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| You are here: 2000 / Workshops, Panels and Seminars / Workshops on Education / Workshop 6 on Education, "Testimony in Education" / Presentation by Mr. Ben Helfgott | |||||||||
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Report from Workshop 6 on Education: "Testimony in Education" Presentation by Dr. Barbara Engelking-Boni Presentation by Mrs. Renée Firestone Presentation by Mrs. Trudy Gold Presentation by Dr. Kitty Hart-Moxon Presentation by Mr. Ben Helfgott Presentation by Mr. Ben Helfgott Helfgott, Ben Presentation by Mr. Ben Helfgott Over many years I have worked diligently and constantly to try to educate and teach the lessons of the Holocaust and provide opportunities for remembrance. To this purpose I have been involved in many initiatives and varied activities working closely with Survivors, Academies, Educationalists, and Teachers and in recent years with institutions that were set up in response to the interest that events and the media generated. I believe that the Holocaust was the result of human attitudes and human acts that we must try to understand how it all came about in the hope that the more we know, the more we shall know what to avoid and what to try to prevent. The writing of personal accounts by survivors and their oral testimonies is of the highest importance both in providing sources for the scholars and giving the readers and the public some idea, however faint, of what it felt like, what was suffered and how much was achieved by the victims. However, patient and painstaking research by scholars is equally necessary. Academic historians sifting through the sources with aid of professionals are in a position to present the facts objectively, though, of course, it will lack the emotional impact of the testimony of the survivors. I have always believed that the Holocaust should be presented in context, both of Jewish History and World History. It must be taught as a consequence of history. It is a consequence of history. Perhaps the climax, of a long history of anti-Semitism. That it was not an isolated instance of regression into barbarism but that it occurred as part of a long history of prejudice, persecution, racial hatred, violence, ignorance and intolerance directed not only against Jews. The Holocaust differed in degree from all preceding acts of barbarism to such an extent as to make it different- the nadir of man's inhumanity to man. But considering it in isolation from all other dreadful events in human history has its dangers. In teaching the holocaust, reference should be made to the non-Jewish victims of the Nazi terror lest it is isolated as only a Jewish experience. I have always ensured that Holocaust studies should not be limited and should be introduced by other aspects of Jewish experience including the positive elements. The memory of those who were killed and the memory of the vanished world, unique in its lifestyle, language, culture and art, that was wiped off the face of the earth should be preserved. A recognition that the victim's individual worth and personal dignity will never be forgotten will help to ensure that their memory will provide lessons for all humanity. Learning what happened, how and why it happened teaches us to recognize danger signals in the present and any future expressions of prejudice and racialism. An understanding of the passivity of the so-called civilized world in the face of Nazi bestiality should encourage us to be less fearful in fighting the indications of the growth of violence in the Western society and the regression of other societies and governments into tyranny and oppression. We must recognize that imaginative literature, plays, poetry, novels and films contain the power to reach people and convey a more direct reality than straight history. Understanding through the emotions is easier to most people and may lead some to seek understanding through the intellect. Yet, the recent Italian film "Life is beautiful" was fiercely criticized by survivors, as were similar films, on the grounds that it trivializes the Holocaust and provides ammunition to the deniers of the Holocaust. Like the TV series "the Holocaust" in 1979 their impact on public opinion was far greater than the academic studies themselves which form the basis on which these more popular efforts can be founded. In talking to Jewish youth I emphasize the universalism of the Holocaust as well as a part of their roots, a preparation for their future lives as Jews in the wider world. I try not to give them chips on their shoulders but an understanding of the world we live in. Equally to the non-Jewish students I stress that understanding the Holocaust is a key to living in greater harmony with one's fellow human being. I have always been against the use of Holocaust testimony to pursue private, political and religious agendas. The slogan never again! Has often been abused by various elements especially the political right in Israel. To raise anguish of the victims as a factor of political expediency touches on the obscene. Visits to Poland such as the "March of the Living" should be to increase understanding and tolerance not to promote ideology or some often inverted extremism. The ultimate object of a balanced educational program that uses the Holocaust as a text should have two mottoes. 1. Don't let this happen to you again. 2. Don't do this to others. Don't be the victim-don't be the perpetrator. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session: Messages and speeches Plenary Sessions: Messages and speeches Workshops, Panels and Seminars
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| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||