Pedagogic Challenges in Holocaust Education

From: "Extracting their Features - Pedagogic challenges in Holocaust teaching", The International School for Holocaust Studies.

By nature of the subject matter, there is concern when approaching the subject of Holocaust education with young children. However, the Holocaust is present in the general cultural environment, and holds a special role in the shaping of the Western World. The young students often hear the term “Holocaust” in various contexts, watch movies and television programs marking Holocaust Memorial Day, while most of these movies are not compatible to their cognitive and emotional levels of development.

Since the Holocaust is ever-present in popular culture, teachers and educators must find ways to expose the children to the subject in an age-appropriate manner. Postponing the teaching of the subject can create a vacuum. The Holocaust would remain present in their lives, but its comprehension would be unprocessed and distorted.

In the first phase of Holocaust education, we recommend teaching the subject by emphasizing the dimension of the individual, accompanied by basic terms and concepts, limited and controlled by the pedagogic approach. A familiar teacher or other adult will accompany the children. Care should be taken to ensure that the exposure of the children to the subject suits their emotional and cognitive abilities. The younger the child, the more appropriate it is to present him/her with a personal story which portrays a positive coping experience, such as a Holocaust rescue story or a Righteous among the Nations.

In the second phase, the family is to be discussed. This is in order to enhance the knowledge and familiarity with the differing experiences of Jews in the Holocaust. The acquaintance with the family widens the theme of the individual to encompass surrounding figures as well, and the difficult situations that took place during the Holocaust. Focusing on family and family life allows us to deal with a human framework that the children are familiar with, allowing them to empathize with the experience.

At this point, basic dilemmas can be introduced to the students, taken from both worlds of children and family. This is also the method used to widen childrens’ perceptions concerning the daily challenges during the Holocaust, as well as discussion on the possibilities of coping in crisis.

The third phase focuses on the perspective of the community. During adolescence, students begin the process of crystallizing their basic values, as well as their personal and social identities. Emotional and cognitive capacities grow significantly. Thus, the third stage is considered to be one of the most significant contributions to the child’s knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust. The story of the community during the Holocaust allows the pupil to communicate with an important layer of his identity – the community and the moral questions that accompany it.

This age group is also suited for discussing the reversal of roles between adults and children, and rescuers who decided to save Jews despite the danger. Through the model of the individual, the family and the community, students learn of the moral dimensions of the Holocaust, enhancing awareness and sympathy towards hardships of the other while combating prejudice and xenophobia. It is worth noting that this dimension comes prior to the study of “proper” historical events.

The next phase is historical study. This stage would consist of a summary, rather than an initiation of the teaching process. After the Holocaust has been framed primarily as a human story in the previous phases, the historical study becomes far more meaningful. An empathetic view becomes an inseparable part of the study; the questions and the moral dimensions have been woven into the story. The student is then ready to absorb the factual historical dimension of the Holocaust and, primarily, understand the complexity of human behavior in that period.