Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust Sample Presentation by Angie Hillman

Why teach about the Holocaust One of the most effective subjects for examination of basic moral issues Critical lessons on human behavior Examines what it means to be a responsible citizen

10 Guidelines For teaching the Holocaust

1. Define the Holocaust Hitler is in power of Nazi Germany State-sponsored systematic, persecution and annihilation of European Jewry 6 million Jews murdered Other victims: Gypsies, handicapped, Poles, homosexuals, Jehovah Witness, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

2. Do not teach or imply that the Holocaust was inevitable Just because a historical event happened doesn’t mean it had to Individuals, groups, and nations made decisions to act or not to act Focusing on these decisions helps students become critical thinkers Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

3. Avoid simple answers to complex questions Difficult questions are raised Do not oversimplify Get students thinking and examining all facets Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

4. Strive for Precision of Language Generalizing can lead to distorting the facts Help students clarify information Identify differences between: prejudice/discrimination, collaborator/bystander, armed/spiritual resistance, concentration camps/killing fields Avoid stereotypical descriptions Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

5. Strive for balance in establishing whose perspective informs your study of the Holocaust Student discussion on Holocaust participants 4 categories-victims, perpetrators, rescuers, bystanders Examine actions, motives, decisions of each group Portray ALL individuals Students should investigate all resources origin and authorship Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

6. Avoid comparisons of pain Highlight different policies toward different groups Do not present as comparison of suffering Avoid generalizations suggesting exclusivity Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

7. Do not romanticize history Only small fraction of non-Jews helped rescue Jews Do not overemphasize heroic tales Accuracy of fact and balanced perspective are priority Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

8. Contextualize the history Place events in historical context View within a contemporaneous context Don’t categorize groups of people based only on their experiences during the Holocaust Look at other cultural contributions that groups made during other times in history Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

9. Translate statistics into people Individual people are behind the statistics Diversity of personal experience Make meaning out of collective numbers Add individual voices to a collective experience Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

10. Make responsible methodological choices Use graphic material judiciously Avoid images and text that exploit students’ emotional vulnerability Do not skip any topics of the Holocaust Find appropriate approaches to address material Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

5 Guidelines For teaching about a Genocide

1. Define Genocide Any acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, national, ethical, racial or religious group Examples: killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, prevent births, moving children from one group to another Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

2. Investigate the context and dynamics that have led to genocide What steps toward genocide in a society have been or could be? Analyze factors or patterns from early stages Examples: political considerations, economic difficulties, local history, context Think scope, intent, and tactics Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

3. Be wary of simplistic parallels to other genocides Each genocide has unique characteristics of time, place, people, and methods employed Avoid facile comparisons to other genocides Careful comparisons to tactics Avoid comparing pain and suffering Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

4. Analyze American and world response What was done or not done? Why action was or was not taken? Present facts on choices before, during, and after mass killing Begin with US choices Discuss stakeholders Then discuss global community Lead students to understand the complexity of responding to genocide

What might cause genocide? How to prevent it? When does a nation have the political will to take all necessary steps to stop genocide? How much international cooperation can be mustered? How much is needed? What are the possible ramifications of intervention? Is a nation willing to absorb casualties and death to stop genocide? Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

5. Illustrate positive actions taken by individuals and nations in the face of genocide Do not exaggerate the number or their frequency of those who have stood up during a genocide Any action has potential impact Teaching Tip: Things I want to remember:

All information was taken from this website.