans and Classroom
Activities. Lancaster, PA: Classroom Connect, Inc.
Zornberg, I. (1983). Classroom strategies for teaching the Holocaust: 10 lessons for classroom use.
New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
“This is a brief curriculum designed for junior and senior high school students. The curriculum
contains historical outlines, suggested questions, recommended readings, and classroom scenarios for
students. It is not self-contained. It is intended mostly as a guide for themes and issues and contains
interesting ideas, but the teacher would need to use supplementary materials to create an in-depth
141
course on the Holocaust.”45 Unlike many other curriculum guides that focus on issues or eras, Zornberg
has chosen to organize this unit around a series of ten very well thought-out questions that take the
lessons of the Holocaust beyond factual mastery and to a critical consideration of our own time and
place. Examples of these sub-unit guiding questions include: “Do the laws of a nation indicate its
direction?” “Did the Nazi-created ghettos bear a resemblance to our own?” “Can models for our
behaviour be found in ‘the world of the Holocaust’?” The learning activities are very detailed and
diverse in form (e.g., from scenario brainstorms to media analysis) and use a wide variety of
supplemental materials (e.g., photographs, newspaper articles, etc.). Finally, this is definitely suitable
for senior high school students, perhaps even junior university students. (LA)
45
Darsa, J. (1991). Educating about the holocaust: A case study in the teaching of genocide. In I. Charny (Ed.), Genocide: A
Critical Bibliographic Review (pp. 175-193). New York: Mansell.
142