Holocaust education

Simone Schweber

pp. 461-478

in: Helena Miller, Lisa Grant, Alex Pomson (eds), International handbook of Jewish education, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

Considered as a field of inquiry, research on Holocaust education remains highly underdeveloped. Most research has focused on the production of Holocaust meaning rather than its reception. Thus, while the Holocaust is taught about in different countries and at various grade-levels, the effects of such efforts remain elusive, especially within Jewish educational settings. Much Holocaust education continues to focus on victims' experiences rather than to broaden understanding of perpetrators' choices, though this varies considerably by region. In this era of continued genocidal violence, it seems worth asking what Holocaust education looks like in practice, investing much more research on what it enacts, and building new endeavors on its results. What might Holocaust education do if conceptualized not from the standpoint of building nations or concretizing collective memory but as a project of global citizenship and human understanding? More research holds out the hope of finding a shorter path to a more humane world.