At what point does learning about the Holocaust stop doing good?
Malaika Handa
I understand why we study it, of course. (Each year we spend time discussing that, too.) The 6 million people killed deserve to be remembered. It is a huge stain on our history. It still affects us today (with the formation of Israel, for example). And, of course, we cannot allow history to repeat itself. This last point has been hammered into my head what feels like a hundred times.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t cover the Holocaust at all-- of course we should. I would never, ever suggest that we strike it from our curriculum. I’m simply wondering why this subject is picked over and over again by, what seems like, every single school for an extended unit. It’s not as though it is the only genocide-- the Armenian Genocides killed 1.5 million people, the war in Darfur, Sudan, is estimated to have killed close to 3 million, and the Rwandan Genocide is also responsible for around 1 million deaths. In the midst of all of these global issues, we come back to the Holocaust again and again. I’ve devoted 8 months to the Holocaust and not even two days to the Armenian Genocides, not even a single day to the Rwandan Genocide.
For all 11 years that I have been in school, there has been a Holocaust unit. It’s not a lesson or a powerpoint or a project, but a hefty unit that lasts about 2 or 3 weeks. Several times it’s been 2 or 3 weeks in two different subjects-- English and History for example. All in all, I would guess that I have spent about 8 months learning about the Holocaust-- almost an entire school year.
We usually read a historical fiction novel or a memoir. We watch a movie. We read obituaries. We study the history of World War II. We analyze the psychology of the Nazis. We discuss in great detail the despicable and horrifying acts of violence that took place, the truly disgusting conditions that Jews were forced to live in. It is painful to learn about. Emotionally, of course, but often times I feel physical pain. My stomach clenches up, I sweat and shake and I have so many nightmares. Maybe it is just because I am Jewish, but I cannot handle some of the graphic details that we study.