Holocaust Education FCIS presentation · Sample statements –responding “probably true ......

transcript

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

How to introduce or enrichHolocaust education in your school

Hello!■ Lauren Fantle, Upper School English teacher at Maclay School in Tallahassee, FL

■ Passionate about reading, writing, and I love teaching teens.

■ Involved with HERC – Holocaust Education Resource Council

■ Always interested in Holocaust: See my article about recent trip to Poland here.

■ Holocaust Education trunk: winner of the Dewitt E. and Vera M. Hooker Fellowship Grant from FCIS.

Holocaust education TRUNK

■ Class set Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi and Night by Elie Wiesel

■ Teacher materials, curriculum guides (Echoes & Reflections, etc.)

■ DVD’s and accompanying curriculum

■ Journal documenting where/how trunk was usedIntegration of subject areas

Cooperative learning

Multiple intelligences

Emphasis on reading and writing skills

Collaborative opportunities

WHYshould we have Holocaust education?

Why should we have Holocaust education?

■ Mandatory in Public schools – Florida mandate

FS 1003.42 Required Holocaust Education Mandate Public School Instruction

The history of the Holocaust (1933-1945), the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions.

Holocaust denial and antisemitism

■ Sadly, Holocaust denial and antisemitism are on the rise.

Sources:

USHMM - Holocaust denial and distortion

Dept. of State

WORLD VIEW

■ Less than half of those surveyed under the age of 35 have ever heard of the Holocaust.

■ 2 out of every 3 people surveyed have either never heard of the Holocaust or do not believe the historical accounts to be accurate.

Source: American Defamation League (What is the ADL ?)

USA VIEW

■ 21 million people harbor antisemitic attitudes.

Sample statements – responding “probably true”

Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind (13%)

Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust (22%)

Source: ADL - USA survey

Hon. Samantha Power(US (US Ambassador to the United Nations,

August 5, 2013 – January 20, 2017)

“It would be a grave mistake to view antisemitism as something that merely affects the Jewish people. Antisemitism is a form of discrimination against citizens that affects all of us.

You do see antisemitism correlating with an intolerance generally.

That is fundamentally going to constitute a threat to the kind of discourse and tolerance that

are the bedrock of our democracies.”Source

Deborah E. Lipstadt(Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and

Holocaust Studies, Emory College)

“Historians of antisemitism have long argued that antisemitism, it begins with the Jews but it never ends with the Jews.

It transcends place. It transcends nationality.

We can document antisemitic attacks through the middle ages, and we can document them certainly in the 20th century and now we can document them in the 21st century.

It has legs that I think other hatreds haven’t had.”Source

According to the US Department of State:

“History has shown that wherever antisemitism has gone unchecked, the persecution

of others has been present or not far behind.

Defeating antisemitism must be a cause of great importance not only for Jews, but for

all people who value humanity and justice.”

Source

Martin NiemöllerbiographyMartin Niemöller, a prominent Protestant pastor who opposed the Nazi regime. He spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. Source

Survivors are becoming elderly or are passing on.

Mary Wygodski, age 92, tells her Holocaust survival story

The next generation (our students) will be teachers of the Holocaust.

HOW to enrich or introduce Holocaust education in your school?

How to enrich or introduce

Start a Professional Learning Community (PLC),and share ideas on a learning management system, such as

Schoology.

Example: Schoology Holocaust PLC

Find your local resources

Tallahassee and surrounding areas - Holocaust Education Resource Council

Email – Barbara Goldstein

Other areas -

Task Force on Holocaust Education - contact information

■ Use only the best resources. These are the BEST:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Florida Holocaust Museum

Yad Vashem

Echoes and Reflections

Facing History and Ourselves

I Witness – USC Shoah Foundation

■ Make certain to adhere to best practices.

■ Keep reading and studying reputable materials!

Schedule a trip to St. Petersburg’s FL Holocaust Museum■ Florida Holocaust Museum

■ Contact: Sandy Mermelstein,

Senior Educator

Create a Holocaust Remembranceevent

■ Remembrance days at Maclay School: April 19 and 20

■ School-wide event to showcase projects, research, art, etc.

■ Schoology page

■ Daffodil project (bulb for researched teenager and written biography)

Holocaust Lit & Film

After getting an area approved by administration, the students

loosened the soil to prepare it for the daffodil bulbs.

Holocaust Lit & Film

What to avoid

■ Remember that simulation activities should not be used.

■ Fables, such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and inaccurate movies(Until a historically solid foundation has been set)

■ Concentrating on the large numbers and statistics

(Instead, teach about the individuals and their stories.)

■ More information here: Holocaust teaching guidelines

Universe of Obligation■ Activity (if time)

We and They

Creating Conditions of Tolerance

Burger King bullying ad

I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness:

Gas chambers built by learned engineers.

Children poisoned by educated physicians.

Infants killed by trained nurses.

Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates.

So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: help your students become human.

Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns.

Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more humane.

A letter written by a Holocaust survivor to educators, published in Teacher and Child by Dr. Haim Ginott, (pictured)child psychologist and author

“Those who teach and encourage the teaching of the Holocaustshould be honored and exalted.”

Elie Wiesel

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Holocaust Education FCIS presentation · Sample statements –responding “probably true ......

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