The history of the Holocaust is complex. Teaching the history of the Holocaust is a daunting task given the enormity and speed of the Nazi killing program. As a result of time constraints, teachers sometimes generalize about the Holocaust in such a way as to mislead students into making unfounded generalizations about religious, ethnic, or national groups. Educators should be wary of this potential problem. Here is a discussion from the workshop relating to one such example.
“... but you've got to be careful your kids don't generalize and stereotype ...”
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Guideline:
Though all Jews were targeted for destruction by the Nazis, the experiences of all Jews were not the same. Simplistic views and stereotyping take place when groups of people are viewed as monolithic in attitudes and actions. How ethnic groups or social clusters are labeled and portrayed in school curricula has a direct impact on how students perceive groups in their daily lives. Remind your students that, although members of a group may share common experiences and beliefs, generalizations about them, without benefit of modifying or qualifying terms (e.g., “sometimes,” “usually,” “in many cases but not all”) tend to stereotype group behavior and distort historical reality. Thus, all Germans cannot be characterized as Nazis nor should any nationality be reduced to a singular or one-dimensional description.
Museum