This year marks the 77th anniversary of
Kristallnacht, “ The Night of Broken Glass.”
This methodical, Nazi led pogrom destroyed synagogues and
Jewish owned businesses in Germany and Austria. This event is generally
believed to be the beginning of what was to become the Holocaust, leading to
the deaths of over six million European Jews as well as many non-Jews.
As of today there are six states that have mandatory
Holocaust education as part of their curriculum. New Jersey was the first state to recognize
this need and the Richard Stockton State University, in New Jersey was one of
the first institutions of higher education to offer a graduate degree in
Holocaust studies.
Now, all of these years later, the discussion and teaching of
the Holocaust is as relevant as ever. More states should make the study of the
Holocaust and Genocide an integral part of their curriculum. Readers may wish
to take a look at a YouTube video directed by Pennsylvanian Rhonda Fink, who
was trying to impress state legislators about the fact that many college students
knew little about the Holocaust and that there was a pressing need for
Holocaust education in Pennsylvania schools.
In several states like, New York, New Jersey, and Florida,
Holocaust survivors visit local schools and share their stories of how they
lost their families and about the horrors of concentration camp life. But like
our World War Two veterans, Holocaust survivors are reaching the end of their
days and there will come a time when all of the survivors will be gone. If schoolteachers
and administrators doubt what a class of young people can to bring a light to
that dark time in our history, I suggest that they get a copy of the DVD “Paperclips”
and see what the middle-schoolers in Whitwell, Tennessee accomplished.
Fort more information about Kristallnacht and the Holocaust,
check the web site of the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum. (http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005201)
C.2015 J. Margolis
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