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A recent national survey reported that millennials are struggling with their knowledge of the Holocaust. The survey results show that 22 percent of millennials have not heard of, or are not sure if they have heard of the Holocaust, and that 66 percent could not identify Auschwitz.
As a scholar of Holocaust education and teacher education, I argue that knowledge of specific facts is only a small part of knowing about any historical event, including the Holocaust. A more important question to consider is: What do we want students to learn from the Holocaust, and given there are fewer and fewer survivors alive to tell their story, is there a need to rethink how it is taught?
Why learn about Holocaust?
History educator Sam Wineburg argues that history as a discipline has the unique capacity to humanize us. More specifically, scholars Keith Barton and Linda Levstik argue that history education can and should promote reasoned judgment, help students develop an expanded view of humanity, and encourage deliberation of the common good.
From this perspective, the most important rationale for Holocaust education would be to create a better society. Indeed, when studying the Holocaust learners need to grapple with complicated moral issues that blur the lines between right and wrong. It also challenges ideas about how individuals could (or should) act in society. In other words, the Holocaust provides lessons in human rights and human conduct. Read more