The Holocaust's Relevance Today

Do you have a link we can include? Submit a link here. [1]

May 14, 2008

While we mark 63 years since concentration camps were liberated, we also note that the study and commemoration of the Holocaust is a contemporary phenomenon. Our understanding of the Holocaust continues to deepen as we discover new documents [2] and artifacts [3]. Historical interpretations of the Holocaust have developed to emphasize the role of bystanders and to address the question of how ordinary people [4] became perpetrators of violence. And, nations, especially Germany, look for new ways to remember the Holocaust in public exhibits [5] and in classrooms. [6] Even 63 years after the end of World War II, the international community still attempts to realize justice for victims and survivors through criminal trials [7] and through monetary reparations [8]. The Holocaust may have happened in the past, but ongoing efforts to cope with its legacy demonstrate that the Holocaust is not history.

Discussion Questions

Why is the study of the Holocaust relevant today?
Some people argue that studying about the Holocaust is a form of genocide prevention. To what extent do you agree with this argument?
In what ways is the Holocaust a unique event in history? In what ways does the Holocaust represent universal themes about human behavior that are reflected in other historical moments?
How do people commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust? Who are the audiences for these memorials?
We already know a great deal about the Holocaust. What might scholars and others hope to learn about the Holocaust that is not already known?
What do you know about the Holocaust? What questions do you have about the Holocaust? Where might you look to find answers to these questions?
What does justice after horrible atrocities, such as the Holocaust, look like? Is it ever too late to achieve justice?

Related Facing Today Resources

Understanding Auschwitz Today [13]

Remembering the Holocaust: Six Key Lessons [14]

American and German Students Take Cross-Ocean Class on the Holocaust [15]

A Protestant Town's Conspiracy of Good in Vichy France [16]

Note: The media selections posted in Facing Today do not necessarily represent the views of Facing History and Ourselves.

Links:
[1] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/submit-a-story
[2] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/six-decades-after-wwii-massi
[3] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/ss-officer-scrapbook
[4] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/nazi-atrocities-committed-ordinary-people
[5] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/german-state-railway-confron
[6] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/to-resist-hitler-survive
[7] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/86-year-old-ss-killer-faces-murder-charges
[8] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/sixty-years-removed-war-some-hardships-remain
[9] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/hhb
[10] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/publications/finding-a-voice-musicians-t
[11] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/the-weimar-republic-making-polit
[12] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons/interpreting-works-samuel-bak-in
[13] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/understanding-auschwitz-today
[14] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/remembering-holocaust-six-key-lessons
[15] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/american-german-students-take-cross-ocean-class-holocaust
[16] http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/facingtoday/a-protestant-towns-conspiracy-good-vichy-france