The prevailing long-term trend in university history instruction--especially when one considers the rise of the historical seminar in the nineteenth century and the source-method of teaching in the twentieth--has been towards teaching methods of analysis. That is to say, by reading documents and sources, students can learn a way of looking at the…

Innovation and invention drive the world forward and thrive off a free market that rewards individuals and companies that can tap into supply and demand. During tragedy, especially wartime, this can take a dark turn when the triumph of invention and profit is gained from human tragedy. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) saw warfare…

The aim of this article is to examine the frameworks that educators use, especially how they conclude teaching and learning about genocide, and to suggest readings and other sources for use. The narrative arc that educators establish by choosing where to begin and where to end is a powerful indicator of their course goals and teaching rationales.…

Visual History Archive, or VHA, is the world's largest database of videotaped and digitized Holocaust video testimony. The VHA originated with filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who consulted camp survivors when making his blockbuster film "Schindler's List" in 1993. Inspired by this collaboration, Spielberg went on to establish the Survivors…

Educators at the secondary school level who teach History, or Integrated Social Studies more broadly, may be expected to possess at least some passing knowledge of the Holocaust, the genocide perpetrated against European Jews by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Yet, when it comes to the Pacific War and Japanese war crimes and atrocities…

Since its first appearance in 1947, "The Diary of Anne Frank" has been translated into sixty-five different languages, including Welsh, Esperanto, and Faroese. Millions and perhaps even billions of readers, scattered throughout the globe and now spanning multiple generations, are familiar with the life and work of this young Jewish…

Examining history from the perspective of investigators who wrestle with involved scenarios for which no simple answers exist, or from which no obvious conclusions can be drawn, allows students to understand the historiographic process and the complex nature of historical events, while gaining valuable practice in applying analytical and critical…

Most teachers hope to make a difference in the lives of their students, but whether they accomplish this with any regularity is often left unclear. With a topic like the Holocaust, the stakes are greatly raised. In this essay, the author discusses the place of the Holocaust in the liberal arts. He argues that the content of Holocaust education…

A fundamental problem faced by anyone who wishes to teach the Holocaust, or any other mass slaughter, is the tension between the desire " to allow the dead their voices to make the silence heard," and a historical narrative that often deals almost exclusively on perpetrator actions. This bias in the narrative derives from the tendency in history,…

Many students assume that history has nothing to do with them and therefore is a waste of their time, so finding a way to get involuntary history students truly involved in a topic is always the most challenging aspect of teaching it. As passive listeners they will remember little; as active participants they will remember more and--in at least a…

In 1939 and 1948, John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy visited the Middle East, both while seniors in college. This article consists of two letters written to their parents from Palestine assessing the problems of their day between Arab and Jew. Questions to stimulate classroom discussion are included. (Author/RM)

Suggests themes in Russian history that can be integrated into existing history, social studies, civics, or religion classes. Expounds on the following themes: agriculture and collectivization, police force and legality, Jews and dissidence, plurality and ideology, and the arms race. Provides bibliographic sources. (RW)

Presents ten guidelines, discussing each in detail, for teaching about the Holocaust in middle or high school. Includes topics such as encouraging active learning and a "minds-on" approach, inviting Holocaust survivors as guest speakers, and providing a base of historical knowledge. Contains references. (CMK)