Published: 15 October 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
WHEN SENATOR FRASER ANNING used his maiden speech in 2018 to dog-whistle to Queensland’s far right, referring to a “final solution” on Australia’s immigration policy, even Queensland’s quintessential xenophobe, Pauline Hanson, was appalled. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Anning should “immediately go and visit a Holocaust museum”.
Anning hasn’t taken up the challenge as far as I’m aware, but he will soon be able to in his home state capital, where the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies (QJBD) has secured $3.5m Commonwealth government funding for the development of a “Holocaust Museum and Education Centre.” It will join Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia in having a dedicated remembrance and teaching facility, something advocates argue is necessary given the haphazard approach to Holocaust teaching in Queensland schools.
Lee McNamee, board member of the QJBD and Courage to Care (a travelling anti-bullying exhibition that centres on the actions of rescuers during the Holocaust), says that although WWII is covered in the state’s history curriculum, teaching of the Holocaust is not compulsory.
Holocaust education is a core pillar of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which Australia joined as a member in 2019. It has taken on a higher priority in light of serious cases of anti-Semitic bullying in Victoria, which led to an independent inquiry into anti-Semitism in schools and a subsequent process to develop Holocaust resources for Victorian schools as a mandatory part of the curriculum in Grades 9 and 10.
The government’s support for the Queensland museum aligns with its commitment as a member of IHRA.
Conversations about how the Holocaust should be taught and what difference it can make are always evolving, yet they continue to arouse strong opinions. In 2020, the context for those discussions is incredibly complex - escalating anti-Semitism and other forms of racism around the world, ever more polarised communities, the spread of hate speech on social media, and the dismantling of democratic values.
While there appears to be a persistent gap in knowledge about the Holocaust among younger generations, Stephen Smith of the USC Shoah Foundation, cites evidence of positive effects to date, such as a greater willingness among participants in Holocaust programs to take action in bullying situations and to challenge incorrect information.
The importance of developing those skills cannot be overstated in the current climate. Dr Avril Alba, who as former Education Director at the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM) led the development of a permanent exhibition exploring connections between the Holocaust and human rights, says the success of Holocaust museums “is whether and how they can provide forums for critical thinking and reflection that compel their visitors to aspire to greater personal and communal vigilance with regard to safeguarding societies from destructive, anti-democratic and hateful ideologies”.
The local Queensland context will be vital, both in terms of exploring the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and in understanding Jewish history in Queensland and the contributions of migrants and refugees both before and after the Holocaust.
A review of Holocaust education by the IHRA found that “teachers and students perceive and experience TLH [teaching and learning about the Holocaust] to be qualitatively different from other subjects and take the subject quite seriously,” a view that is echoed by Holocaust educators who see a shift in their students that continues well after a museum experience.
One staff member of a Sunshine Coast school noted that the Courage to Care (C2C) exhibition “has been a touchstone for students’ discernment of ethical dilemmas”; students at a Brisbane private school that hosted a temporary Yad Vashem exhibit speak of similarly profound responses.
There are clear benefits of a dedicated space for Holocaust education. Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney and member of the Education Working Group of IHRA, Suzanne Rutland says that even if the visit is short, “…it’s very concentrated time and it can be very powerful; indeed for some children, it can be life-changing”
She recalls a group of students who visited the SJM, many of whom had endured their own experiences of war in the Sudan. One girl, she says, was so affected she hugged the survivor-educator afterwards and showed a video of the encounter to her parents.
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Another inevitable debate relates to the extent to which Holocaust programs should impart knowledge of the specific history of Nazism and the genocides perpetrated by that regime, or highlight universal messages of the dangers of prejudice, using the Holocaust as a symbol to teach about all forms of oppression and discrimination.
Yad Vashem in Jerusalem is based on the former “particularist” model. The announcement about the museum indicates a preference for the latter approach, with QJBD Vice-President Jason Steinberg saying, “at its core, the museum will help to empower individuals to stand up against hatred and prejudice…”
In Australia, learning about the Holocaust can shed light on the diverse range of strategies used to commit genocide, and motivate students to reflect on our country’s own history of genocide including the legacy of the Stolen Generations. The local Queensland context will be vital, both in terms of exploring the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and in understanding Jewish history in Queensland and the contributions of migrants and refugees both before and after the Holocaust.
Other discussions with students could entail, for example, an examination of the concept of ‘Never Again’ in light of the recent and current genocides of the Yazidi, Rohingya and Uighur communities, and the ways in which genocide denial perpetuates injustice, as in the case of the Armenian Genocide.
The Holocaust should not be diminished by careless equations with school-based bullying or racist encounters, and any effective program should be clear about the specificities of both anti-Semitism and the genocidal process. Yet part of the power of Holocaust exhibitions and narratives is the wider application of fundamental principles of acceptance, equality and compassion.
Speaking about the C2C program, McNamee says “it fuses the human story of the Holocaust with the contemporary struggles and conflicts young students and adults encounter in their daily interactions”. The situation of refugees is one example she cites of students applying the lessons of the Holocaust to contemporary issues.
Suzanne Rutland agrees. “If we don’t do that, then Holocaust education is very narrow, because this is not just a Jewish story, but it’s also a story of the fear of difference – of prejudice and stereotypes.”
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It’s a tricky balance to strike. What will be key to the museum’s philosophy are deep considerations of its intent and methodologies. In view of the digital revolution and spread of disinformation, teaching about Nazi propaganda and targeting of particular groups could train students to better interrogate contemporary political messaging, to question the social media echo chambers and discern between facts and stereotypes.
Likewise, learning about the lead up to the Holocaust - the gradual legislative changes to discriminate against Jews, the trend towards populism and strongman leaders, the denigration of democratic processes—could encourage students to better analyse what they are seeing happen in the world today, from Poland and Hungary, to Russia, the US and beyond.
Examining Nazi propaganda could aid in a comparative analysis with the spread of genocidal messages on Facebook that contributed to atrocities against Rohingyas in Myanmar, for example, and open students’ eyes to the ease of manipulation via social media.
As much as we may wish it to be the case, a museum visit is unlikely to open up the minds of Fraser Anning and supporters of far-right ideologies. Holocaust education is not an inoculation against, or cure for, racism or prejudice, but it is an important element of history, human rights and social cohesion pedagogy.
Holocaust museums and education programs can lay the foundation for students to consider the harms caused by prejudice and its most violent manifestations. If students apply that lens to current global events and are motivated by their museum experience to be active change-makers, we can surely have hope for the future.
Main photo: New Hungarian Holocaust Museum in Budapest
