Ashleigh Bugg
“The Future of Holocaust Education” was the topic of the first 2016 briefing hosted by the Department of Public Information for nongovernmental organizations.
“When we talk about the Holocaust, everyone has a huge responsibility…not just Jewish survivors or civil groups, but politicians,” said Hungarian panelist Szabolcs Takács, chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“We have a strong moral and political responsibility.”
The main ideas addressed were:
- how to expand teacher training and Holocaust education around the world
- how to adapt with the rise of multicultural classroom settings
- how to deal with fewer eye witnesses to testify to the Holocaust
- how international organizations should respond
Takács tells a story about a politician in Western Europe who had an alarming realization in 1997. Although he lived in a free nation, children were ignorant about the Holocaust. How was it, he wondered, the children did not know? And how could he fix the problem of forgetting?
According to Takács, the trauma of the Holocaust was distorted by a policy to forget in countries under the Iron Curtain. It’s only been 25 years since some countries have talked openly about the tragedy. Today, it’s the conviction of the IHRA to fight anti-Semitism and hatred through education. Through education, they believe they can reach longer, more sustainable goals.
The role of IHRA, which is an intergovernmental organization, is about educating societies about this part of their joint history. They say politicians and governments are responsible for national curricula and must continue to introduce things like National Holocaust Remembrance days.
We have to identify the root causes. Governments cannot be bystanders.”—Szabolcs Takács
Holocaust Education Dos and Don’ts
Do:
- Use media and technology
- Listen to survivor stories
“We should invest in testimony based projects, preparing for the future when we won’t have the survivors.”
- Present to children in their own language
“We have educational materials in all 6 UN languages. Each office explores ways to identify a local context. In South Africa, they address apartheid, not necessarily to compare but to comprehend what it might have been. In China, they talk about what happened in Nanjing. Films, subtitled in the children’s language, make a huge difference.”