Teaching the Holocaust in the Secondary School through an ethical dilemma. An interdisciplinary approach for making students aware of the rise the Neo- Nazizm in Greece as a consequence of the economic crisis (original) (raw)
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The Olga Lengyel Institute and Intercultural Institute Timisoara, 2022
This Handbook was inspired by the work with thousands of teachers in Europe, carried out by The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI), together with its partners in 10 European countries, over the last 10 years. The interdisciplinary approach that we propose in this handbook combines the approaches and methods of Holocaust education, human rights education and intercultural education, with the aim to guide students to learn about the past, understand the way in which the past is connected with the present and contribute to the development of democratic and intercultural societies in which every individual can live a life of dignity. This interdisciplinary methodology uses the lens of human rights to help teachers and students understand how an event like the Holocaust was possible, how the propaganda functioned and how the rights of Jewish people – and people belonging to other groups – were taken away progressively. At the same time, through the lens of the Holocaust, we can understand that today we need to take action when human rights are violated or at risk of being violated for members of any group living in our societies. This methodology develops students’ critical thinking and their ability to challenge populist messages that are becoming prevalent in European societies and elsewhere in the world. It raises their awareness about the unfair treatment of various groups in their society and about the need to take action. In this handbook, teachers can find: a rationale for an interdisciplinary approach combining Holocaust education, human rights education and intercultural education; an explanation of the ways in which this interdisciplinary approach can lead to the development of competences for democratic culture; an overview of the methodologies which are best suited for an interdisciplinary approach; a set of educational activities that can be used by the teachers with their students; as well as recommendations for further reading.
Holocaust at school: learning from or learning about
Protecting students from it, versus familiarising students with it. And not-forgetting versus not addressing it as subject-matter. The two contradictions complicate the question of how we are to deal with the Holocaust in schools. Ten years ago, I referred to this complexity in terms of four risks: simplification, lack of respect, unpalatable discussion and moralisation (Van der Ploeg 2008). There is in the meantime sufficient empirical evidence to assess these risks as realistic. I now want to focus mainly on the risk mentioned last, moralisation.
The Holocaust and Moral Education
Routledge eBooks, 2017
The Holocaust and Moral Education F""("1he belief that schoo~ hav.e a resp?nsibility t~ teach ~ values is a very old Idea m Amencan education. In recent years, however, the aims and methods of programs in moral education have become a subject of intense debate. Some critics believe that such programs distract schools from their essential academic mission. Religious conservatives, wary of curricula that they perceive as favoring moral relativism, insist that the teaching of values should be left to parents and religious institutions. Their distrust extends to classroom efforts to foster "critical thinking II by inviting students to discuss their personal responses to texts and historical events. One of the most widely adoptedand controversial approaches to moral education addresses the specific issues of prejudice, conformity, and individual responsibility. It does this by examining the rise of Nazism and its culmination in the Holocaust. Facing History and Ourselves, an organization created in 1976, has produced a curriculum and resource book and conducts workshops for teachers. Its materials are now offered, in some form, to 500,000 students-mostly eighth and ninth graders-each year. The program received an unexpected burst of attention last fall, when a political scientist who had criticized it for not presenting the "Nazi point of view" was named historian of the House of Representatives. Once her comments attracted public notice, Christina Jeffrey was abruptly dismissed. But her remarks provoked a spate of articles and letters in national publications concerning the teaching of the Holocaust. Most commentators spent little time refuting the charge that Facing History had fail.ed to aChi.eve "balance or objectivity" in its exploration of NaZIsm. Other, more significant questions about the programits assumptions and moral purposes-engaged them instead. Was the Holocaust a "unique" event in human history? Is it legitimate to compare the Holoca~st to other historical crimes, such as those perpetrated m the Soviet Union in the 1930s, Cambodia in the 1970s, Rwanda and Bosnia in the 1990s? Should the Holocaust be used as a reference point for teaching children about racism and social injustice in general-about scapegoating, intolerance, and prejudice that can occur in any society?
Toward a Philosophy of Holocaust Education: Teaching Values Without Imposing Agendas
This article is a meditation on the challenges of teaching Holocaust history. It begins from the premise that the Holocaust, because of the extreme violence it entailed and the atmosphere of moral uncertainty in which much of this violence unfolded, is a special subject of historical inquiry. The article asks whether Holocaust history can be compared to contemporary instances of mass violence without distorting its essential features. The author contends that Holocaust education in America is generally characterized by conflicting approaches, unclear objectives, and poorly conceived assessments of student learning. The author goes on to suggest how close and critical readings of Holocaust-era memoirs can support the model of transformative learning to which many Holocaust educators and history teachers aspire.
The Process of the Universalization of Holocaust Education: Problems and Challenges
Contemporary Jewry, 2017
This article discusses the process of the universalization of Holocaust education and sets its conceptual and educational framework, highlighting its pedagogical challenges and hazards. It explores the phenomenon of the universalization of Holocaust education as a means to combat racism and to analyze how a particularistic educational issue has become the subject of global, universalistic concern. Through reviewing current literature, it argues that the complexity of this approach needs to be considered, particularly with the increasing violence and xenophobia in the world. Drawing on the paradigm of the Holocaust, this universal approach to anti-racist education to promote peace and harmony globally within civil society has been promoted as a way of countering prejudice. However, there are pitfalls to seeking universal lessons from a particularistic event. These challenges can be addressed to advance anti-racist education using the Holocaust as a case study and thus developing a reflective culture of remembrance.
On open questions in Holocaust education
Inovacije u nastavi, 2021
Even though recent decades have borne witness to an increased educational interest in teaching the Holocaust, academic stances on why the topic should be taught still vary significantly. The aim of this paper is to present teaching interventions that would help educators to navigate through one of the most important open questions in Holocaust education: the question of aims. Three Holocaust-related teaching interventions, which themselves use open questions as the basis for teaching and learning, are presented and analysed. The open questions, as the background, allow the educators to simultaneously shift between various teaching aims. The interventions addressing the question of heroes, victims and bystanders, causal analysis of the Holocaust, and the responsibility of the Allies for the escalation of the Holocaust, are arranged in such a way so as to lead students from their day-today knowledge, through historical concepts, finally ending up addressing more abstract concepts. The analysis draws on literature related to both Holocaust education and the teaching of controversial issues, and covers a range of topics; from practical to more philosophical.
The Holocaust at School, between Remembrance and Oblivion
2020
In the context of a broader reflection on memory, the paper analyzes, some didactic experiences of teaching the Shoah in different formats in three Italian regions. . The value dimension of individual and collective memory, its ethical value, the study of its transmission methods through the generations, also in relation to the intercultural changes that have taken place in our society since the 1980s, are the main object of interest of this project. The objectives indicated by the project are analyzed in their realization and implementation. Among these, of special importance are: transforming superficial information and simple commemorative memory into meaningful learning; enabling memory to become active participation; contributing to the linkage of the emotional and cognitive dimensions.