Teaching about the Holocaust demands a high level of sensitivity and keen awareness of the complexity of the subject matter.
The AHEC recommends that teachers review the following guidelines before beginning their instruction.
- Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Why Simulation Activities Should Not Be Used, Anti-Defamation League
Additional pedagogical resources can be found in the AHEC Curriculum Links under the section “Begin Your Unit.”
Excerpt of a letter written by a Holocaust survivor to educators,
published in Teacher and Child by Dr. Haim Ginott, child psychologist and author
Dear Teacher,
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.