Although it is essential to learn about the Holocaust, it can be difficult to explain. How do humans come to
hate an individual or a group enough to want to completely annihilate them? How could humanity have let such an
event take place?
Anti-Semitism intro/discussion:
We must avoid seeing the Holocaust as a single event but rather as several individual and combined elements
which led to the genocide of Jewish people during the Second World War. Each of these elements must be analyzed
objectively in order to understand the magnitude of the crimes, the impact of political decisions and the
behavior of the perpetrators.
Genocide, ethnic cleansing and even terrorist acts are sensitive subjects which may trigger strong emotions and
reactions. Therefore, it is critical to have a solid understanding of historical facts in order to avoid
subjectivity.
We will use interactive maps and timelines wherever feasible to help provide a context and historical background
for the events of the Holocaust.
We avoid making generalizations and acknowledge that not all Germans were Nazis and not all genocides are identical. Students need to be able to make the distinction between various historical events of a similar nature and to properly contextualize each of them. We make every effort to maintain complexity in our explanations and answers suitable to the specific student audience whether children or adults. Although time constraints will limit how many facets of the subject we can explore, we will encourage our students to properly analyze the events through questions & discussion. This will allow them to study the historical context and circumstances without falling back on simple black and white answers.