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Putting teachers’ needs at the centre: Introducing Holocaust education in India
Establishing the global relevance and impact of the Holocaust among learners was the focus of UNESCO’s workshops for educators in India within the framework of its International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education (IPHGE). 300 Indian teachers met in New Delhi on 29-30 January 2024, following the annual commemorations of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to explore how they can help learners reflect on the universal legacy of this genocide in and out of the classroom.
The workshops, supported by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Indian Ministry of Education body in charge of teacher training and the UNESCO New Delhi office, highlighted the “why” and the “how” for educating about the Holocaust in an Indian context. The sessions also introduced practical resources teachers can use to navigate the challenging topic with accuracy and sensitivity.
Addressing teachers’ challenges with new resources on Holocaust education
One of the resources presented at the workshops, CBSE-UNESCO’s “Holocaust Education in India”, provides Indian secondary school teachers (grades 9 and 10) with a short, compelling rationale for exploring the topic with their students and a model curriculum for doing so. The guide includes the main definitions teachers and learners should know, the principles to follow while discussing the Holocaust in the classroom and content for four key lessons, including suggested lesson activities.
The workshop sessions modeled activities that teachers could include in their lessons and provided guidance on conversations with students that explore the challenges of Holocaust denial and distortion, antisemitism and misconceptions of the Holocaust in Indian society. For example, they learned how to provide balanced answers to sensitive questions about the Holocaust by avoiding generalizations, using precise language, and helping learners contextualize the history.
&Բ;“I have always found it challenging to relate the history of the Holocaust in my textbook with the real-world situation, but after the workshop, I can confidently do this. UNESCO and CBSE managed to find ways to reach out to every Indian classroom so that the history of the Holocaust can be taught in our context and in an interdisciplinary manner across subjects, including art and languages. The new guide is, therefore, an eye-opener; all teachers should go through it and embed those lessons into the classroom”, says Dr Sumedha Sodhi, Head of the social sciences department of Ahlcon International School in Delhi.
“Not teaching about the Holocaust is providing only half the knowledge to our students”
Abhishek Sharma, a social sciences and history teacher, has no doubts about the relevance of Holocaust education for Indian students: “The Holocaust remains a very important part of history. We cannot even think of not teaching about it as we would then be providing only half the knowledge to the students. Knowing about and understanding the Holocaust is a big asset because we see that the history repeats itself, and students that are aware of this are less likely to make the same mistakes”.
The current secondary education curriculum in India includes teaching the diary of Anne Frank in 8th grade literature class as well as teaching the chapter “Nazism and the Rise of Hitler” in 9th grade history lessons. The workshops and the new teachers’ guide provide teachers with further context and recommendations to integrate the broader history of the Holocaust and its legacy as well as reflections that relate to contemporary society.
In his view, Holocaust education is vital to sensitizing students to human rights, the rule of law and peacebuilding. Mr Sharma believes that in a religiously and ethnically diverse country such as India, reflecting on the reasons of why and how hateful narratives fueled by violent ideologies resulted in the worst atrocity crimes in other parts of the world may be essential for boosting societal cohesion in the present day. “With all current conflicts unfolding in front of us in the world, tackling tensions and discord amongst ourselves with peace and harmony is something we can learn to do, and the lessons of the Holocaust are indispensable in this regard”, he says.
Dr Sodhi echoes this opinion. She adds that Holocaust education has the power to instill in learners the values of empathy, kindness, peace and love, as well as global citizenship skills that are critical for understanding the interdependence of all human beings in the world. “We as teachers are the torch-bearers that guide children in developing a global peace environment not only in the classroom but also in their families, in making the entire world one big family”.&Բ;
India’s commitment to strengthening Holocaust education
Over the past years, India has increased its commitment to Holocaust education. The country participated in previous editions of UNESCO-USHMM international capacity building programme in 2015 and 2017, with a strong focus on research. In 2022, now with the official backing of the CBSE, the Indian project team submitted a new enhanced proposal which focused on publishing the guide and organizing pilot teacher training activities. Building on the success of these two first workshops in New Delhi, the country team and UNESCO now plan to scale up the programme nationally through a ‘training of trainers’ approach, gradually disseminating the new teachers’ guide across all Indian regions with the support of CBSE.
