“Can I Alter the Statement?” – Considering Holocaust Education as a Catalyst for Civic Education in Jewish Day Schools

ABSTRACT This study investigates ideas about the messages of the Holocaust understood by middle school students in Jewish day schools. Findings explore the conceptualizations students have of the Holocaust as a particular Jewish experience, and in what ways they apply its lessons both particularly and universally. Students in two North American Jewish day schools participated in a fall 2017 Holocaust education unit. Most were able to connect to the particular history of the Holocaust and to engage with universal messages. Their responses suggest a need and opportunity to frame Holocaust education more explicitly in the context of democratic civic education.