Quote of the Day – Plus – The Holocaust

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"For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing."

Simon Wiesenthal

The Plus

 It’s Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

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Many leaders across the country, including officials in Kentucky, are pausing to remember the horror that befell six million Jewish people and others who perished under the Nazi regime in World War II.

The Holocaust is certainly deserving of remembering. Kentucky even has a statute, KRS 156.160, that says:

“Every public middle and high school's curriculum shall include instruction on the Holocaust and other cases of genocide….”

But, will Kentucky’s public school students ever really learn about the Holocaust?

The statute that requires teaching about the Holocaust is mentioned in the introductory section of Kentucky’s current social studies standards.

But, none of the specific, grade-by-grade standards include the Holocaust.

  • So, when will the Holocaust actually be taught?

  • When is the Holocaust fair game for questions on Kentucky’s social studies assessments?

  • Will teachers in every middle and high school grade just assume the Holocaust is covered in another grade so no one winds up covering it?

 It gets worse.

Kentucky’s social studies standards never mention important terms required for any decent discussion of the Holocaust such as “Nazi,” “Nazism” or “Fascist.” No concentration camps like “Auschwitz” or “Treblinka,” another essential part of the discussion, are mentioned. In fact, even the general term, “Concentration Camp,” is also totally absent. Also never mentioned: “Hitler,” the sick mastermind behind the Holocaust.

So, this year, how about Kentucky’s legislators stepping up to the plate to demand improvements to Kentucky’s social studies standards so every child in our state will understand why and what we are pausing today to remember.

Richard Innes