To Teach and How to Teach the Holocaust: That Is the Question

Abstract

Although facts about the Holocaust are generally known, many adults find it difficult to convey this information to children, as it is often considered too disturbing for them. Teachers, in particular, need alternate ways to introduce students to the Holocaust and other disasters. Based on a document study of children's drawings from the Terezin concentration camp and research about the Holocaust and pedagogy for presenting difficult issues to children, this article presents a strategy for teachers to introduce the Holocaust to students in grades 6–10. We begin with a discussion about how to introduce sensitive historical material, such as the Holocaust, to young children. Current teaching models about the Holocaust are based on factual texts or fictional writings. This is followed by a poem, developed from Haring's research, introducing the Holocaust while conferring facts about the life of a fictitious child in the Terezin concentration camp. Teacher notes elaborate on how to implement this poem in class. We found that art, such as poetry, can be utilized to teach children about sensitive issues like the disaster of the Holocaust. Furthermore, this poem is written from the perspective of a child interned in Terezin, who may or may not have survived.