As the school year draws to a close, students and teachers in Facing History and Ourselves classrooms are exploring the theme of “Choosing to Participate.” After delving deeply into historical case studies, from The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy to Holocaust and Human Behavior, they’re asking an important question: How does history educate me about my responsibilities today?
When I was a teenager, I traveled to Auschwitz on a Jewish summer program. Since I played the saxophone, I was asked to perform the song “Eli, Eli” for a memorial service. It is a popular Jewish song my father made me sing every night before bed but I knew nothing of its origin. My tutor told me as I walked to the stage that Hannah Senesh, who wrote the poem on which the song is based, was a Hungarian-born, Palestine-based paratrooper who died trying to rescue Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence
The Power of Memory and Art to Heal a Society After Genocide
Posted by Francesca Colletti on December 19, 2017
So many times in the last year I have turned to this excerpt of the poem, “What They Did Yesterday Afternoon,” by Somali-British poet, Warsan Shire:
"later that night
I held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere."
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence
3 Reasons to Explore the Nanjing Atrocities 80 Years Later
Posted by Mara Gregory on November 20, 2017
December 13, 2017 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Atrocities. Between December 1937 and March 1938, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the city of Nanjing, unleashing a spree of violence, murder, and rape on thousands of women, men, and children.
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence
3 Features You Need to Know About the New Holocaust and Human Behavior
Posted by Dan Sigward on July 31, 2017
At Facing History, we recently revised our seminal case study, Holocaust and Human Behavior. Why is it time for a new edition? In today’s world, how to build and maintain democratic societies that are resilient to violence is more important than ever. Not to mention that Holocaust scholarship and the study of human behavior have changed dramatically since the last revision of this work 20 years ago. So has technology. That’s why we’ve included a digital version of the new edition, along with the print version, which allows educators to build a customized experience in their classroom. We wanted to create a more dynamic experience for teachers and students as they grapple with this difficult history and the moral questions it raises.
Topics: Facing History Resources, Genocide/Collective Violence, Holocaust and Human Behavior
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence
Teaching Genocide and World War II Through the Lens of East Asia
Posted by Addie Male on April 19, 2017
I have long wanted to develop and teach a unit on the Nanjing Atrocities for my students at Millennium Brooklyn High School. As a high school history teacher with an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies, I see it as an important history that we seldom teach in the United States.
Topics: Professional Development, Online Workshop, Genocide/Collective Violence, The Nanjing Atrocities, genocide
3 Features You Need to Know About the New Holocaust and Human Behavior
Posted by Dan Sigward on April 3, 2017
April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month and at Facing History, we’ve revised our seminal case study, Holocaust and Human Behavior. This revision is the culmination of five years of research, discussion, writing, and video and web production by the organization. We wanted to create a more dynamic experience for teachers and students as they grapple with this difficult history and the moral questions it raises.
Topics: Facing History Resources, Genocide/Collective Violence, Holocaust and Human Behavior
Images are an important entry to stories of genocides and mass violence. They provide evidence and context but they can also shock us, jolting us into the immense amount of human suffering that occurred. This is why we must be careful when we prepare lessons for students that touch on such graphic and often difficult-to-absorb topics.
Topics: Armenian Genocide, Photography, Genocide/Collective Violence, Holocaust and Human Behavior, genocide
Education in Dealing with the Past: Can We Prevent Atrocity from Happening Again?
Posted by Clara Ramírez-Barat on May 10, 2016
Guest blogger, Clara Ramírez-Barat, shares how a two-year research project with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is exploring innovative strategies to engage young people in justice and peace-building efforts through education. Facing History’s international director, Karen Murphy, has played a lead role in this emerging field. She wrote a case study for that project and previously teamed up with ICTJ to develop a children’s guide to the Kenyan Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission to help youth address complex parts of their country’s history.
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence, SEL, Empathy, International Justice