Issues in Holocaust Education by Geoffrey Short Carole Ann Reed

Author:Geoffrey Short, Carole Ann Reed [Geoffrey Short, Carole Ann Reed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9781351925884
Google: WzErDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-07-05T01:41:42+00:00

Issues Relating to Content and Pedagogy

Many respondents drew their pupils’ attention to events in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, but there was a reluctance on the part of two or three to do likewise. In common with some of their counterparts in England, low expectations seemed to lie at the root of the problem. One teacher thought that students lacked the geographical knowledge required to understand the comparison, while another asserted that ‘they’re not cognisant of anything that’s gone on, so I’d actually have to teach that before I could draw any connection.’ A third teacher who eschewed comparisons said: ‘I have a certain discomfort with comparative Holocaust studies. I think that in the Holocaust of World War II you’re dealing with something historically unique.’ Generally, however, teachers did make comparisons with earlier genocides, referring most often to the Armenian massacres, the fate of the Kulaks under Stalin and the treatment of First Peoples in Canada. The majority were at pains to stress the differences as well as the similarities between these various atrocities and the Holocaust, but the responses of a couple of teachers give cause for concern. One appeared to think that the main difference between the Holocaust and the situation faced by the Armenians and the Kulaks was that ‘the Holocaust was a bigger atrocity.’ The other believed that ‘the powers that be in Serbia took a leaf out of Hitler’s diary and pretty much did the same thing.’ Although none of the textbooks made links with other genocides, they invariably referred to Canada’s shameful role in the Holocaust noting, in particular, the government’s refusal in 1939 to allow refugees from the St. Louis to disembark. The texts did not, however, focus on racism in present-day Canada. This tendency to overlook ‘the home front’ comes on top of the finding that only a minority of teachers raised the issue with their students.

In contrast, the entire sample responded affirmatively to the question: ‘Do you talk about victims of the Nazis other than Jews?’. While two teachers confessed to doing so ‘only briefly,’ most appeared to take the issue seriously. There were many references to ‘Gypsies,’ homosexuals and Slavs, but interestingly, only one teacher mentioned Germans with disabilities and none spoke about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Equally troubling is the comment from a teacher who seemed not to realise that in Nazi-occupied Europe it was only the Jews who were earmarked for total destruction. He said: ‘We stress that Hitler’s Holocaust included attacks on Gypsies and homosexuals so that the students see that there was a policy that was broader and capable of taking in enemies that they saw as needing to be wiped out.’

Asked whether they took cognisance of the ethnic make-up of their classes when teaching the Holocaust, the majority concurred with the respondent who said:

It’s important to know my students, but I wouldn’t alter my approach (so much) as try to relate my teaching to the students’ background. I have some black students and they are always deeply interested because they feel they are an oppressed minority and they are very aware of racism.

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