HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
Lessons of the past
Chris Archbold
Top 10 Tips for schools commemorating
explains how
Holocaust Memorial Day 2009
teachers can
Stand Up to Hatred – Use the HMD theme paper
and think carefully about what the theme means to
approach
your students and community.
Request your free HMD09 Pack – This will
provide a starting point for your lessons, assemblies
sensitive subjects such as
and activities.
Recognise all victims – Consider survivors of more
genocide and hate crime
recent genocides, refugees or victims of hate crime,
as well as Holocaust survivors, as guest speakers.
in the lead up to Holocaust
Do not shy away – Do not be afraid to focus on
contemporary issues such as hate crime or issues
Memorial Day in January
faced by refugees in the UK today.
Adopt a whole-school approach – The Day does
not just apply to history lessons, and we recommend
a cross-curricular approach since our resources
HE CONSEQUENCES of the can also be used in citizenship, religious studies,
T
Holocaust and Nazi persecution are English, PSHE, and media or art lessons.
still felt throughout the world by Keep it personal – It can be difficult to visualise the
survivors, their children, and their 11 million people killed during the Holocaust, and
grandchildren. with the case studies in the education pack, students
It is regarded as one of the most are provided with an accessible approach to the
horrific examples of human hatred Holocaust and subsequent genocides.
there has ever been, and one that we must teach the Consider your audience – Do not use visuals that
young people of today about to ensure that we all learn are too graphic or may be upsetting.
the lessons of the past and prevent it ever happening Take time out – Remember to include a moment of
again. remembrance.
But how should teachers communicate such a Start your planning now – If you would like a
delicate subject matter to students of a secondary Holocaust or other genocide survivor to speak to
school age, without shocking or offending members Consequences: UK students look at images of Holocaust victims displayed at Auschwitz your students, you should start organising this now.
of the class? Do not be afraid – Schools are encouraged to ask
First, they need to remember that what happened in This year’s Armistice Day commemorations curricular skills to engage students with the topic. I the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for help
Nazi Germany is more than just a collection of historical highlighted that there are only three British soldiers still have used film, music, art, drama, poetry,
facts. It is estimated that about six million members of alive who fought in the First World War, and before and literature to encourage youngsters I would advise teachers to
the Jewish community perished along with another five long there will be a similar situation with Holocaust to develop their creative skills in get hold of one of these packs,
million Gypsies (Roma and Sinti), gays and lesbians, survivors. meaningful yet dignified ways. and to use it not only in 2009,
mentally and physically disabled people, Jehovah’s At present, however, there are a number of For example, Second World War since they can prove hugely
Witnesses, and political opponents of the Nazis, plus them in the UK who can be contacted through survivor Samuel Bak’s powerful useful in covering sensitive
an unknown number of those who Nazi philosophy organisations such as the Museum of Jewish Life, the paintings of destroyed teddy bears have subject matter. Getting together
deemed as “inferior” or “unworthy of life”. Holocaust Centre, Beth Shalom, and the Holocaust been very useful to me in conveying with colleagues to create
I have known educators at all levels who use facts Educational Trust. the significance of the Holocaust to material that works for your
and statistics, forgetting that they represent individuals. A second mistake is to confine teaching the young people. Pupils have immediately own school is also a good idea.
One way in which schools can add a personal touch Holocaust to just religious studies or history. While my seen links between these toys and the The theme for Holocaust
is to invite a Holocaust survivor in to speak about their professional background is in these subjects, there are children who perished. My students Memorial Day 2009 is Stand
own experience. so many other ways in which a teacher can use cross- were engaged in ways that would not Up to Hatred and the British
occur looking at the “usual” Holocaust people are urged to learn
images. the lessons from the Nazi
Union address: NAHT
The education packs supplied by the Holocaust and subsequent
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) genocides, and apply them
each year are very informative, and aid to contemporary situations
Remove these unhelpful labels
schools with lessons and activities, including incidents of bullying,
including assembly suggestions, case persecution, discrimination and
studies and worksheets. the use of hateful language.
The proposals
• Schools where progress is not perceived to have The aim is to discourage
been made because of changed intake dynamics hateful language and behaviour in order to make the
Genocide in the 20th Century and beyond
for a lists of
(for example, an increase in children with wider community stronger and safer.
learning difficulties; increase of migrant children; Since the start of the Second World War, millions A focus on modern-day issues presents its own
high “turbulence”) are not “coasting” schools. have been killed in genocides across the globe. set of challenges. It is important to tread carefully
‘coasting’ schools
• Schools where the intake has very high These include: when dealing with these issues so that they are not
attainment values that affect contextual value- trivialised. The same theory should apply as with
has angered many in
added scores are not “coasting” schools.
The Holocaust
the Holocaust itself: they are subjects that must be
• Schools that have a high intake of children The Jewish people were systematically targeted in dealt with sensitively but, with care, pupils can be
the profession, not least
with learning difficulties and who do not make an attempt to wipe them out. Over six million were guided towards an important and lasting experience.
the required rate of progress are not “coasting” murdered by 1945, in addition to the millions of Guidance on how to do this can also be found in the
schools. Gypsies, communists, homosexuals and disabled education packs.
Mick Brookes
• Schools that have to counter centuries of people who were also killed by the Nazis. Organising trips to sites of historical significance
academic underachievement in the community can also give students a life-changing experience. Many
are not “coasting” schools.
Cambodia
schools take parties to First World War battlefields
THE IDENTIFICATION of schools alleged to be The NAHT does not condone a culture of low Between 1975 and 1978, two million Cambodians and, similarly, venturing to the concentration camps
“coasting” deeply concerns the NAHT, particularly aspirations and we support the promulgation of high were killed by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. In their at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland can also have a
on the back of the problems created by the launch of but realistic expectations for all children by teachers, attempt to create a one class society, the Khmer profound effect, though careful preparation is essential
the National Challenge. by families and the community, and above all by the Rouge targeted, among others, Christians, given the nature of the visit. A trip to London’s Imperial
We acknowledge that there was not a public list children themselves. Buddhists, and Vietnamese and Chinese groups. War Museum Holocaust Exhibition is a very good
of schools deemed as “coasting”, but nevertheless However, this process must take place where the Around a quarter of all Cambodians were killed. substitute.
there is a private one. context of the school has been accounted for, and it Despite recent reports, the Holocaust is on the
We have several observations on this issue. has to be based on recent and relevant data.
Rwanda
English national curriculum and, additionally, vast
There has to be a better way of providing support To name and shame schools without taking into In 1994, one million Tutsis were murdered in 100 amounts of schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern
to schools than attaching unhelpful labels. The account their context and by using out-of-date data days by extremist Hutus in an attempt to eradicate Ireland also choose to include lessons on the subject to
terminology of, for example, “failing”, “coasting”, simply compounds the calumny perpetrated by false the Tutsi population from Rwanda. convey its significance to young people.
“hard-to-shift”, is a convenient shorthand but accusation of so-called “failing” schools. The number of Holocaust Memorial Day events
demeans the school and misleads the public. We welcome further resources aimed at grows each year, so why not make 2009 the first year
There has to be clarity of purpose in providing improving outcomes for children. This funding
Genocide tribunals
that your school joins in? SecEd
“support” to schools in challenging circumstances. If should be allocated to the classroom because this is The United Nations has a number of Genocide
the package of support is truly meant to help schools, the place where change, challenge and inspiration Tribunals currently operating. The Rwandan • Chris Archbold is a former religious studies and history
then its inception does not need to be heralded by a will take place. Genocide Tribunal has convicted 28 people to teacher with 40 years’ experience, and is now a freelance
ministerial fanfare. Seeking political capital out of a Too much of the dialogue about school date, including the prime minister of the time, Jean education adviser and a Methodist local preacher.
policy designed to improve learning outcomes only improvement over the past years has been about Kambanda.
serves to distort the message. structures and systems when the focus should be on In November 2007, the UN Cambodian
Further information
There has to be absolute clarity about whether context, values and skills. Genocide Tribunal began proceedings against Holocaust Memorial Day is marked each year on
a school is in fact “coasting” or, in other words, If you feel the same way – why not write to the Kaing Guek Eav, the first senior figure in Pol Pot’s January 27 – the anniversary of the date of the liberation
taking an attitude that is a little too laid back in the schools minister, Jim Knight, and let him know. regime to stand trial for crimes against humanity. of Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Download
hyperactive environment in which children work. You can let us know what you think by going to Ramadan Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 your free education pack at www.hmd.org.uk
We must emphasise that: our website and clicking “your views”. and is being held by the United Nations accused Each year, a UK city is chosen to host national
• Schools that have not raised attainment over a of crimes against humanity, including ordering commemorations taking place around Holocaust
number of years because they are already • Mick Brookes is general secretary of the National the Srebrenica massacre, for his actions and Memorial Day. In 2009, Coventry will be the host. Find out
working to capacity are not “coasting” schools. Association of Head Teachers. Visit www.naht.org.uk involvement in the genocide in Bosnia in 1995.. about the events taking place in and around Coventry at:
www.coventry.gov.uk/holocaust
12 SecEd • December 11 2008
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