There’s a part of history that’s shared but not really embraced. 6 million Jews lost their lives due to the superiority complex, hatred and intolerance of a man. “Holocaust” is a word of Greek origin meaning “sacrifice by fire.” The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that [...]]]> By: Gina Smith

There’s a part of history that’s shared but not really embraced. 6 million Jews lost their lives due to the superiority complex, hatred and intolerance of a man. “Holocaust” is a word of Greek origin meaning “sacrifice by fire.” The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were “racially superior” and that the Jews, deemed “inferior,” were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community. January 27^th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, celebrated annually. This year I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Italian Consulate General’s office, located here in New York, to partake in this historical event. During this event we were remembering the victims that have befallen to the genocide of the Jewish people by reading their names aloud. As names were being read there were multiple with the same surnames, and it was dawned on me that these were families. Whole families were killed; mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and babies. Hearing the children’s names being read aloud wore heavy on my heart for they never got to experience life. Some ages 6-12, their lives cut short before they had a chance to live. Never to experience the simple things we take for granted, like hanging out with our friends at the mall, or going out to a movie, bowling with the family, even going to prom. Even though I’m an African American I still felt the pain and hurt of these people, my ancestors had a similar fate. There were emotional break downs from Holocaust survivors and non Jews alike. There were Consulates General from all over: Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Poland, Australia and all came and recollected on the histories of the holocaust and the affiliation with their country. This was also an educational experience for me, although I knew of the Holocaust I only knew very little (or the basics for lack of better words). I didn’t know that during this time in which the Holocaust was taking place the Germans were not only slaughtering Jewish people but also those of other ethnic groups such as the Gypsies (Roma), some Slavic peoples (including the Poles and Russians) and disabled people as well. German authorities persecuted homosexuals and others whose behavior did not match prescribed social norms. German police officials targeted thousands of political opponents (including Communists, Socialists, and trade unionists) and religious dissidents (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses). Many of these individuals died as a result of incarceration and maltreatment.

As the readings of the names were taking place I was able to interview some of the Holocaust survivors and to hear their stories were amazing. They described how they survived camps, and how their Non-Jewish brethren risked their own lives to help them escape to safety. A Survivor I had the pleasure to meet named David Silberman shared his tale with me about an unsung hero named Janis (Zhanis) Lipke (1900-1987) who helped more than 50 Jews escape their horrid fate. Janis was an ordinary man just like you and me but he did what he felt was right and that was more than enough. David Silberman recently published book recollecting the tales of Janis Lipke entitled “Like a Star In The Darkness”[i]

I definitely think that everyone should come out and share this experience because this tragedy is not only limited to one specific group of people, and these are things that are still happening in the world today. There is an alarming surge in the hate crimes percentage. In November of 2011 the FBI released a statistical analysis that indicated that of the 7,699 single based offenses that took place in 2010, 6,628 of those were hate crimes. 47.3 percent were motivated by a racial bias, 20.0 percent were motivated by a religious bias, 19.3 percent were motivated by a sexual orientation bias, and 12.8 percent were motivated by an ethnicity/national origin bias. Bias against a disability accounted for 0.6 percent of single-bias incidents. If we continue on the path that we are currently on then we will have a new age Holocaust on our hands. What we need to do is raise our children and teach them things other than what they see on television. If we can educate our young children on the past than the future (theirs and ours) will be a bright and blessed one.

In the month of June 2011, many School Teachers, Graduate Students, other educators and

I, had the opportunity of spending several days together studying the History of the Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide at [...]]]> “Humans have the will to strive for what is right.
This and memories of the past helps to ensure that history does
Not repeat it.” Elie Wiesel

In the month of June 2011, many School Teachers, Graduate Students, other educators and

Judith Szentivanyi (Holocaust Survivor

I, had the opportunity of spending several days together studying the History of the Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide at the Florida Holocaust Museum, Sam Gross Institute in St. Petersburg Florida.

Under the Tutelage of Dr. Mary Johnson, Senior Historian and expert, Facing History and Ourselves, Dr. Edward Kissi, Professor of African Studies at the University of South Florida and Dr. Peter Black, a historian from the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, we studied history, man-inhumanity-to-man, and learned ways to prevent atrocities in the future. Seeing the original artifacts, i.e., boxcar used to transport people during the Holocaust, spending time with Holocaust Survivors, survivors from Rwanda, Cambodian survivors, and watching documentaries of Faith under Fire was truly life changing.

According to the United States- Holocaust Education Report, there are only 50 individual states, not the federal government, are primarily responsible for education policy. Therefore, there is no national curriculum or course of study on the Holocaust that has been created by the government of the United States.

Five states have enacted laws requiring the teaching of the Holocaust. This is known as creating a “legislative mandate.”

Jerry Rawicki (Holocaust Survivor)

These states are: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. Of these five, Florida and New Jersey have created extensive and detailed curricula and guides for the teaching of the Holocaust through their independent state commissions. New York and California have both created less detailed guides through their respective state departments of education, while Illinois has created neither a curriculum nor guides.

Ten other states have regulations encouraging or recommending the teaching of the Holocaust: Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Washington. These regulations are either enacted by state legislatures or by state governors. Those created by the legislature are known as “legislative regulations,” while those created by state governors are known as “executive regulations.”

Twelve states have also created Holocaust commissions or councils that support Holocaust

Lisi Schick (Holocaust Survivor)

education: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The scope of these commissions and councils varies widely from state to state.

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have social-studies standards that are crafted by their respective departments of education (the Alabama Department of Education, the South Dakota Department of Education, etc.). Teachers are required to address these standards-all of which include study of the Holocaust-in their classes. Iowa allows the local school districts to create their own standards, while Rhode Island relies on standards created by the National Center for History in the Schools of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

If the Holocaust is not a mandatory subject, what percentage of schools chooses to teach about the Holocaust?

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have created social-studies standards for their classrooms. As of early 2004, the Holocaust is explicitly named in 24 state standards

Stanlee J. Stahl

Executive Vice President

The Jewish Foundation for the righteous

(Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia’s; it is implicitly identified in the remaining 23 standards when, for example, teachers are asked to address the development and consequences of the policies of National Socialist Germany. As standards play an increasingly important role in U.S. education, it can be assumed that most schools address the subject of the Holocaust.

William E. Stagg, Sophal Leng Stagg (Cambodian Survivor), Dr. Edward Kissi, and Bill Tingling

Help us to get Holocaust studies in all American classrooms by becoming a member of the Teaching Trunks project. We have Teaching Trunks for all grades, and can ship these teaching trunks to anywhere in the United States.

To reserve your trunk please contact Charles Jaynes at 727-8200 100 ext. 249 or cjaynes@flholocaustmuseum.org or Bill Tingling at 718 230-7821 bill@wordsofbonds.org

Dr. Edward Kissi and Students

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