UK Schools Drop Teaching the Holocaust: A False Story Persists

There is a video slide show making the rounds that begins by talking about Dwight D. Eisenhower's comments on the liberation of the camps. Then it proceeds to condemning the UK's cessation of the teaching of the Holocaust.

One would think that people who are Internet savvy would have heard that this is a rumor that is untrue. Yet somehow it does not seem to sink in. I have blogged about this a lot

I don't doubt that there are schools where teaching the Holocaust is done in the most cursory fashion, if at all. But this is NOT the same thing as the UK officially dropping the Holocaust from its curriculum.

There are enough things to worry about and to protest against. We don't need to create false ones.

UK Schools Drop Teaching the Holocaust: A False Story Continues to Make the Rounds

During the past week I have received numerous emails regarding the false story that the UK has dropped all mention of the Holocaust from its curriculum.

The latest iteration of the story is now linked to the fact that General Eisenhower worried, as he toured the concentration camps in April 1945, that someday there might be those who would deny that this happened.

The email then goes on to note that the UK has dropped teaching of the Holocaust. Earlier versions had accused the University of Kentucky of dropping it.

Why people would believe such stories confounds me.

A recent interview on Muslim-Jewish relations in the UK with Michael Whine, government and international affairs director at the Community Security Trust, the defense agency of the UK Jewish community, and defense and group relations director of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the representative body of the community, summarizes the true state of affairs regarding Holocaust education.

Whine notes:

"The MCB* has opposed Holocaust education. Last year they finally agreed to officially participate in Holocaust Memorial Day. Under Muslim influence, the Bolton local council did not hold a Holocaust Memorial Day last year and replaced it with a Genocide Memorial Day. This year they are marking both.

"Yet a significant number of Muslim leaders have attended Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies, including some members of the MCB Executive. We expect, however, further Muslim attempts to weaken Holocaust remembrance and to replace it with genocide remembrance.

"Almost every municipality has held some remembrance activity on Holocaust Memorial Day. Those with a significant Jewish electorate have usually done more than others. The government provides money for educational material and funds trips to Auschwitz for two students from every high school each year. These are preceded by educational sessions. Britain probably leads the world in Holocaust education.

"A few years ago the Department of Education undertook a study on the teaching of sensitive subjects that included the Crusades, the First and Second World Wars, and the Holocaust. It found that the Holocaust is generally well taught in British schools. One school had considered abandoning its courses for fear of offending Muslim parents in the school. It was misreported by some newspapers and that led to a viral email, which is still going around, claiming that Britain has abandoned Holocaust education in schools."

The interview was conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

* Whine notes that the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) was founded by the government as an umbrella organization in 1977. This body has been influenced since by its radical leadership and nowadays represents no more than five hundred mosques and separate organizations. To put this in perspective, there are probably around fifteen hundred official and unofficial mosques in Britain these days, although official estimates are around nine hundred

Holocaust Education in the News: Sarkozy's Approach in France, Another in Germany, and Reflections on the UK Rumor

The New York Jewish Week covers the reaction to Sarkosy's proposal, which has been tweaked by his educational advisers.

The New York Times has run a number of stories related to Holocaust education in the past few days.

The lead story in yesterday's Arts section covers a "comic book" used in German schools. [Those who might be skeptical about the use of comic books for this subject should take a look at Maus one of the most powerful books on the topic.]

Susan Dominus, prompted by the Sarkozy proposal, focuses on her own recollections about learning about the topic. It is a reminder of how much Holocaust education has changed. I was excoriated by many people years ago for my article, "Invoking the Holocaust: the Use and Abuse of the Holocaust," which made the same point. "Invoking the Holocaust," Judaism, Vol. 30, No. 119 [1981]

New York Times Education writer, Sam Freeman, writes about the UK rumor about giving up teaching on the Holocaust. The BBC covered this topic on its web page a few weeks ago. Given the persistence of this rumor, it is worth noting that while the notion of a country dropping the topic is absurd, there probably are teachers in the UK, France, and other places who avoid the topic for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the students in their classes come from homes where Holocaust denial is accepted.

UK Schools Drop Teaching the Holocaust: A False Story Continues to Make the Rounds

Why do smart people believe utterly incomprehensible things?

The false charge about the Bruges cafe was crazy but had glimmers of plausibility [maybe the waiter acted out.... but would a waiter who acted in that way be employed in such a prestigious place???].

But the rumor that continues to drive me nuts is the crazy one about the UK or, depending which version of this idiocy you have received, the University of Kentucky [some dimwit saw UK and thought it meant the University] dropping all teaching of the Holocaust because it would offend Muslims. For previous blogs on this topic see here

In the past 24 hours a number of smart people have asked me about this rumor. One doubted it was true. The others believed it to be fact.

While I don't doubt that there are teachers in certain school districts in the UK who tip toe around this topic because they are sitting in front of class full of students who have been told it did not happen or who have just been raised to hate Jews.

But to believe that the UK, whose leader, Churchill, rallied the world to fight when only the English Channel stood between Hitler and his country and whose forces liberated camps where they encountered survivors who looked more like cadavers than people, would drop the teaching of this topic..... that's too much.

Last night we had Leon Wieseltier here at Emory. [He spoke on Jews' perspectives on Messianism and was first rate.] A small group of us chatted about this and someone said: "People believe this because they want it to be true. " In some preverse way, that's true.

We sometimes fall into a mindset that convinces us that the world is so against us that the UK or the Univ of Kentucky, take your pick, would do this.

There are hateful people out there. There are people who hate Jews specifically. Among them are those who would wish to do great harm to Jews.

They are out there. There is, therefore, no need to create false enemies in places and situations where there are none.

Fighting real boogey people [a contradiction in terms?] is hard enough.... let's not spend our time on false ones.

Teaching [or Not] the Holocaust in the UK

Esther Solomon, an editor at Ha'aretz, has written about an issue which I have been blogging about for months, the false rumor that the UK [or the University of Kentucky depending on the version of the email you received] has dropped teaching of the Holocaust.

Dropping the Holocaust from textbooks: A Crazy Rumor Persists with a change of continent

[Blogging on the M60 bus in NYC]
edited November 21

A couple of months ago there was a rumor floating around about the UK [as in United Kingdom... you will see shortly why I mention the obvious] dropping the teaching of the Holocaust from its curriculum

It was completely false and was scotched by many people, including then Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Well, proving that nothing absurd ever disappears [hence the persistence of antisemitism], the rumor is back, except now it is about the University of Kentucky [UK, get it??].

And it comes with a completely absurd call for action. The newly added paragraph reads:

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated while the German and Russian peoples looking the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets. This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!

Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center 'never happened' because it offends some Muslim in the U.S.??????

These numbers make no sense and historically inaccurate. ["German and Russian peoples"? What's this about Russians looking the other way? Last time I checked Russian/Soviet citizens were among the largest number of victims of World War II, not the Holocaust.]

Then to make matters worse some person has added the following addendum:

Let's not forget the Demoncrat's in the House Defunding of the South Vietnamese in the 1970's leading to the slaughter of unknown millions (estimates 1.8 to 3.2 million) Vietnamese and Cambodians by Pol Pot's Camere [sic.] Rouge and Ho Chi Min's invasion of the South in a short 18 months to two years. That is more than the USA killed in over ten years while in country.

Even if Univ of Kentucky had dropped teaching of the Holocaust - WHICH IT HAS NOT -- what does the Democrats' action in 1970s have to do with it.

Some people have way too much time on their hands.

Chancellor Gordon Brown scotches rumors on Holocaust Education in the UK

From today's Jewish Chronicle:

Shoah class here to stay: Chancellor
20/04/2007
By Dana Gloger and Bernard Josephs

Chancellor Gordon Brown has stepped in to scotch rumours, circulating on the internet, that Holocaust education could be removed from Britain's national curriculum for fear of offending some Islamic pupils.

Addressing a Labour Friends of Israel luncheon on Tuesday, he elicited applause by announcing that the government and the philanthropic Pears Foundation would together give the Holocaust Educational Trust an annual grant of £500,000 over the next three years to support teaching of the subject. This was in addition to the annual government grant of £1.5 million which is financing HET's Lessons from Auschwitz programme, in which two pupils from every school in the country are taken on a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Any suggestion that the Holocaust was being dropped from the curriculum should be dismissed, said Mr Brown. "We will ensure that it goes on being taught... Not to do so would be tragic."

The emails, which declare that the government is to remove the subject, appear to be a response to press coverage of a Department of Education and Skills report earlier this month which quotes a teacher from a northern city as saying that some teachers shied away from subjects such as the Holocaust for fear of offending Muslim students.

It warned: "Recently, this week, all of the United Kingdom... removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it...With Iran among others claiming the Holocaust to be a myth, it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets."

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the HET, expressed delight at the Chancellor's announcement, which she said was an example of the government's commitment to Holocaust education. "This will enable HET to administer a broad programme of teacher training," she said.

A spokesman for the genocide-prevention organisation the Aegis Trust, based at the Holocaust Centre, in Nottinghamshire, said that far from Holocaust education decreasing, the centre is in fact running at capacity and is unable to accept all the school bookings it receives.

The centre's chief executive, Dr James Smith, said: "We are now appealing for funds to build a new auditorium that would double visitor capacity - and enable us substantially to increase our teacher training provision."

The Holocaust became part of the national curriculum in 1991 and is a compulsory subject for all Key Stage Three (usually aged 13 to 14) students in England and Wales.

The UK report on teching about the Holocaust

Well I just read all the sections of the UK report which made reference to the teaching of the Holocaust. [see pp.11, 16, 17, 18, 28, 32-33]. It is a careful report and pinpoints challenges and successes various schools have had in teaching these topics.

It gives no reason for panic or dismay. Concern about somethings, yes. But also some kudos for sensitive teaching.

It notes that there are some teachers who are not prepared to teach topics which might evoke a strong reaction from students. This, however, is NOT referred to as a trend. The authors of the report hypothesize that some teachers

may be unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship. [p.15]

There was a history department in a northern city which recently

avoided selecting the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework for fear of confronting anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils.... In another history department, the Holocaust was taught despite anti-Semitic sentiment among some pupils, but the same department deliberately avoided teaching the Crusades at Key Stage 3 because their balanced treatment of the topic would have directly challenged what was taught in some local mosques. [p.15]

But the report also documents some very sensitive and careful teaching of the topic with teachers addressing

misconceptions students might have about the topic, including the beliefs that all Germans were Nazis, that the Nazis invented anti-Semitism, that all Jews were helpless victims and that all the victims died in gas chambers.[p.32]

Teachers have also been careful to teach about

rescue, resistance and the cultural diversity of Europe in the period are studied, particularly to counter the stereotyping of Jews as helpless victims, awaiting extermination.

In certain areas where extremists groups are strong teachers have made a special point to teach about the Holocaust as a means of countering hatred and antisemitism. [p. 32]

In short, while there are areas of concern there are also areas of distinction. It certainly does not give reason for panic or attacks. The Holocaust Educational Trust comments about teaching of the Holocaust are worth reading.

Tomorrow I will try to write something explaining why this whole thing was such a matter of concern to me.

UK's Holocaust Educatiton Trust responds to false rumors about Holocaust education in UK

In response to the crazy rumors and misinterpretations of the UK Ministry of Education study regarding the teaching of the Holocaust Educational Trust of the UK has posted a statement on its website.

I posted on this on Sunday and have continued to be inundated with emails alerting me to this "terrible" development. People seemed energized by the thought that this might be true.

I am glad that at last this wave of hysteria has been quelled. [Though I am struck by the fact that the Wiesenthal Center just released a statment expressing the fact that it was "horrified" that UK teachers were failing to teach about the Holocaust for reasons of "political correctness." Another misstatement of the facts.]

In short there is enough bad stuff about Jews -- i.e. antisemitism -- out in the world that we do not have to seek it out where it does not exist or overstate what is out there.

Holocaust Education in the UK: False rumors lead to internet hysteria

In the past 2 hours I have received numerous emails, all sent to numerous other people as well, informing me that the UK has dropped the Holocaust from the curriculum because of opposition by Moslem students.

This is NOT correct.

As I have commented in previous postings The Holocaust has not been officially dropped. What has happened is that, according to a report released by the British Office of Education, teachers [not the schools, i.e. it is not official] are avoiding teaching about the Holocaust and the Crusades for fear of offending "students" who might have a different view [i.e. Muslims].

This is very disturbing and must be addressed but we must be sure to get our facts straight, i.e. it is something percolating up from below and not a top down decision.

Moreover, it is the Office of Education is the one who released the news. This suggests to me that they realize that they have a serious problem on their hands.

In fact the report called for

resources, which were scarce at present, to be made available to teach controversial and emotional history subjects.

The report also suggested that

Initial teacher training should include more attention on how to teach these subjects and a better research base should be made available to teachers

This is a disturbing development but equally disturbing is the way a complete misrepresentation of the situation is being spread via the internet.