Running head: hOLOCAUST AWARENESS IN AMERICA

Holocaust Awareness in America

Nereiah, Leeann Herrera
University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1302

Instructor: Veronica Cruz

hOLOCAUST AWARENESS IN AMERICA

Abstract
The Holocaust, an absolutly petrifying event that affected numerous lifes in
history, which various generations are growing up unaware of the importance of being educated
on past events. Awareness into the American education system regarding the Holocaust has
grown to becoming an argumentative issue. The purpose of this literacy review is to inform
reader towards the issue that has become of great concern to many by providing the input of
creditable researchers towards the Holocaust awareness in American education systems.
Keywords: Holocaust, American, Awareness, issue

hOLOCAUST AWARENESS IN AMERICA

Holocaust Awareness in America

The Holocaust is one of many gruesome events that is responsible for mass murder,
disease, torture, and the loss of loved ones of targeted victims such as Jews, homosexuals,
Jehovah Witnesses, Gypsies, Christians, outspoken resistors and political dissidents, the
handicapped, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war due to their racial inferiority. The targeted
victims of the Holocaust were forced to accept many misfortunes from Nazis, seeing as the
victims had no choice. Nazis are also known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party
who followed the pernicious leader, Adolf Hitler.
The Holocaust didnt just happen out of the blue, there are other events that lead to such
horrors; events that would have to go through a process to increase Holocaust awareness in
America. Awareness would have to begin with the people who will lead the world in the course
of time who are the growing generation today. Adolescents are the direct focus towards the
inquisition of weather the teaching of the Holocaust should be added to the curriculum in
American studies. The Holocaust is known as a very sensitive topic and at many times unknown
by different age groups. Consequently, the unknown leads to even more ghastly events just as it
has come to before with torture of the innocent and attack of the terrorist, which leads to
vulnerability of society and peace of mind.
Unfortunately, the idea of raising awareness of the Holocaust in America is not set for
everyone, seeing as some educators believe that it is not necessary, however, the reasons against
it are very limited. The lack of Holocaust Awareness in America is an issue of great concern
which may take time for some kind of change, but possible through the voice of the concerned,
which leads to the consideration of three solemn questions:

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1. Why should American students middle and secondary be educated in the Holocaust?
2. Should the Holocaust be in American studies?
3. Why do some educators believe in banding Nazism in the American curriculum?
This Literature Review will accommodate information regarding Holocaust awareness in
America, as well as events in history, and the reasons behind moving forward for a change or
looking the other way.
Why should American students in secondary classrooms be educated in the Holocaust?
As mentioned in the introduction the growing generation today are our leaders for future
years. The youth will be our educators, engineers, doctors, army, government, etc. in the course
of time, which is the reason for the direct aim towards adolescents in secondary classrooms to be
educated in the Holocaust. Studies of the Holocaust will not only have a focus towards that
specific event, but also those which led to it, similar events which have recently happened, and
moral values all of which according to Roselle Chartock (designer of the first Holocaust units
intended for use in a public school) will successfully teach students how to become decisionmakers rather than ignorant cogs in the machine of society (Fallace, 2006). Current curriculums
regarding Holocaust studies contain the usage of emotional attractions, seeing as what is shown
to the students are first-hand accounts and actual [films and] images of the Holocaust, as
opposed to make believe scenarios (Fallace, 2006). Emotional attraction will interest the
student to ask for the whole reason behind such horrors, which is ultimately the goal.
Studies on the Holocaust have a correspondence to history and literature to help
educators teach students a very broad definition of the Holocaust. History contains events that
led and ended the Holocaust such as the Treaty of Versailles, the becoming of Hitler the
Chancellor, Nuremburg Laws, the Evian Conference, Kristallnacht, The Final Solution, defeat of
the Nazis, and the liberation of concentration camps in that order.

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Educator Paul Lyons believes that the comparison of everyday life and society to history
will allow students to realize that even though great conflict isnt involved as much as it is into
history; society is very similar from then and now. Lyons (2001) way to explain such speculation
is through the mention of group oriented study programs, where students segregate themselves
to unique studies in relation to ethnicity or gender. Lyons (2001) reason to teaching the
Holocaust in America is the essential need to know the contextual nature of human behavior, its
range and subtleties, and the contradictory ways that humans respond to moral challenges,
through the understanding of histories marks.
Lyons (2001) taught a master's level course called The Holocaust and the American
Experience with the intent of placing the Shoah within an [sic] historical and comparative
framework, recognizing both its distinctive features and its inevitable similarities to other
moments of horror in human history. Historys events involving loss of life and fight due to race
and ethnicity are the events that should be taught to students according to Lyons (2001).
Corresponding events similar to that of the Holocaust include African American slavery and
racism, followed by considerations of anti-immigrant nativism, the Klan of the 1920s, possible
fascist dangers during both the Depression and the McCarthy era, American governmental
responses to the Holocaust, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the My
Lai massacre, and the contemporary dilemmas of multiculturalism and ethnic diversity, which
will bring into light how often catastrophes occur do to failure to accept all as one.
Literature is involved in the study of the Holocaust through short stories, novels, poems,
etc. which according to researcher Edna Greene Brabham (1997) its a way to educate students to
open their minds to different perspectives of a child, adult, or elder during the Holocaust
catastrophe. Brabham, mentions specific books that can help an educator keep away from books

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that many are usually re-exposed to, for example, The Diary of Ann Frank (Brabham, 1977),
and give a better focus to books like The Devils Arithmetic (Yolen), We are Witnesses (Boas),
Jewish Migrations (Rutter), Tell Them We Remember (Bachrach), Star of Fear; Star of Hope
(Hoestlandt), and many more, which will make the student as the reader taste what it is
innocence went through during the Holocaust.
Considerably, in America New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Illinois, such
study is a legal requirement, while in sixteen additional states it is highly recommended (Bassat,
2000), although not usually enforced. Educators and Holocaust education experts widely accept
Holocaust education as a morally signicant addition to Americas middle and secondary
classrooms (Shoemaker, 2003).
A survey reestablishing
Holocaust education was conducted
by Nereiah Herrera at the University
of Texas at El Paso on March 20,
2016. Herrera surveyed 24 students
to inquire the necessity and
importance of incorporating
Holocaust education in secondary
classrooms. She found that 91.67% (Figure 1)
believed that there should be more Holocaust

Figure 1: Survey Holocaust Awareness in

America (March 20, 2016) conducted by Nereiah
Herrera, student at the University of Texas at El
Paso.

education, whereas 8.33% (Figure 1) felt that it would be a waste of money and time to educate
secondary classroom students on an event that happened over 50 years ago.
Should the Holocaust be in American studies?

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Researcher Ruth Shoemaker mentions that the teaching of the Holocaust is not only about
the understanding of the event, but mainly the understanding of humanity where even
unintentional indifference and silence to the sufferings and human rights infringements of others
perpetuates victimization.also. that the Holocaust was not inevitable but rather occurred
because people made choices that legitimized prejudice, hatred and mass murder (Teaching
about the Holocaust, 2000). This claim can also be agreed by educator Paul Lyons (2001) and
analyst Thomas D. Fallace, seeing as Lyons (2001) purpose to teaching is to increase the moral
values in humanity, while Fallace analyzes the identity, morality, emotions, and values of
students during the 1960s and 1970s, which was around the time that the affective
revolution (Fallace, 2006) introduced the Holocaust as a topic of study (Fallace, 2006).
To teach something that is not necessarily new in existence, but new to an educational
curriculum requires the teaching to the teachers, which is essential to get the correct knowledge
to the students. Before considering what materials should be taught in a course educators have to
be ready to deal with a subject involving so many difficulties (Bassat, 2000), such as the
Holocaust. Teaching the Holocaust involves a great deal of work and long waiting periods. The
main concerns that are of usual focus are technical problems, such as the lack of appropriate
curricula, limited time, and the absence of suitable teachers (Bassat. 2000), and till this day it
has failed to be sufficiently addressed (Bassat, 2000).
Brabham (1997) mentions in her conclusion that living memory of the Holocaust
passes away with the generation of people for whom the Holocaust was a world reality. For
children and grandchildren of the generation that lived through World War 11, which essentially
answers the solemn question, Should the Holocaust be in American Studies? with Brabhams

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(1997) inferred answer that knowledge of the Holocaust must depend on information and
education, not personal experience or memory.
Why do some educators believe in banding Nazism in the American curriculum?
Teaching of the Holocaust contains valuable reasons as an addition to the American
curriculum, although, it also contains reasons to disregard the Holocaust as a study in the
American education system. Bassat (2000) mentions that teaching the Holocaust may lead
some students to veer from moral questions the curriculum is supposed to raise, and cause them
to identify with the criminals (Bassat, 2000), and possibly inspire students to turn to violence.
Short (2005) mentions that American historian Peter Novick uses bystanders as an
example to providing a reason why teaching of the Holocaust is a waste of time by arguing that
we can learn nothing from bystanders passivity because of the very unusual circumstances in
which they found themselves (Short, 2005), seeing as those going against Hitler (Chancellor of
Germany during WWII) were punished along with their families. Then, Short (2005) quotes
(Spiro Institute/Holocaust Educational Trust, 1997, p. 22) with the affirmation that the Holocaust
reminder of hatred of others who are different and who are placed beyond the pale of
humanity [which] can lead only to group violence and atrocity. In other words, once a society
becomes strong and advanced can become totally criminal once it loses the ability and the will
to distinguish between right and wrong. The teaching of history or in this case the Holocaust
can lead to an incline to the greater good or rising of power just as Hitler did while conducting
Hitler Youth to create a big army from the growing generation that was molded to becoming
criminals of war.
Conclusion/ Synthesis

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This literacy review has provided information regarding the different views
towards Holocaust Awareness in America through credible sources concerning the issue.
Providing readers with the opportunity to dictate weather Holocaust studies are essential in
America. The Holocaust is one of many gruesome events that took away a lot from many people
even those who were guilty of horrible actions. An event which created a new chapter in history,
and has been questioned to becoming a subject in education. This is an issue that has grown
concern to many historians and educators. It most definitely is an issue of great argument and can
have supportive reasons behind both sides, and an issue that can be taken off the list with a
society response. The Holocaust may or may not teach society to a better world, but in order to
actually know; a process must come into action, seeing as a silent voice never got anyone
anywhere.

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10

References
Edna Greene Brabham (1997) Holocaust Education: Legislation, Practices, and literature for
Middle-School Students, The Social Studies, 88:3, 139-142. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00377999709603761
Geoffrey Short (2005) Learning from genocide? A study in the failure of Holocaust education,
Intercultural Education, 16:4, 367-380. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10.1080/14675980500303845
Nurith Ben Bassat (2000) HOLOCAUST AWARENESS AND EDUCSTION IN THE
UNITED STATES, Religious Education, 95:4, 402-423. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0034408000950404
Paul Lyons (November 2001) Teaching the Holocaust in America: Historically Speaking, V: 3
N2, 19-21. Retrieved from http://muse,jhu.edu/journals/hsp/summary/v003/3.2.lyins.html
Ruth Shoemaker (2003) Teaching the Holocaust in Americas Schools: Some considerations for
teachers 1, Intercultural Education, 14:2, 191-199. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14675980304570
Spiro Institute/Holocaust Education Trust (1997) Lessons of the Holocaust (London, Spiro
Institute/Holocaust Education Trust).
Teaching About the Holocaust: a rescue book for educators (2000). Washington, D.C: United
States Holocaust Museum.
Thomas D. Fallace (2006) The Origins of Holocaust Education in American Public
Schools, V: 20 N1, 80-102. Retrieved from https://hgs.oxfordjournals.org