The Origins of Holocaust Education in American Public Schools

Many scholars depict the rise of Holocaust education in American public schools as a natural outgrowth of the overall rise in Holocaust consciousness. This consciousness, they believe, was spread through the activities of Jewish organizations and religious elites, as well as through television shows and events in popular culture. Although all of these factors were influential, the author believes that scholars tend to overlook the educational context in which the first teachers of the Holocaust worked. In this article, he presents evidence that the first teachers of the Holocaust—who introduced the subject in their schools during 1973-1975—were drawing upon an emerging body of educational and cognitive research. He then links this context explicitly to the design of three of the most influential Holocaust curricula in the country.