The Coverage of the Holocaust in High School History Textbooks David Lindquist

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he Holocaust is now a regular part of high school history curricula throughout (3) Where? (4) How? (5) By whom? (6) the United States and, as a result, coverage of the Holocaust has become a Against whom? (7) Why was each group Tstandard feature of high school textbooks. As with any major event, it is selected for persecution targeted? and important for textbooks to provide a rigorously accurate and valid historical account. (8) To what extent (i.e., what was the In dealing with the Holocaust, however, textbook authors face particular challenges. Nazis’ intended result for each targeted The Holocaust had complex causes, both immediate and long-term; different groups group)? Opening a Holocaust unit with played roles in perpetrating or assisting it; and the meticulous accuracy required in this analysis introduces students to the detailing its occurrence imposes many demands on authors. Unlike many other events structure of the event as well as its per- listed in history textbooks, students have often heard of the Holocaust and may bring petrators and diverse victims. considerable prior conceptions of it to the classroom but, as Samuel Totten has noted, Teachers who present a full defini- many of these impressions may come from sources for whom historical accuracy is tion of the event can dispel incorrect of little concern.1 Textbooks are often the first recourse for teachers and students prior information at the start of their interested in dispelling inaccurate notions and seeking to acquire valid knowledge. In students’ experience with the topic. A addition, the existence of Holocaust denial makes it crucial that textbook narratives good definition offers an entry into the should be completely accurate because deniers often contend that the presence of subject’s complexity, an important fac- any error calls into question the actual occurrence of the Holocaust. tor if students are to understand that simple answers to complex questions This article presents the results of a following definition: do not lead to historical understanding. study I conducted of the treatment of The Holocaust was a specific geno- It also enables students to identify the the Holocaust in major history textbooks. cidal event in twentieth-century his- Holocaust’s intentional, process-driven While the textbooks provide substantial tory: the state-sponsored, systematic structure, thus avoiding the view that coverage of the Holocaust, there are also persecution and annihilation of the Holocaust was a random, accidental problems in the coverage that can foster European Jewry by Nazi Germany event. inaccurate perspectives about the event. and its collaborators between 1933 When I examined how many compo- I recommend that substantive changes and 1945. Jews were the primary nents of the USHMM definition were be made in future editions of these text- victims–6 million were murdered; included in textbooks, it was clear that books to ensure that accurate, compre- Gypsies, the handicapped, and Poles there is a general failure in both textbook hensive Holocaust units are presented were also targeted for destruction narratives and glossaries to provide an to students. or decimation for racial, ethnic, or accurate basic definition. While limited national reasons. Millions more, elements of the USHMM definition are Defining the Holocaust including homosexuals, Jehovah’s present in the narratives of different text- Textbooks should provide students with Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, books, none of them provides a compre- a definition that enables students to and political dissidents, also suffered hensive definition of the Holocaust. For respond accurately and knowledgeably to grievous oppression and death under example, near the end of its discussion the question, “What was the Holocaust?” Nazi tyranny.2 of the event, Anthem (Holt) defines The teaching guidelines provided by Deconstructing the museum’s the Holocaust as “the genocidal cam- the United States Holocaust Memorial definition leads to a consideration of paign against the Jews during World Museum (USHMM) in 2001 offer the eight questions: (1) What? (2) When? War II.” Present (Pearson) states that

S o c i a l Ed u c a t i o n 298 the Holocaust was “the Nazi attempt to murder once the Soviet Union had been background about the historical evo- kill all Jews under their control.” These invaded. lution of antisemitism, its presence in superficial definitions fail to provide Students must comprehend two factors Germany, and its link both to racial adequate introductions to the complex- about the Holocaust’s setting. First, the ideologies and religious prejudice. All ity that should be inherent in any study Holocaust and the war are not synony- the textbooks mention Nazi antisemitism of the event. Vision (Glencoe) provides mous and, second, the Holocaust must be and its effect on events occurring from no definition at all. viewed as “a war within a war” because 1933–1945, but their coverage is insuf- A similar problem exists with the glos- it could not have occurred without the ficient in four ways. sary definitions of the Holocaust. Two umbrella the war provided.3 For this First, the long-term history of anti- textbooks (Vision [Glencoe] and World reason, Bergen notes that “War pro- semitism is decontextualized. The world History [Glencoe]) do not offer a glossary vided killers with both a cover and an history textbooks all discuss antisemi- definition. The glossary definitions found excuse for murder; in wartime, killing tism prior to 1933, but most of that cover- in the other four—Anthem (Holt), Present was normalized, and extreme, even age focuses on medieval events and the (Pearson), World History (Pearson), and genocidal measures could be justified Dreyfus Affair, which occurred in France Legacy (Holt)—do not provide the dense with familiar arguments about the need in 1894. Missing, however, is the critical definition of the Holocaust that should be to defend the fatherland. Without the link between pre-1933 antisemitism and central to any study of the event (see the war, the Holocaust would not—and could Nazi ideology and policy. The textbooks Table on p. 300). All the definitions iden- not—have happened” or, to paraphrase fail to discuss the centuries-long evolu- tify the Nazis as the perpetrators, but there Bergen, “No war, No Holocaust.”4 tion of antisemitism as it moved through are divergencies in the identification of the Placing Holocaust-related references at its three forms (religious, cultural [eco- victims and the description of the nature and appropriate places in the textbooks’ cov- nomic/social], and racial).5 Not tying the progression of the Holocaust. erage of the war and adding references various phases of antisemitism to each to the course of the war in Holocaust- other makes it difficult for students to see Contextualizing the Holocaust specific sections would help students how antisemitism evolved through differ- within World War II understand this critical concept. ent time frames and in diverse historical, The Holocaust must be situated within political, and economic situations. the greater framework of World War II. Coverage of Antisemitism Second, all three U.S. history text- However, the sections of the textbooks For students to understand the role of books move directly into the discus- dealing with World War II make only antisemitism in the Holocaust properly, sion of Nazi antisemitism without first tangential references to the war’s progres- it is important for textbooks to provide establishing that antisemitism existed sion even though they place their primary Holocaust coverage in chapters devoted Textbooks Surveyed to the war. The effect is to decontextual- Textbook publishing has changed dramatically in recent years. As a result of corporate ize the Holocaust. For example, Anthem mergers, the primary players in the secondary school social studies market are Glencoe, (Holt), Legacy (Holt), and World History Pearson and Holt McDougal (formed through a merger in December, 2007 of McDougal (Glencoe) all note that mass murders Littell and Holt, Rinehart and Winston). Thus, the following list identifies the high school of Jews occurred as the German army history textbooks that are used most frequently in the United States. Three U.S. history was invading the Soviet Union; how- and three world history textbooks were reviewed for the current study. ever, none of these textbooks explains United States History Textbooks Reviewed* why the invasion of the USSR was the critical factor that allowed mass mur- Textbook Title Article Reference* Publisher der to be implemented at that time and The American Vision Vision (Glencoe) Glencoe in that place. World History (Pearson) American Anthem Anthem (Holt) Holt McDougal United States History: Present (Pearson) Pearson and Vision (Glencoe) do not identify Reconstruction to the Present any connection between the invasion of the USSR and the inception of mass World History Textbooks Reviewed murder. Only Present (Pearson) notes the Textbook Title Article Reference Publisher importance of the fact that large numbers World History: The Human Legacy Legacy (Holt) Holt McDougal of Jews lived in the USSR, and none of World History World History (Pearson) Pearson the textbooks mentions that the presence World History World History (Glencoe) Glencoe of long-standing, virulent antisemitism in Eastern Europe gave Nazi Germany * Full publication information can be found in the references section at the end. considerable latitude to implement mass

O c t o b e r 2009 299 TABLE: Content of Glossary Definitions of the Holocaust of introducing critical questions about human behavior into Holocaust cur- Anthem Present World History Legacy (Holt) ricula. (Holt) (Pearson) (Pearson) The textbooks reviewed do not estab- Systematic murder X X lish this structure. For example, while some key perpetrators (e.g., Mengele in Genocide X Legacy [Holt], Himmler and Heydrich Jews X in World History [Glencoe]) are discussed, adding the term “perpetrators” Other Groups X X to the narratives would provide an extra Europe dimension, thus identifying who was Nazis X X X X involved in implementing the Holocaust Before World War II as well as the personal culpability that During World War II X X X may be attached to the actions of the Killing of millions of Jews X X X perpetrators. Extermination Camps Similarly, the textbooks do not use the word “bystander,” although Legacy Systematic elimination (Holt), Present (Pearson), Anthem (Holt), Mass slaughter and Vision (Glencoe) devote full sections to large-scale responses, mainly long before 1933. Because this omis- controversial nature of any discussion on the national level. Conversely, World sion creates false impressions about the of this centuries-old church dogma, the History (Glencoe) and World History long-standing social and political con- comment that “Trying to teach adoles- (Pearson) each make superficial refer- text that the Nazis were able to exploit, cents about the roots of anti-Semitism ences to the fact that most individuals students may not became aware of the in Christianity, however, even in the ignored what was occurring. The fact that reasons why many ordinary Germans secular schools of a secular state, is like the overwhelming majority of people in were willing to accept the Nazis’ views leading a tourist party across crocodile Germany and, later, German-occupied about the Jews. territory” still seems to affect textbook Europe were bystanders should be a Third, the advent of racial antisemi- discussions of the Holocaust.7 However, central feature of Holocaust curricula tism within the larger context of racial both academic honesty and historical because questions about the bystanders science in the late 1800s should be dis- validity demand that this topic be “… broaden the scope of study and raise cussed. Failing to do so infers that the presented to students. (World History questions as to the culpability of certain Nazis’ obsession with race was a unique [Glencoe] does mention the deicide individuals and groups whose roles stu- circumstance. Given this inaccurate charge but only in its sections on the dents come to realize were much more view, the Nazis’ deadly strain of anti- Crusades and Zionism in the late nine- than ancillary.” 9 The textbooks should semitism can be viewed as an aberration, teenth century; no tie to the Nazi era is emphasize this point at the personal a misstep in history, instead of an exten- proposed.) level while using the term “bystander” sion of pre-existing beliefs about race, in order to introduce students to impor- many of which were legitimatized by the Establishing Roles in the tant discussions about individual and political and scientific communities of Holocaust group responsibility, group solidarity, many Western societies during the late Many Holocaust educators frame their and the complexity of living in oppres- 1800s and early 1900s. This view does curricula around the roles played by sive societies. not imply that racial science caused Nazi individuals during the event, thus fol- The Holocaust is an excellent topic antisemitism; rather, legitimized anti- lowing the pattern Hilberg used in his through which students can consider semitism served as a preliminary step seminal work Perpetrators, Victims, the dilemmas that individuals confront upon which the Nazis’ eliminationist Bystanders: The Jewish Catastrophe when faced with difficult choices about antisemitism could be built. 6 1933–1945.8 Teachers often add col- what they should or should not do. For Fourth, while several textbooks laborators, rescuers, and resisters to this example, the curriculum resource “How mention the long history of Christian list, thus establishing a solid framework Was It Humanly Possible?” addresses antisemitism, none of them discusses for studying the Holocaust. While care this question by stating, “The plan the charge that the Jews throughout must be taken to avoid stereotyping to murder the Jews was conceived by history were responsible collectively individuals along lines defined by these a small circle of dedicated Nazis. In for Jesus’ death. Given the potentially roles, this approach is an effective means order to implement their plan, how-

S o c i a l Ed u c a t i o n 300 ever, they required the collaboration of The Role of Hitler who played active roles in the Holocaust, a large number of people. The purpose The textbooks’ obsession with Hitler and millions of “‘average Germans’ and here is to put a face on these individu- may be illustrated by noting that all six others who, early on, looked the other als, to examine the circumstances that books use large (and, in several cases, way as the Jews were stripped, piece by contributed to their becoming killers, full page) pictures of Hitler to introduce piece, of their basic civil and human and to take a closer look at them.” 10 their chapters on pre-war events or on rights.” 12 As a result, students may con- Challenging questions that probe the the war itself. Present (Pearson) provides clude that the Holocaust was “an aberra- perpetrators’ beliefs, characteristics, an extreme example of this pattern by tion, something that was the result of ‘one decision-making processes, prior and opening its chapter “The Coming of sick individual,’…” a view that is counter- contemporaneous influences, and moral War 1931–1942” with a full-page picture productive to developing an accurate responsibility are then proposed, giv- of Hitler that is followed by four more understanding of the Holocaust.13 ing students the opportunity to evalu- photographs of him on the next seven ate the perpetrators’ actions. However, pages. Yet another Hitler picture is found Use of the Word “Race” the textbooks do not capitalize on this in the chapter summary. These visual The textbooks frequently use various opportunity. cues suggest that Hitler and only Hitler forms of the word “race,” a necessity Little of the complexity that makes is the story of the Holocaust. if Nazism and the Holocaust are to be studying the Holocaust compelling is This pattern also occurs in the text- discussed adequately. However, using evident in the textbooks. The event books’ narratives. Such phrases as “race” in general or with reference to the is depicted in straight-forward terms “Hitler’s action” and “Hitler’s Final Jews specifically without qualification or that do not suggest that multiple lay- Solution” (Anthem [Holt]) and “Hitler’s explanation may lead students to believe ers of decision making had to occur if Germany” and “Hitler’s army” (Legacy that the Jews do, in fact, constitute a the Holocaust were to take place and, [Holt]) reinforce the “Hitler did this, and distinct race. As Totten cogently notes, “… conversely, if the Holocaust were to it was done” perspective that many stu- when students read anything in which the be opposed. The interlocking cultural, dents bring to their study of the Nazi era, Nazis refer to the Jews as a race, they are economic, political, social, professional, World War II, and the Holocaust. likely to accept, at face value, that the Jews and legal processes that all had to come Criticism of the textbooks’ over- are a race,” a fallacious idea that distorts together for the Holocaust to occur are emphasis on Hitler is not designed to the study of Nazism and the Holocaust. only suggested, at best, and are absent negate or ignore the crucial role that This acceptance leads to many historical from the textbooks for the most part. Hitler played in the events in question. and pedagogical problems, not the least Little sense of what the perpetrators, However, overemphasizing that role of which is that it “… plays into the Nazis’ victims, bystanders, collaborators, leads to “The ‘One Man’ or ‘Evil Man’ way of thinking….” 14 Thus, students rescuers, and resisters thought or felt Theory,” namely that: must have a thorough understanding of is depicted. …, many students are under the the word “race” in general and of the Instead, the coverage by textbooks assumption that the Holocaust was Nazis’ use of the word in particular so of the Holocaust places undue empha- the result of a single individual’s that they can understand the dominant sis on Hitler’s role in the events that (Hitler’s) will, plan, ideas, and effect that racial ideology had on Nazi occurred. While Hitler was certainly “drive.” policy as well as the unscientific nature the central figure during the Nazi era, of the idea of race in general.15 None constant references to him may lead stu- That simply is not so. of the textbooks confront this complex, dents to believe that Hitler, and Hitler controversial topic, a circumstance that alone, planned and implemented the To assume that the Holocaust was could lead to the validation of Totten’s Holocaust, a perspective that ignores perpetrated by a single individual “face value” thesis. both the systematic, bureaucratic nature constitutes a naïve and simplistic of the event as well as the willingness of view of history. Although Hitler Factual Accuracy tens of thousands of people at all levels played a central role in the Nazis’ While the current editions of textbooks of German society to participate will- views of the Jews and served, as reviewed in this study contain fewer mis- ingly and, in many cases, enthusiasti- some historians have put it, as “the takes than earlier textbooks did, several cally in the implementation of Nazi spiritual force” behind the Final factual errors still exist. policies. This myopia makes it difficult Solution, he did not act alone.11 For example, Anthem (Holt) states that for students to develop valid judgments American troops liberated death camps, about the Holocaust in specific and the Totten also notes that accepting this which was an impossibility since all six Nazi era in general. approach exculpates high-ranking Nazi killing centers were located in parts of officials, the thousands of perpetrators Poland that were conquered by the Soviet

O c t o b e r 2009 301 Red Army as the war was coming to an inaccurate perceptions of what occurred. then states, “Eventually, German Jews end. Similarly, in Legacy (Holt), the Several examples illustrate the point. were also required [bold-faced in the discussion of the liberation of camps by In Anthem (Holt), coverage of the original] to wear yellow Stars of David American soldiers ends with a reference Holocaust begins with “The Inside Story: …”(p. 809). The narrative then discusses to death camps, implying a connection A Life-Saving Effort,” a discussion of Kristallnacht. The sequence provided that did not occur. In these cases, the the rescue of 5,000 Jews that occurred implies that the implementation of the textbooks violate the USHMM’s teach- in the French village of Le Chambon. yellow star order in Germany occurred ing guideline that educators must “strive The narrative is accurate, and the story sometime between September 1935, for precision of language” when teaching of Le Chambon is certainly noteworthy. when the Nuremberg Laws were enacted, about the Holocaust.16 However, placing this story at the start and November 1938, when Kristallnacht Present (Pearson) includes a picture of the Holocaust section and devoting occurred. In fact, German Jews were not of German soldiers humiliating a Jewish a large amount of space to it might lead ordered to wear the yellow star until boy and his father, stating that the event students to believe that rescue played a September 1941. The narrative thus happened in 1933. Given the event that is much larger role in the Holocaust than distorts students’ understanding of the occurring and the clothing that the Jews was actually the case. The book does not Holocaust’s chronological evolution. are wearing, it seems likely that the pic- provide any information that would allow A serious inferential inaccuracy occurs ture was taken somewhere in Poland or students to develop an accurate perspec- in World History (Glencoe) in the sub- Eastern Europe, a situation that could not tive regarding the limited scope of rescue section “Children in the War” (pp. 876- have occurred until at least 1939. With that occurred during the Holocaust. 877), which is located within the book’s reference to pre-war concentration camps Lack of specificity in using terminology Holocaust section. This segment begins in Germany, this textbook also errs in also affects the textbooks’ level of infer- with a discussion of what happened to stating that “Camp administrators tat- ential accuracy. For example, Anthem Jewish children and then moves to a nar- tooed numbers on the arms of prison- (Holt), states that concentration camps rative that describes what happened to ers …” (p. 495). In fact, only prisoners were “basically prisons,” and that the children in Germany, Japan, Britain, incarcerated in Auschwitz and some of ghettos were “neighborhoods in a city to and Eastern Europe. It ends with a short its satellite camps were tattooed, and which a group of people are confined” (p. paragraph that describes Hitler Youth this process was not implemented until 780). Referring to the camps and ghettos who fought near the war’s end and Soviet March 1942 (www.ushmm.org).17 as prisons and neighborhoods suggests adolescents who spied on the German An egregious factual error occurs in that these places were something less than army and participated in various resis- Present (Pearson), which states that “In places of persecution, dehumanization, tance movements. Including all of these fully functioning death camps, the bod- and death. diverse situations in a section titled “The ies of murdered prisoners were further Present (Pearson) describes Hitler Holocaust” distorts both the Holocaust desecrated. Human fat was turned into as being “on the brink of madness” (p. and what happened to these children. soap; …” (p. 496). While reputable his- 438), a labeling that ignores the fact On the other hand, narratives that torians treat this story as false, students that Nazi policies were developed and suggest accurate and sophisticated infer- using Present will be told that it is actu- implemented by rational individuals ences help students understand history’s ally true.18 Upon learning that the story who were fully aware of what they inherent complexity while helping them is false, these students become prime tar- were doing. Similarly, World History develop critical thinking skills. Such gets for deniers of the Holocaust, who (Pearson) discusses “Hitler and his inferences provide teachers with exam- use the “false in one thing, false in all henchmen” (p. 916), a reference that ples on which to build challenging les- things” argument in proposing that the obscures the fact that many Nazi offi- sons that allow students to study, analyze, Holocaust never occurred.19 cials came from respected professions and debate historical events at advanced such as education, law, and medicine. levels. Two examples of properly framed Inferential Accuracy Students can easily rationalize brutal inferences found in the textbooks may Inferential accuracy, which refers to behavior when performed by henchmen; be noted. whether or not facts are presented in ways it is a far different and critically impor- In discussing the deportations of that valid conclusions may be drawn from tant matter that they come to realize that Jews from Greece and Hungary near them, is of crucial importance if students the Holocaust was, to a considerable the war’s end, World History (Glencoe) are to understand the complex nature degree, the work of highly educated states, “In spite of Germany’s desper- of historical situations. The textbooks persons. ate military needs, even late in the war reviewed contain numerous examples of In discussing Nazi Germany’s anti- when Germany was facing utter defeat, factual statements that are presented in semitic policies, World History (Glencoe) the Final Solution still had priority in ways that could lead students to develop discusses the Nuremberg Laws and using railroad cars to ship Jews to death

S o c i a l Ed u c a t i o n 302 camps” (p. 876). This thesis, which par- emphasis on the textbooks’ inferen- allels Katz’s salient phrase “Trains to tial accuracy; References Auschwitz, not to the front,” illustrates a 3. Identify aspects of Holocaust his- Textbooks Reviewed unique historical circumstance in which tory that are currently absent from the most critical function of any govern- or not developed sufficiently in Some textbooks released in 2009 have ment, preserving its own existence, was textbooks; an official date of publication of 2010. overridden by the dictates of “the racial 4. Develop protocols for including state.” 20 Properly framed, this concept those aspects of Holocaust history could lead to sophisticated discussions in other curricular materials; United States History about the nature of power, decision mak- 5. Consider ways that problems Appleby, J., A. Brinkley, A.S. ing, and the dynamics of the modern, dep- encountered with the use of the text- Broussard, J.M. McPherson, and D.A. Ritchie, The American Vision: ersonalized bureaucratic state. books may be overcome, includ- Modern Times . Columbus, Ohio: Several textbooks mention that the ing the use of technology to access Glencoe, 2010. Nazi party gained power through legal sources of accurate and compre- means. For example, Anthem (Holt) hensive Holocaust information; Ayers, E.L., J.F. de la Teja, D.G. White, states, “When he got out of prison, Hitler 6. Include detailed discussions of and R.D. Schulzinger, American was determined to gain power through the textbooks’ coverage of the Anthem: Reconstruction to the peaceful means. Seizing on public discon- Holocaust as part of professional Present. Austin, Tex.: Holt McDougal, tent and offering an appealing vision of development programs that focus 2010. German greatness, Hitler gradually built on the event; and Lapansky-Werner, E. J., P.B. Levy, support” (p. 741). Raising important ques- 7. Present conference workshops on R. Roberts, and A. Taylor, United tions about the fragility of the democratic using textbooks to teach about the States History: Reconstruction to the process, a lesson based on this statement Holocaust. Present. Boston: Pearson, 2009. is one that American students should confront. The essay “Why Teach Holocaust Second, institutions involved in World History History?”, published by the United States Holocaust education should initiate Ellis, E. G., and A. Esler, World Holocaust Memorial Museum, supports dialogues with the publishers of high History. Boston: Pearson, 2010. this approach, stating that “Through a school history textbooks. These discus- study of the Holocaust, students can come sions would stress the need for compre- Ramirez, S. A., P. Stearns, S. and to realize that democratic institutions and hensive and sophisticated coverage of the Wineburg, World History: Human Legacy. Austin, Tex.: Holt McDougal, values are not automatically sustained, but Holocaust in the textbooks, with special 2010. need to be appreciated, nurtured, and emphasis being placed on the need for protected.” 21 inferential accuracy. Spielvogel, J. J., World History . Third, social studies methods profes- Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2010. Discussion sors should include discussions about I would like to make several recommenda- textbook coverage of the Holocaust in tions regarding the use of textbooks so that their courses. These discussions would Holocaust education may be improved. ensure that pre-service teachers become In conclusion, although textbooks First, organizations that provide profes- aware of problems associated with text- provide substantial coverage of the sional development in Holocaust educa- book coverage of the Holocaust in par- Holocaust, the effectiveness of this tion for teachers must be aware of issues ticular while providing opportunities for coverage is limited in ways that can lead related to textbook coverage of the event. them to learn techniques for evaluating students to develop inaccurate perspec- To improve such programs and to provide history textbooks in general. Various tives about the event. Dealing with the an increasing level of sophistication for research projects could evolve from this Holocaust within the confines of a his- attendees, it is recommended that indi- approach. tory textbook spanning centuries is a viduals planning such programs: Fourth, as with the case of methods challenge, but it is possible for publishers professors, high school history teachers to provide a historically accurate and 1. Become familiar with the coverage should develop lessons in which their valid account by drawing on the best of the Holocaust in frequently used students analyze textbook coverage of available specialized publications and high school U.S. history and world the Holocaust, thus providing their stu- arranging for Holocaust scholars and history textbooks; dents with a realistic experience analyz- experts to review the relevant sections 2. Become familiar with strengths and ing historical sources while developing of textbooks. Through greater efforts in weaknesses of that coverage, with an Holocaust-specific knowledge. this direction, the quality of Holocaust

O c t o b e r 2009 303 The Holocaust in Textbooks In Pursuit of the “Faerie Folk” Notes from page 303 from page 296 1. Alan Richman, “Yes, We’re Open,” GQ, November 2006. 2. Kim Severson, “‘Faerie Folk’ Strike Back With Fritters,” The New York Times, December 6, education in the United States can be of culture that are highlighted in 2006. 3. The definition used by the Creole Heritage Center significantly improved. the NCSS Standards Expectations can be accessed at www.nsula.edu/creole/definition. of Excellence and the National asp. 4. See Mary Stone Hanley, “The Scope of Multicultural Notes Geography Standards Geography Education,” written in 1999, and accessible at the 1. Samuel Totten, Holocaust Education: Issues and for Life, both of which stress the New Horizons for Learning website, www.newho- Approaches (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002). rizons.org/strategies/multicultural/hanley.htm. 2. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum importance of learning about other 5. National Council for the Social Studies, Expectations (USHMM), Teaching about the Holocaust: A cultures. Multiculturalism makes of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Resource Book for Educators (Washington, D.C.: Studies (Washington, D.C.: NCSS, 1994): 21, also USHMM, 2001), 3. the nation stronger as we learn from accessible at www.socialstudies.org/standards/ 3. Totten, Holocaust Education. each other. Philip McClung’s eighth strands/. 4. D.L. Bergen, War and Genocide: A Concise History graders learn about multiculturalism 6. Geography for Life, Standard 10 “The Characteristics, of the Holocaust , 2nd edition (Lanham, Md.: Rowman when they assist with the NSU Creole Distribution, and Complexity of Earth’s Cultural and Littlefield, 2009). Mosaics,” accessible at www.nationalgeographic. 5. W.I. Burstein, Roots of Hate: Antisemitism in Europe Heritage Center’s festival each year. com/xpeditions/standards/10/index.html. before the Holocaust (New York: Cambridge Taking learning out into the “real world” 7. See, for example, Association for Supervision and University Press, 2003). helps the students contextualize the Curriculum Development. www.ascd.org/research_a_ 6. A.S. Lindeman, Antisemitism before the Holocaust topic/Education_Topics/Multicultural_Education/ (New York: Pearson, 2000). information they learned about Creole Multicultural_Education.aspx 7. L. Dawidowicz, “How They Teach the Holocaust,” culture, heritage and history. 8. Anne Campbell and Wilson A. Marston, Louisiana: Commentary 90, no. 6 (1990): 27. Creoles are anything but a “mythical The History of an American State (Atlanta, Ga.: 8. R. Hilberg, Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders: The Clairmont Press 1999): 578, Jewish Catastrophe, 1933-1945 (New York: Harper, race.” Understanding a cultural group 1992). that draws upon various backgrounds Paul Nagel is an associate professor of social 9. P. Wieser, “Instructional Strategies/Issues in Teaching and is at the heart of a landmark studies education in the College of Education at the Holocaust,” in Teaching and Studying the Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Holocaust , eds. S. Totten and S. Feinberg (Boston: Supreme Court decision is important. Louisiana. He also serves as coordinator for the Allyn and Bacon, 2001), 66. Each culture and ethnic group within Louisiana Geography Education Alliance. He can 10. I. Steinfeldt, How Was It Humanly Possible? A Study be reached at [email protected]. of Perpetrators and Bystanders during the Holocaust the United States helps make us the (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2002). nation we are, and overlooking or 11. Totten, Holocaust Education , 56. Dayna Bowker Lee is an associate professor in marginalizing an aspect of our culture the Department of Social Sciences and also works 12. Ibid., 57. is unacceptable. 13. Ibid. for the Louisiana Folklife Program. 14. Ibid., 81. 15. M. Burleigh and W. Wippermann, The Racial State: Germany 1933-1945 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993); A. Montagu, The Idea of Race (Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 1965). 16. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Teaching Advertising about the Holocaust, 4. 17. D. Niewyk and F. Nicosia, The Columbia Guide to For inquiries about advertising, call Doran Communications at 302-644-0546, the Holocaust (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000). or e-mail [email protected]. Information about advertising rates and 18. D. Lipstadt, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing specifications can also be found at Assault on Truth and Memory (New York: Plume www.socialstudies.org/advertising Books, 1994). 19. Ibid. 20. Burleigh and Wippermann, The Racial State. ABC Clio...... Cover 2 21. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Teaching about the Holocaust, 1. The Bill of Rights Institute...... 269, 281

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David Lindquist is an assistant professor at Indi- James Madison Memorial Fellowship Found...... 274 ana U. Purdue U. Fort Wayne in Indiana. He is also a Museum Teacher Fellow and Regional Museum Educator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Teachers College Press...... 265 Museum in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at [email protected].

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