Henry J. Brajkovic
The task of this unit is to impart knowledge about the Holocaust to the students and to awaken them to the danger of fanatical prejudice.
What does the Holocaust mean to both Jews and non-Jews today? To those who care about their fellow men the Holocaust is the most horrible and important event in this century. Speaking of the Holocaust as a human issue is to talk about a moral issue.
Will history repeat itself? If anything resembling the Holocaust were to happen again, the knowledge about the Holocaust would help students make the right decision. The choice would be: to support evil or to resist it. One hopes they will make the right choice.
The enormity of the crime of the Holocaust might be too difficult for the students to comprehend. Nearly six million Jews lost their lives in the Holocaust two out of every three Jews in Europe. Perishing along with them were another five million European civilians. Eleven million in all. This total does not include the military casualties on both sides of the conflict.
We must learn never to forget that prejudice can bring about the destruction of innocent people. Intolerance of others, who seem different from us, can only bring about hatred.
We as teachers must attempt to provide a feeling for tolerating differences of race, religion and nationalities among our fellow men. Above all, we must show respect for each other. The teacher must reinforce the values the parents and religious leaders instill in the children.