What Holocaust educators must do to combat modern antisemitism

The global upsurge in antisemitic incidents and attacks post October 7 has understandably shaken Jews worldwide, including those who have sought to address antisemitism through Holocaust education. The question inevitably emerges: What good has it done to expose and teach about the crimes of the Nazis when antisemitic hate is still so clearly evident?

It goes without saying that no educative effort of this nature is a “silver bullet” and that it must be reinforced by other frameworks such as the rule of law, democratic processes and the defence of minority rights. But this position also dodges the fundamental charge:  if knowledge of past persecutions of Jews, particularly through a focus on its most horrific example, cannot stop continuing vilification - what can?

As someone who has spent most of her professional life in the fields of Holocaust history and education, the antisemitism evidenced in the past three months has prompted me to  go back to the basics in terms of what we are seeking to achieve.

Holocaust education has recently come under attack by prominent Jewish thinkers and writers. They rightly challenge us to think about how the universalisation of the Holocaust in many educative models may actually detract from a student’s ability to understand the particularity of Jewish identity and the specific nature of the persecution that European Jewry faced.

They are perhaps correct when they argue that more, not less, of this particularity should be taught, beginning with an understanding of the diverse Jewish culture that preceded WW2, and a better understanding of the long history of antisemitism that preceded the Nazi period. More and more efforts to do so are being incorporated into Holocaust education programs and internationally.