These profiles contain text of state legislation about the teaching of the Holocaust, and Holocaust-explicit History/Social Studies and English/Language Arts state content standards. Also provided is contact information for state departments of education.
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CONTACTS
Mr. John Keh
Content Specialist at Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Education
An Act Requiring Certain Instructions In The Public Schools Of The Commonwealth
Legislation: In 1998 the state legislature approved Chapter 276 of the Acts of 1998 providing that "the board of education would formulate recommendations on curricular material on genocide and human rights issues, and guidelines for the teaching of such material. Said material and guidelines may include, but shall not be limited to, the period of the transatlantic slave trade and the middle passage, the great hunger period in Ireland, the Armenian genocide, the holocaust, and the Mussolini fascist regime and other recognized human rights violations and genocides."
Contact Name:
John Chiang Keh
Address:
Massachusetts Department of Education, Instruction & Curriculum Services 350 Main Street
History/Social Studies: World History II -The Rise of the Nation State to the Present:
WHII.26 Describe the background, course, and consequences of the Holocaust, including its roots in the long tradition of Christian anti-Semitism, 19th century ideas about race and nation, and Nazi dehumanization of the Jews (page 60).
WHII.28 Explain the consequences of World War II. (H, E)
A. Physical and economic destruction
B. The enormous loss of life, including millions of civilians through the bombing of population centers and the slaughter of political opponents and ethnic minorities
C. Support in Europe for political reform and decolonization
D. The emergence of the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world’s two superpowers (page 61)
U.S. History II - Reconstruction to the Present, 1877-2001:
USII.15 Analyze how German aggression in Europe and Japanese aggression in Asia contributed to the start of World War II and summarize the major battles and events of the war. On a map of the world, locate the Allied powers (Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States) and Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). (H, G)
A. Fascism in Germany and Italy
B. German rearmament and militarization of the Rhineland
C. Germany’s seizure of Austria and Czechoslovakia and Germany’s invasion of Poland (76)
English/Language Arts: Holocaust-related literature appears on Massachusetts’ reading list through the suggestion of authors like Cynthia Ozick, Chaim Potok, and Elie Wiesel.
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