Why Holocaust Education is Necessary

Each year around this time, a heavy shawl of sadness drapes itself around my shoulders. My usually optimistic view of the world becomes cynical, ever watchful for hints of intolerance in others. You see, I teach middle school Language Arts and this is the time of year when it is my duty to forever take away the innocence of my students by teaching them about the Holocaust. I cringe at the thought of what I must do each day while at the same time, I feel honored and obligated to guide them on what might be the most important journey of their young lives.

The more I learn about the Holocaust, the more in awe I become of those survivors I have had the privilege to meet. Women and men who were the same age my students are now...who lived through events unimaginable even to those of us who think we know a lot about them. Each morning before I begin the first lesson of the day, I sit for a minute and bring forth in my mind the faces of those people who have taught me just by being alive. It is for them that I continue in my quest to present the most accurate, expansive knowledge possible about a time whose facts seem like fiction because they are so hard to believe.

We begin the unit talking a lot about accountability. When something happens to another person, what is our responsibility as fellow humans? I try to break it down into terms my students can comprehend. We discuss the environment of the middle school hallway between classes, when all of life's ups and downs are experienced in four-minute episodes. When someone is being bullied, what is the bystander's role? Is it enough not to be the bully or is there something more that needs to be done? So many times, I have heard a student say to another, "Well, it's not my problem so what do I care?" That kind of statement answers the question of why Holocaust education is necessary.