Lessons from the Shoah for history, memory, and human rights

Abstract

Around the world, Holocaust education is entangled with contemporary political controversies and geopolitical struggles. The historical legacy of anti-Semitism and the on-going conflict in Israel and Palestine contribute to this emotionally and politically charged debate. As a consequence, teachers and others involved in education may not feel well equipped to handle the subject. Even advocates of Holocaust education differ greatly in their basic conceptualizations of the topic, on its place in the curriculum, and on its significance in their teaching. In European countries, the focus on the Holocaust is embedded in the teaching of history, due to its historical and contextual significance; however, in some developing and emerging countries that are seeking to develop more international or world-society perspectives, the topic is more relevant as an element in citizenship education and is linked to the teaching of universal human rights. Bromley and Russell, and Eckmann, both in this issue, point this out. For these reasons, Holocaust education is often justified not on the basis of its historical significance, but as a way to guide individual and collective conduct in order to oppose bigotry in the present and future. Holocaust education can make a great contribution if its lessons help to protect human rights, and if they counteract hostility and discrimination along such too-common demarcations as class, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, and sexual orientation. Is this justification for studying the Holocaust borne out by its practice in schools? This special issue includes important contributions and new insights from researchers who have examined the practices of Holocaust education in various parts of the world. An open call for papers for this issue brought more than 30 contributions, a pool of highquality papers that greatly exceeded our expectations, so much so that we decided to produce a double issue on the topic. The broad interest and new research is a testimony both to the significance of the field and to its challenges. The meaning and significance of Holocaust education vary with the peoples to whom and the places where it is taught. While the Holocaust was a catastrophic and devastating event, it is also the most researched and documented genocide in human history, and