Holocaust Education
For comments, suggestions, or corrections to the material below, contact Tony Tavares.
Introduction
Our society is composed of people from diverse linguistic and cultural origins. It is important that all Manitobans have a good understanding and appreciation of the richness of our human diversity, our roots, and our people’s stories, in order to develop a sense of community and intercultural understanding. This should include an awareness of how issues of contemporary racism and inequality are rooted in our history.
Within this context, it is important that all students know and understand some of the more important aspects of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is of enduring significance to Canadians and the world as a whole because there are important lessons to be learned from it about human rights and responsibilities, the power of hatred and discrimination, and the challenge of democracy in multi-ethnic and multicultural societies. The severity and extent of the persecution experienced by Jews, homosexuals, and other targeted groups, leading up to and during World War II, has no parallel in history. It is important that we remember the Holocaust, and the international complacency and social and political conditions that allowed it to occur, so that we may avoid similar events today and in the future.
The Meaning of the "Holocaust"
The term “Holocaust” is derived from the Greek term for a burnt offering. In contemporary literature and history, it is used to refer to the systematic Nazi destruction of European Jewry, which began in 1933 when Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. This tragic event is estimated to have reduced the world’s total Jewish population by over one third. While Jews were a primary target during the Holocaust, the Roma people (“Gypsies”), Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, people with disabilities, and political enemies were also targeted by the Nazis, and were victims of persecution and violence.
There is evidence that the Nazis picked out and specifically targeted the Jews, from the very beginning of the rise of the Nazi party in 1919 to the very end of the party with Hitler’s Testament of April 29, 1945. In 1919, Hitler had written a letter to a Herr Gemlich, in which he called for the removal of the Jews if he ever took power. The Holocaust, or the “Final Solution,” followed a period of increased hostility and persecution exacted by the military and government officials, beginning in 1933 when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The Holocaust, from its conception to its implementation, was rooted in a long history of anti-Semitism in Germany and throughout Europe, and had a distinctly Jewish aspect to it. Arguably, without this Jewish aspect, there would have been no Holocaust.
The Goals of Holocaust Education
As the Holocaust is one of the most extensively documented historical events, it is one of the most effective subjects for an educational and critical examination of basic moral and social issues. A structured and critical inquiry into the Holocaust will provide many insights into contemporary issues of human rights and democracy in ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse societies.
Canada, like many of its allies during the Holocaust, was complacent and demonstrated little compassion or concern for the victims of Nazism. Therefore, the study of the Holocaust and Canada’s struggle with its own problems and challenges related to anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia will shed light on the challenges facing our society, then and today. As Canadians work to build a better society, understanding, knowing, and learning from the Holocaust is vitally important. It teaches us about the importance of resistance, solidarity, resiliency, and survival, even in the face of unimaginable horrors.
Through a study of the Holocaust, students can come to realize that
- democratic institutions, values, and human rights are not a given, nor are they automatically sustained; rather, they need to be appreciated, nurtured, and protected
- silence and indifference to the suffering or persecution of others, or to the infringement of civil and human rights in any society, can, regardless of intention, perpetuate the problems
- the Holocaust was not an accident in history; it was rooted in a history of intolerance and prejudice in European societies and individuals. Organizations and governments made choices which not only legalized discrimination, but which allowed prejudice, hatred, and, ultimately, mass murder to occur
Connections to the Manitoba Social Studies Curriculum
The Manitoba social studies curriculum supports the continued development of the multicultural, multiracial, and pluralist democracy that is Canada. The events that take place in our classrooms shape, and are shaped by, larger social currents that define who we are and where we are headed as a society. To be successful, schools in general, and social studies classrooms in particular, must be guided by democratic social goals and values that affirm our human diversity, and that demonstrate a quest for greater equity in our institutions and in society as a whole.
As part of Manitoba’s new Kindergarten to Grade 8 social studies curriculum, Middle Years students have the opportunity to focus on the history of Canada (Grades 5 and 6), and to explore issues related to the Holocaust (Grade 6).
Senior Years students have opportunities to focus on the Holocaust in the current Senior 3 Canadian History course. (The new Senior 3 curriculum is under development, and is likely to have similar opportunities for study.)
Holocaust Awareness Week
The Jewish communities in Winnipeg and throughout the province and country include many individuals and families who are survivors of the Holocaust or who are related to survivors, and many more individuals who lost family members and loved ones during the Holocaust. While the Jewish community in Manitoba is diverse and composed of families and individuals who immigrated to Canada from many different countries, all members of the community have been affected by the Holocaust.
Over the period of a decade or more, Jewish communities, Holocaust educators, and researchers in Winnipeg and other centres spoke with each about their despair born of the Holocaust and Nazi genocides, and their hope that there was something of value to be learned from the Holocaust and applied in present-day societies. This led to the development of a variety of initiatives to record the experiences of Holocaust survivors, and the development of other educational initiatives. One of these, Holocaust Awareness Week, is an annual educational outreach initiative intended to remember the Holocaust, not only as historical fact and as a memorial to its millions of victims, but also as a warning. This initiative provides programs and resources that bear witness to Holocaust events, explore issues arising from the attempted extermination of Jews and other targeted groups, and apply lessons learned from the Holocaust to contemporary issues.
The annual Holocaust Awareness Week activities and related programs in Winnipeg may be found on the Holocaust Awareness Committee of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg website.
Holocaust Awareness and Education in Winnipeg
The Holocaust Awareness Committee of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg is composed of survivors, members of the Second Generation Group, alumni of the March of the Living, and educators. The committee
- produces The Holocaust Remembered, a comprehensive newsletter, twice annually (spring and fall). For more information or to be placed on the mailing list, telephone the Department of Community Relations: (204) 477-7423
- organizes Holocaust Awareness Week, a week of commemorative services and educational programs around Yom Hashoah
- organizes Kristallnacht programming (Night of Breaking Glass, November 9, 1938. This marks the point when the persecution of Jews in Germany was accelerated. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels initiated this free-for-all against the Jews, which resulted in nearly 1,000 synagogues being set on fire, more than 7,000 Jewish businesses and homes being looted, approximately 100 Jews being killed, and as many as 30,000 Jews being arrested and sent to concentration camps.)
The Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre thrives as a separate physical space in the Asper Jewish Community Campus. Visitors enter by walking through a replica of the boxcar doors, which sealed the fate of so many transported to the death camps during the days of the Holocaust. The centre contains permanent exhibits, including photographs, original documents and artifacts donated by Manitoba Holocaust survivors.
In the fall of 2008 the Holocaust Education Centre will re-open after a major re-configuration. It will house exhibits, artifacts, stories of local survivors and interpretive text of the Holocaust. It will be outfitted with the latest audio-visual equipment and will seat up to 60 persons at one time.
Since the opening of the Holocaust Education Centre, they have encouraged schools to come visit and hear presentations. Hersch Zentner, the pioneer of the outreach program, spoke well about the meaning of Holocaust remembrance:
"Fifty-five years after the Holocaust, we are still trying to teach the consequences of universal apathy. Jews must be in the forefront of that struggle. If we are willing to teach tolerance, then others may be willing to learn."
The centre extends an invitation to educators to book a presentation at the Centre. The presentations are divided into two basic categories: grades 6-9, grades 10-12. The students will learn about the events leading up to the Holocaust, and whenever possible, a Holocaust survivor will be in attendance to share their testimony and answer any questions about their experiences.
The presentations are designed to enrich the curriculum and increase the insights of pupils by offering opportunities and material for reflection, discussion and further research into a range of issues raised when remembering the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. The intention is to raise awareness and understanding of the events of the Holocaust as an issue for all humanity. Recognition that such events could happen again anywhere and at any time is paramount to ensure that our society is vigilant in opposing racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.
The Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre offers a very important message:
"Heed Thy Past To Save Thy Future"
It is the delivery of this message that keeps the presenters and volunteers very busy at the facility. The Centre is widely used throughout the year by participants March of the Living, Asper Foundation Holocaust Studies Program and, of course, the many visiting schools that seek their assistance in about the Holocaust and combatting racism.
The Centre provides a community and province-wide Holocaust Education Outreach Program, consisting of presentations to schools, adult education groups, churches and other interested groups. The program continues to be further developed as the need arises.
- The Holocaust Education Centre sponsors an annual Holocaust and Human Rights Symposium for high school students at the University of Winnipeg. In the afternoon there are breakout sessions featuring facilitators who lead will discussions on various aspects of the theme in question.
- The Centre also sponsors the annual Mina Rosner Holocaust and Human Rights Essay Contest. Students are invited to write essays that will be judged for proficiency in conducting research, presentation of issues, sincerity, coherence, and writing skill. Students are encouraged to visit the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre, Asper Jewish Community Campus, 123 Doncaster Street and include what they have learned from this experience in their essays. They must also make reference to how the events and lessons of the Holocaust are relevant to present – day life. The essays should be 1000 to 1500 words in length, typed double-spaced and neatly presented. One prize of $400.00 will be awarded to a student in grade 9-12.
- The Centre has produced an Out of the Attic Discovery Trunk Suitcase with articles on Anne Frank and others during their hiding in Holland during WW ll. This suitcase is loaned to educators for a finite period.
- The Centre is developing a Holocaust Resource Trunk Project based on the Houston Holocaust Trunk. This trunk will be available to schools in Manitoba. It will contain books relating to the Holocaust with emphasis on local survivors stories, resource books for educators, 30 copies of “Night” by Eli Wiesel and 30 copies of “Daniel’s Story” by Carol Matas.
Anti-Semitism, Holocaust Denial, and the Web
Over the past two decades, an organized effort to deny or minimize the established history of Nazi genocide against the Jews has emerged. In Canada, the United States, and other parts of the world, the movement has drawn attention in recent years as a result of “revisionist” conferences, websites which purport to correct myths or challenge the veracity and accuracy of historical data and research, the publication of books and magazines, and the publication of editorial-style advertisements in college/university campus newspapers. Often, the conferences, websites, and ads claim to call for “open debate on the Holocaust.” While they acknowledge the fact of Nazi anti-Semitism, they question whether this hatred resulted in the atrocities and genocide documented by survivors and historians.
Similar propaganda has established a presence on the Internet. In addition to creating their own home pages, Holocaust deniers and hate groups have “crashed” the sites of legitimate Holocaust and Jewish discussion groups in an effort at anti-Jewish provocation and self-promotion.
As a result, educators engaged in Holocaust education should screen websites carefully for authenticity and accuracy, and should expect that students who come across Holocaust denial websites or literature may raise questions about the Holocaust. It may be prudent for educators to be proactive, and to include the study of Holocaust denial and contemporary anti-Semitism in Holocaust education units or lesson plans.
Holocaust Education Resources
There are many websites with information on the Holocaust and Holocaust awareness resources. The following is a sample of some of the sites available that may be of interest to teachers and students. The sites are organized into four categories: Historical Resources, Canadian Sites, Lesson Plans and Teachers’ Resources, and International and Other Relevant Organizations.
Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Martyrs’
and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Yad Vashem is the Jewish people’s memorial to the murdered Six Million, and symbolizes
the ongoing confrontation with the rupture engendered by the Holocaust. Containing the
world’s largest repository of information on the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is a leader in
Shoah education, commemoration, research, and documentation. The Yad Vashem website offers
many resources of interest to teachers and students. Information on an annual teacher summer
institute in Holocaust education is available on the site.
http://www.yadvashem.org.il/
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national institution for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this The United States of America’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. This is a major site for educators and research on the Holocaust. The museum has a wealth of information for research and offers complete lessons plans on "How to teach the Holocaust".
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/
The History of Anti-Semitism Sites
The Holocaust has it origins in the long history of anti-Semitism in Europe. An understanding
of how anti-Semitism contributed to the conditions that allowed the Holocaust to occur, and
for so many people to “close their eyes” to the atrocities committed, may be gained
by exploring anti-Semitism historically and in contemporary settings. Many websites have sections that deal with anti-Semitism.
Antisemitism
David Dickerson maintains a web education site with information and links to various aspects of
Jewish history and culture, including a section on the historical and contemporary manifestations
of Antisemitism.
http://ddickerson.igc.org/antisemitism.html
The Centre for German-Jewish Studies
The University of Sussex provides excerpts from religious and historical texts which illuminate
anti-Semitism in Europe and provide a historical context for the Holocaust.
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/cgjs/teachingpack/histantisem.html
Australian Memories of
the Holocaust
This is an excellent educational website on the Holocaust with resources on the history of
anti-Semitism in general, and Nazi Anti-Semitism specifically.
http://www.holocaust.com.au/home.htm
Forgive, But Never Forget
This is another excellent website which, in the section on anti-racism, features information
and links to resources on anti-Semitism and hatred on the Internet.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/4430/index.htm
The Holocaust Project
Educators may find this a useful site for research, and to access primary or historical documents.
The goal of the site is to provide a detailed chronology and deeper understanding of how the
Holocaust came about—and why. The site provides a large body of hard-to-find information
in one convenient database, including texts, maps, photos, videos, audio clips, interviews,
eyewitness testimonies, and rare German documents, many of them translated into English for the
first time.
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/homepage.htm
The Holocaust Memorial Center
This is the website of the first American museum dedicated to remembering and preserving the
history of the Holocaust. A virtual tour of the museum and its exhibits is available, as well
as a variety of resources on Holocaust education.
http://holocaustcenter.org/
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth: Holocaust Bibliography (
124 KB)
This is an annotated list of some resources about the Holocaust available from the Instructional
Resources Unit of the Department. Please note that there are additional resources not listed in
the bibliography; contact Reference and Information Services for further information and assistance.
http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/iru/publications/bibliographies/the_holocaust-2001-11.pdf
Open Hearts: Closed Doors
This is a section of the Virtual Museum of Canada, which is dedicated to showcasing a collection
of high-quality, online cultural content, including virtual exhibits and an image gallery. It
features resources related to an exhibit on young Jewish orphans who immigrated from Europe
after the end of the war as part of the War Orphans initiative. It offers learning resources
including a teacher’s guide, orphan’s stories, an artifacts collection, and a
glossary.
http://virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/orphans/english/index.html
The HopeSite: The Web’s Centre for Holocaust
Education
This site is sponsored and developed by the Victoria Holocaust and Remembrance and Education Society.
It features teaching materials, interactive student resources, historical documents and pictures,
stories of individuals, anti-racism resources, and a bibliography of videos on hate.
http://www.hopesite.ca/
The Vancouver Holocaust Education
Centre
This site offers a variety of teaching resources and includes information on how to order Too Close to Home:
Anti-Semitism and Fascism in Canada, 1930s–1940s, which is an excellent resource for exploring a
shameful part of Canadian history—a time when Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism permeated
Canada’s cultural and political landscape, and was reflected in Canada’s restrictive
immigration policies.
http://www.vhec.org/ResourcesTeachers.html
Filmography: An Annotated Filmography of Canadian
Produced Films and Videos on the Holocaust
This “filmography” was developed by Gary Evans, historian and author, who teaches in the
Department of Communication at the University of Ottawa. He wrote two groundbreaking books on Canadian
film and culture, and was a contributing historian to, and editor of, the renowned CD-ROM and website,
“A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust.”
http://www3.sympatico.ca/mighty1/film.htm
Learning from the Past: Teaching for the Future
This program in Holocaust and anti-racism education is an initiative of The Centre for Jewish Studies and
The Canadian Centre for German and European Studies at York University in Toronto. It brings together
Canadian university students and students from Germany and Poland to explore how best to counter
racism—including anti-Semitism—through teaching about the Holocaust. It also involves
experts and members of the broader public in all three countries. It features an excellent array of
resources on Holocaust education.
http://yorku.ca/tftf/Links.htm
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress website offers information and resources related to the Holocaust,
throughout Canada and in other centres.
http://cjc.ca/
Canadian Council of Christians and
Jews
CCCJ is a national, non-sectarian organization dedicated to promoting cultural, racial, and religious
equality among the people of Canada through the development and implementation of education and research
initiatives. The Council is committed to organizing and acquiring resources for scholarships, lectures,
publications and videos, research, and conferences—endeavours to teach Canadians about the dangers
of prejudice and the value of diversity and a shared sense of community. The site features information on
programs and activities sponsored by the organization.
http://www.cccj.ca/HomePage.htm
League for Human Rights of
B’nai Brith Canada
This part of the B'nai Brith website features an online teacher’s guide for Yom ha-Shoah Holocaust
Memorial Day. Additional resources on Holocaust education are also available.
http://www.bnaibrith.ca/league/hh-teachers/guide07.html
The Nizkor Project
The Nizkor Project grew out of the desire to counter Holocaust denial and hate activity on the web.
The site endeavours to provide teachers with teaching resources to bolster democratic, multicultural,
and multiracial education. It features a variety of Holocaust research guides and links to resources
related to the Holocaust and Nazism.
http://www.nizkor.org/
Lesson Plans and Teachers’ Resources
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
This teacher resource was produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education,
University of South Florida. The content is presented from three perspectives: Timeline, People, and The Arts.
The authors caution that Holocaust study is a very sensitive subject, and the appropriateness of material is
dependent upon individuals. They offer guidelines for selecting resources for classroom use.
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/intro/intro.htm
The Jewish Heritage Video
Collection
This site provides information on the television series on anti-Semitism, The Longest Hatred, which was
broadcast on PBS in 1991. (Robert S. Wistrich, an historical adviser to the series, wrote a companion book,
Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred.) The film The Longest Hatred consists of three parts, each slightly less
than an hour long. The first part is entitled “From the Cross to the Swastika,” the second part
focuses on anti-Semitism in Germany today, and the third part focuses on anti-Semitism in the Arab world.
http://www.jhvc.org/video_library/index.php?film_id=12
Holocaust Teacher Education Resource
Center
This site is dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust. It strives to combat prejudice and bigotry by
transforming the horrors of the Holocaust into positive lessons. Sponsored by the Holocaust Education
Foundation, Inc., it features a variety of resources, including unit and lesson plans for different grade
levels.
http://www.holocaust-trc.org/lesson.htm
Holocaust Cybrary: Remembering the Survivors
This excellent site was launched in 1995 and is dedicated to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.
It features educator and student resources including lesson plans, an image bank, art exhibits, stories and
experiences of survivors, and “Tracing Families”—a resource for helping those looking for
family members who may have survived the Holocaust.
http://remember.org/
Holocaust Unit Plans and
Resources
This site is part of a web-based resource for teachers, maintained by Jerrie S. Cheek of Kennesaw State University.
It offers a description of, and links to, a variety of unit and lesson plans on the Holocaust and related subjects
for different grade levels.
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/holocaust.htm
The Holocaust
Children
This is a online unit for teaching about the Holocaust and its impact on children. It was developed
by the Keystone Central School district in Pennsylvania.
http://www.kcsd.k12.pa.us/~rwykoff/holocaust/index.htm
Holocaust and
Resistance
This lesson plan on the Holocaust and Resistance is featured on the EDSITEment, a site by the
National Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the National Trust for the Humanities
and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation. It features online humanities resources from some of the
world’s great museums, libraries, cultural institutions, and universities. In the lesson plan,
students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi
persecution. After reviewing the history of the Holocaust, in order to understand the legal and
bureaucratic authority with which the Nazis systematically enforced their policies, students debate
options for resistance and their likely outcomes.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?ID=275
International and Other Relevant Organizations
The Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
at the University of Minnesota
This site provides a list of, and links to, Holocaust organizations worldwide. It is composed of
several sections, including a virtual museum of Holocaust and genocide-related art; a section
dedicated to histories, narratives and documents, educational resources, links, and a bibliography;
and contact information.
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/
Jewish-Christian Relations
This site is owned and maintained by the International Council of Christians and Jews, which has 38
Christian-Jewish and interreligious member organizations in 32 countries. Its headquarters is in
the Martin Buber House in Heppenheim, Germany, where the great Jewish thinker lived until Nazi
persecution forced him to flee. The site features articles and book reviews, and links to resources
on anti-Semitism, world religions, and interfaith education.
http://www.jcrelations.net/en/
Diversity Tool Kit
This site is part of a funded project to assist teachers, students, scholars, and activists who
wish to promote equity and the acceptance of differences within schools and communities. Its
featured resources, which fit under the broad umbrella of social justice, cover a large and
diverse range of approaches, interests, and fields of study and action. While the site is not
specific to Holocaust education, educators will find the resources useful, especially the
information on the STOP program (Students and Teachers Opposing Prejudice) initiative.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dtoolkit/