Dr.

Karen Shawn Teaching the Holocaust Philosophy of Holocaust Education

Azrieli Graduate School August 7, 2012

I admit it, I am a zealot. I take Never Again! very seriously. I believe that the slogan Never Again means that Jews should never again be in such positions of vulnerability and weakness. Never again should we allow ourselves to be attacked without standing up for ourselves and never again should we allow such baseless hatred and genocide to occur elsewhere in the world. Therefore, my philosophy of Holocaust education is to teach the Holocaust in a manner which promotes these three goals. Id like to credit myself with following in the footsteps of two great and inspirational leaders, Zeev Jabotinsky and Rabbi Meir Kahane. However, since I never met them personally, I feel more comfortable saying that Im following the teachings of David, King of Israel. When David heard of the massacre of Saul, Jonathan and the Jewish people by the Philistines, he did not react by saying, Time to learn some more Torah. Neither did he say, Its time for peace negotiations with the Philistines. Rather he responded with a call to physically strengthen the Jewish people (Samuel 2, 1:18), Its time to teach Yehudah how to shoot with bows, for this is what is written in the Book of the Righteous. Likewise, after near annihilation by the Nazis, it is time to physically strengthen the Jewish people. I see myself guided by King Davids and others principles of pride. When Goliath insulted and berated the Jewish people, David responded with tremendous love and admiration for the Jewish people (Samuel 1, 17:45) saying, I am coming to you in the name of the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of the arrays of Israel. To show the extent of the seriousness with which David took the safety of the Jewish people, the Talmud (Eruvin 45) teaches us that when David heard that the borders of Israel were being approached by the enemy, he girded his troops, even on the Sabbath, to defend the corpse of the Jewish people. Likewise, when Mordechai was confronted

Dr. Karen Shawn Teaching the Holocaust

Azrieli Graduate School August 7, 2012

by the rabid anti-Semite, Haman, he would not contemplate bowing down to him. His principle of self-respect dictated that he would not degrade himself with such behavior. These qualities of pride and dignity are the ones we must imbue into our students. When I read about the state of the Jews during the Holocaust, Im only too well reminded of Jabotinskys words to his followers in the Betar movement, During two thousand years of exile, the Jewish nation lost the habit of concentrating its willpower on an all important task, lost the habit of acting in unison as a people, lost the ability to defend itself, armed in case of emergency, instead, the Jews became accustomed to shouts rather than deeds, to disorder and disorganization, to negligence, both in social and personal life. Therefore, I see my mission, when studying and teaching the Holocaust as an attempt to remedy these conditions. Our learning should serve us as the lesson of the necessity to raise the pride of Israel, to never return to such dysfunction and vulnerability. Although the Holocaust certainly stands out in the magnitude of its destruction and cruelty, Jewish hatred, even genocide, is not new to the Jewish experience. I believe the Holocaust needs to be taught in the perspective of the long history of anti-Semitism. Haman wanted to perform genocide upon us 2500 years ago. The Megillah teaches us that Haman desired (Ester 3: 13) to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day. The Holocaust is unique in that modern-day Haman succeeded where the ancient one failed. It is therefore incumbent upon us to learn how our role in 20th century Europe enabled our enemy to succeed. Since the Nazis goals were not unique in the annals of Jewish history, I believe the Holocaust needs to be taught as a continuum of the thousand years of European hatred. The enmity of the Crusades, the Expulsion from Spain, and

Dr. Karen Shawn Teaching the Holocaust

Azrieli Graduate School August 7, 2012

the Chmielnicki Pogroms only culminated in the Holocaust; the Holocaust itself does not stand out on its own. As our goals are to develop a pride and preparedness among our youth, I believe the horrors of Holocaust should not be focused upon. Brief clips of the ghettos and concentration and deportation camps should suffice to convince the students to be proud and strong so that we never return to such conditions. Literature that just decries the misfortune of the Jews should be avoided. Rather, we need to concentrate on stories and media that explain the severity of the conditions, but accentuate to positive elements of ingenuity, survival, and the will to live, what we commonly call Jewish agency. Having been a victim of anti-Semitic attack myself, I have been asked to give classes on the topic. I believe students beginning from eighth grade are old enough to hear this message. They are physically maturing, and this a time when ethnic and national pride begins to blossom in their persona. They are old enough to handle small doses of the horrors, and mature enough to understand that they are the next generation of Jewish leadership. Social causes also reverberate in their minds, and it is a ripe time to sensitize them to hear the cry of todays discriminated and suffering. They need to learn that just like we would have wanted someone to come to our aid, we need to come to theirs. We always need to focus on a positive message. Whenever Anti-Semitism is studied, it should not be presented as Look how much we suffered! Rather, the phenomenon needs to be explained as a consequence of the innate power and grandeur of Judaism. Anti-Semitism is the force of resistance to the positive change Judaism is commanded to affect in the world. Because, were special, charged with a glorious, divine mission, we face unique challenges.

Dr. Karen Shawn Teaching the Holocaust

Azrieli Graduate School August 7, 2012

The Holocaust was such a horrific and degrading experience for the Jewish people that it approaches the surreal. We therefore need much care and thought when we broach the subject. My philosophy is to study this topic in order to reinforce the necessity of Jewish pride, strength and functionality in our youth. We also need to stress care and compassion for those crying out in need. In this way, we will take the lessons from this bitter period to create a better tomorrow.