Union alleges guided excursion to Nazi memorial site with students - Educational Excursion to Nazi Memorial: Union-Organized School Trip Proceeded Successfully
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A school expedition to an NS memorial site is deemed significant and insightful by the education union GEW, as long as it is meticulously planned and followed up. However, there are alternative effective teaching methods to instruct students about the Holocaust within the classroom, asserts Thilo Hartmann, Hessian GEW state chairman.
For instance, investigating or even placing Stolpersteine offers students the chance to engage with the biographies of NS victims.
Hartmann expressly discourages the belief that a memorial site visit would inherently clarify the essence of the Holocaust and the unjust NS state to students, thereby fostering a democratic mentality.
Making mandatory memorial site visits for every class is not considered desirable by us, nor, it seems, by most memorial sites themselves. Recently, a school in Giessen was embroiled in an incident involving antisemitic proposals for the Abi motto, with the police currently investigating for suspected incitement of the population.
Not a Curriculum Requirement, But Recommended
Memorial site visits for victims of the NS regime are not a requisite part of the curriculum, according to the Hessian Ministry of Culture. However, collaborating with institutions of remembrance culture is a fixed component, and a visit is suggested, the ministry explained. Memorial sites serve as learning sites, but also as places of remembrance, warning, and mourning, enabling history to be made tangible and experiential.
In all, seven memorial sites are backed by the ministry with on-site teaching staff. Four of these focus on the NS past: the memorial sites Hadamar and Breitenau, the memorial site and museum Trutzhain, and the documentation and information center Stadtallendorf. Teaching staff are also available at four other educational institutions that offer insights into the NS past, including the Anne Frank educational center.
Further Educational Methods
While the search results do not provide specific recommendations from the GEW Education Union or the Hessian Ministry of Culture, alternative teaching methods for the Holocaust include:
- Incorporating personal stories and testimonies: Use stories and testimonies from Holocaust survivors or descendants to encourage empathy and understanding of the human impact of the Holocaust.
- Employing multimedia and interactive resources: Utilize films, documentaries, and interactive online resources to engage students and provide diverse perspectives on the Holocaust.
- Facilitating critical thinking and reflection exercises: Encourage critical thinking through discussions and reflection exercises to help students analyze the historical context and societal factors that led to the Holocaust.
- Adopting interdisciplinary approaches: Integrate the Holocaust into various subjects such as literature, history, and social studies to deepen students' understanding of its historical and cultural significance.
- Focusing on local and regional history: Make the subject more relevant and tangible for students by concentrating on local and regional history related to the Holocaust.
- Arranging workshops and guest lectures: Organize workshops and invite guest lecturers, such as historians or experts in Holocaust studies, to provide students with expert insights and perspectives.
Initiatives such as the Israelbezogener Antisemitismus an Hochschulen entgegentreten (IBAS) project in North Rhine-Westphalia aim to educate students and staff about antisemitism and its forms, which can be adapted for younger students to understand the broader context of the Holocaust. These methods can supplement traditional visits to memorial sites by offering a more comprehensive and engaging educational experience.
Community policy could involve incorporating recommended alternative teaching methods in education-and-self-development for the Holocaust, such as the use of personal stories and testimonies, multimedia resources, critical thinking exercises, interdisciplinary approaches, a focus on local history, arranging workshops, and guest lectures.
Vocational training programs for educators could provide opportunities for learning and development in effectively instructing students about the Holocaust by focusing on these alternative teaching methods, fostering a democratic mentality and promoting remembrance, warning, and mourning at memorial sites.
