This multipart resource is intended to help teachers support students’ understanding of genocide in the context of their Holocaust education.
Why is it valuable to teach about genocide in the context of learning about the Holocaust?
• The Holocaust is often considered to have given rise to our conceptualization of the term "genocide," which was coined during the Second World War, in large measure as a response to the crimes of the Nazis and their collaborators. Therefore the Holocaust can be an effective starting point and the foundation for studying genocide.
• Students can sharpen their understanding not only of similarities between events but also of key differences. In so doing, it may be an opportunity to better understand the particular historical significance of the Holocaust, and how study of the Holocaust may contribute to our understanding of other genocidal events.
• Students can identify common patterns and processes in the development of genocidal situations. Through the understanding of a genocidal process and by identifying stages and warning signs in this process, a contribution can hopefully be made to prevent future genocides.
• Students can appreciate the significance of the Holocaust in the development of international law, establishment of tribunals, and attempts by the international community to respond to genocide in the modern world.
• Students can gain awareness of the potential danger for other genocides and crimes against humanity that existed prior to the Holocaust and continue to the present day. This may strengthen an awareness of their own roles and responsibilities in the global community.
[1] "Education Working Group Paper on the Holocaust and Other Genocides" (2010)
Additional Considerations
• A central tenant of the Echoes & Reflections methodology is the use of primary source materials, which we have provided in the form of visual history testimonies. Learn more about the Echoes & Reflections pedagogy here.
These programs are designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge, capacity, and confidence to teach about the Holocaust. Educators are introduced to pedagogical principles and explore classroom lessons, visual history testimonies and other resources that examine aspects of the history and its continued relevance today. Programs can provide broad historical overview grounded in effective instructional strategies or focus on specific themes aligned with Echoes & Reflections Units below:
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Grounded in relevant aspects of Holocaust history, the following programs connect learning to contemporary issues and concerns of today, introducing Echoes & Reflections and supplementary classroom resources to examine these topics with students.
Antisemitism: Understanding and Countering this Hatred Today
It is critical for young people to understand the dangers of antisemitism today and the threat that it poses to both Jewish and non-Jewish populations. This program helps teachers to educate about antisemitism, examining its complexities from historic and contemporary perspectives. Educators gain strategies to help students respond to and counter antisemitism and forms of hate.
Advancing Civic Participation through Holocaust Education
Studying the Holocaust imparts essential lessons of civic values, including justice, tolerance, and the importance of democratic liberties. By using Echoes pedagogical approach and examining the rise of the Nazi party, participants bridge memory into action and inspire students to participate in political processes in their community.
Analyzing Propaganda and Teaching Media Literacy: The Holocaust as a Case Study
Participants explore the events of the Holocaust through the lens of media, by examining propaganda deployed by the Nazis to discriminate against Jews and other minorities. Educators gain tools to facilitate classroom discussions and support students to analyze media in today’s world.
How We Remember: The Legacy of the Holocaust Today
How did the world respond when the reality of the Holocaust came to light? During this program, educators examine the pursuit of justice at Nuremberg, the effect the trials had on how we understand the Holocaust, how survivors coped with the trauma to build new lives in the aftermath, and how we remember and memorialize the Holocaust today.
Teaching About Genocide
Using effective pedagogy, educators examine four specific genocides, including the Holocaust, to explore common themes. Participants learn about the identities of victims of genocide before the catastrophe as well as how a society was incited and organized to attack them. Educators also look at the effects of genocide on society as well as how memorialization and memory affect their legacies.
It Starts with Words: Teaching the Escalation of Hate
The Holocaust arose out of antisemitic hatred fueled in part by the power of words. Participants examine the escalation of words to violence, which in turn, became genocide in order to consider where such a progression might have been interrupted. Educators also gain tools to apply these lessons to modern day issues faced by students.
An important element of the Echoes & Reflections approach is the inclusion of multidisciplinary methods to ensure students learn the human story behind the Holocaust. These programs, of particular interest to ELA and Humanities educators, highlight various sources – from literature to photographs – to engage learners.
Creating Context for Teaching the Holocaust through Literature
In this program, educators learn instructional strategies for teaching the Holocaust through literary selections. This could include a focus on Elie Wiesel’s Night, The Diary of Anne Frank, and/or Maus, or can be adapted to include other works of literature for the classroom by request. In all cases, participants explore Echoes & Reflections resources to provide essential, larger historical framework of the Holocaust to integrate into their classroom instruction. This approach will help build historical understanding, create empathy, and provoke compassion with students.
Women in the Holocaust
The Nazi regime subjected women to violence that was unique to the gender of the victims, and examining the Holocaust through this lens creates a more nuanced understanding and insight into the use of gender as a weapon. This program explores the unique experiences of women as they focused on daily survival, refused to be dehumanized, and were often at the heart of resistance, whether spiritual, cultural, or armed. This program can be tailored to focus on women as fierce resistors, as survivors of the Nazi death machine, or as rescuers awarded the title “Righteous Among the Nations.”
Teaching the Holocaust Using the Humanities: Integrating Photographs, Literature, Art, and Poetry to tell the Human Story
Educators learn strategies to integrate multiple primary sources into Holocaust instruction with a focus on the human experience. Programs can examine a range of sources or be narrowed to focus on a specific type of source including specific programs on The Auschwitz Album, Photography as Resistance, etc.
Examining the Holocaust and World War II: Teaching with The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein
What did the average American know about the Holocaust as it was occurring and what was the response? This program uses content from The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, to examine how the American people responded to one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of the twentieth century, and how this catastrophe challenged our identity as a nation and the very ideals of our democracy.
Echoes & Reflections is proud to partner with USC Shoah Foundation, Hold On To Your Music Foundation, and Discovery Education to bring the Willesden READS Program to students and teachers in select cities across the United States.
Discover teaching resources to support the Willesden READS and more at The Willesden Project.
THE STORYThe Children of Willesden Lane–editions now available for readers across grade levels-is the best-selling story about the power of music and how one teenage refugee, Lisa Jura, Mona’s mother, held onto her dreams, survived the Holocaust and inspired a generation of her contemporaries. Today's worldwide humanitarian crises and the importance of standing up against bigotry and hatred are reflected in the continued, growing relevance of this story.
THE PROGRAMThe centerpiece event of the Willesden READS Program is a 50-minute one of a kind livestreamed event including a theatrical performance and concert based on the The Children of Willesden Lane story. More than one million students across the world have experienced the Willesden READS program. During this special remote event, students will have opportunities to interact with the book's author, performer and virtuoso concert pianist Mona Golabek, who offers uplifting messages of resilience and hope for students at a time when they most need it.
In advance of the livestream event, educators are invited to participate in professional development, provided by Echoes & Reflections, to deepen understanding of the historical context of The Children of Willesden Lane books and to learn to incorporate companion resources found in IWitness, USC Shoah Foundation's educational website, into their teaching.
Watch this brief video to learn more about the Willesden READS Program.
Currently in the United States, 12 states mandate Holocaust education, 5 have permissive statutes (legislation that is not a requirement), 14 support a Holocaust education commission or taskforce, 4 have legislation pending, and 22 have no legislation regarding Holocaust education (note: some states may fall into multiple categories).
Tap the button below to review state legislation. Visit this page on desktop to explore an interactive map.
For questions, and for more information on our offerings and/or on Holocaust education in your state, please contact us at info@echoesandreflections.org.
The map below tracks state legislation (passed and pending) regarding Holocaust and genocide education, as well as taskforces/commissions established by such law. Any state or school district may include Holocaust studies in their curriculum without state policy, and many do so with great rigor and commitment; this does not reflect those individual curricular decisions.
Currently in the United States, 26 states mandate Holocaust education, 5 have permissive statutes (legislation that is not a requirement), 17 support a Holocaust education commission or task force, 4 have legislation pending, and 10 have no legislation regarding Holocaust education (note: some states may fall into multiple categories).
To filter by legislative status, select one of these categories using the tool below.
One of the most important aspects of ensuring effective learning by students— whether required by legislation or not—is supporting educators’ knowledge, skills, and capacity to teach this history with accuracy and meaning.
Regardless of legislative mandates, Echoes & Reflections strongly recommends that all educators and school districts ground Holocaust education in effective pedagogy that informs their curricular and instructional decisions. Our Pedagogical Principles for Effective Holocaust Instruction provides a solid framework to assess current teaching practices and plan for future classroom instruction. Professional development programs (offered both in-person and online) provide in-depth guidance and training to support educators as they plan and implement Holocaust lessons and courses.
For questions, and for more information on our offerings and/or on Holocaust education in your state, please contact us at info@echoesandreflections.org.