Often, I have been asked why Greencastle-Antrim High School offers this class and why I chose to teach it because the study of human rights abuses and genocides are such dark and disturbing topics.
Why I am committed to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides:
To help students understand the consequences of prejudice, racism, and hatred of others in all its ugly forms.
To show students what it means to be a responsible citizen and that our democratic principles and values must be protected and nurtured.
To stress the disastrous consequences of silence or indifference to the suffering of others who are oppressed.
To show students how the abuse of power can lead to tragedy and that individuals can make a difference.
To instill in students a sense of justice so that genocides can be stopped or prevented from happening.
To honor the memory of the rescuers who risked teir lives to save others.
To honor the millions of the innocent children, women, and men who are murdered in genocides.
Why use the Holocaust and genocide to teach these concepts?
1. The Holocaust is one of the most extensively documented historical events for examining moral issues and human behavior.
2. We still have living witnesses to the Holocaust - survivors, rescuers, and even perpetrators.
3. The lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned as evidenced in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq, and Darfur.
We have so much work to do to stop man's inhumanity to man.
4. The following passage from the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust is powerful. Substitute the "tragedy of September 11th" and "terrorists" for the words, "Holocaust" and "Nazis" and once can see how history does indeed repeat itself and how vital it is that we commit ourselves to teaching and learning the power of compassion and understanding toward our fellow man.
"The magnitude of the Holocaust (September 11, 2001), planned and carried out by the Nazis (terrorists) must be forever seared in our collective
memory. The selfless sacrifices of those who defied the Nazis (terrorists) and sometimes gave their own lives to protect or rescue the Holocaust's
(September 11th's) victims, must also be inscribed in our hearts. The depths of that horror, and the heights of their heroism, can be touchstones
in our understanding of the human capacity for evil and good."
Often, I have been asked why Greencastle-Antrim High School offers this class and why I chose to teach it because the study of human rights abuses and genocides are such dark and disturbing topics.
Why I am committed to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides:
Why use the Holocaust and genocide to teach these concepts?
1. The Holocaust is one of the most extensively documented historical events for examining moral issues and human behavior.
2. We still have living witnesses to the Holocaust - survivors, rescuers, and even perpetrators.
3. The lessons of the Holocaust have not been learned as evidenced in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq, and Darfur.
We have so much work to do to stop man's inhumanity to man.
4. The following passage from the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust is powerful. Substitute the "tragedy of September 11th" and "terrorists" for the words, "Holocaust" and "Nazis" and once can see how history does indeed repeat itself and how vital it is that we commit ourselves to teaching and learning the power of compassion and understanding toward our fellow man.
"The magnitude of the Holocaust (September 11, 2001), planned and carried out by the Nazis (terrorists) must be forever seared in our collective
memory. The selfless sacrifices of those who defied the Nazis (terrorists) and sometimes gave their own lives to protect or rescue the Holocaust's
(September 11th's) victims, must also be inscribed in our hearts. The depths of that horror, and the heights of their heroism, can be touchstones
in our understanding of the human capacity for evil and good."