Adorno's dictum that it is impossible adequately to the is certainly as compelling as Elie Wiesel's admonition that we must never forget.1 Yet too often German teachers-and authors of German language textbooks-respond to the difficulties of historical representation rather than to the duty of remembrance. There is a genuine dilemma in attempting both tasks simultaneously; but playing it safe by failing to mention (or treating only superficially) Nazism, the Second World War, and the Holocaust in particular is a far greater failing than the unavoidable pitfall of oversimplification. It is my contention that authentic materials can and should be introduced in the elementary curriculum in order to redress the lacunae and distortions evident in even the best introductory textbooks. Since there is an abundance of WWII/ Holocaust material available to intermediate and advanced readers,2 I will restrict myself to the elementary level. Drawing on sample texts for illustration, as well as invaluable input from colleagues and students, I hope to reverse the widespread assumption that language skills at the beginning level are too limited to approach a topic as complex as the Holocaust. Since curricular reform of any type depends upon the cooperation and commitment of instructors, I focus in Part 1 on teacher attitudes toward the inclusion of materials on Nazism and the Holocaust in the elementary course. Those already convinced of the merits of such a project may wish to proceed directly to Part 2, which considers the major introductory textbooks from the perspective of their treatment of the Third Reich. Part 3 (along with the appendices) is intended to compensate for the dearth of documentary materials available in these first year books: Here I include an original interview with the Jewish German emigres Ruth and Sam Dreifus (1993), Ernst Toller's open letter to Joseph Goebbels (1933), and a short piece of testimony given in 1946 by the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolph H68. These texts open up perspectives and raise issues that are often passed over in silence in the introductory German textbook. Additionally, they represent documents which are authen tic both linguistically and in terms of historical accuracy-a welcome improvement over those overburdened artificial texts intended both to demonstrate some grammatical lesson as well as treat a major historical era.