Not far from the prospective site of the National Holocaust Memorial in Westminster stands a statue of Richard the Lionheart. At his coronation in 1189, when Jews came to honour the new king, a mob attacked them, triggering a wave of violence in the country that culminated in the York Massacre the following year.
“It’s an unknown history,” said Dave Rich, head of policy at the Community Security Trust. But one that illustrates the deep roots of European antisemitism.
He was speaking at a panel discussion at London’s JW3 centre earlier this month on the effectiveness of Holocaust education. One of the UK’s most experienced Holocaust educators, Trudy Gold, had framed it with her opening question: if so much work was being done in the field, “why is antisemitism at such an alarming level?”
Striking a pessimistic note, she said she was “beginning to believe it is so deep in the world of monotheism that nothing can actually eradicate it, maybe nothing can do much to lessen it.”
Others agreed with Dr Rich that “we need to make sure Holocaust education doesn’t just teach about the Holocaust itself, and World War Two, but about the roots of European antisemitism.”
But some called for greater clarity on the purpose of teaching of the subject in schools. Former headteacher Dame Helen Hyde stressed the need to establish a clear rationale and a curriculum.
Although the Holocaust had been a statutory part of the national history curriculum since the mid-90s, it should be taught throughout a child’s school career rather than limited to a few hours in one year, she argued, “because if a student has done it in year six or year nine and has never done it again, there is no long-term impact.”
Despite its statutory nature, it was not inspected and many schools were able to opt out of it, she said.
Some of the panel agreed with Mrs Gold that the curriculum should ideally go up to the birth of the Israel, setting the creation of a homeland for Jews in the aftermath of the Shoah.
Henry Grunwald, like Dame Helen a trustee of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum near Newark, emphasised the need for new teaching techniques to reach younger generation.
The centre’s library of 3D recordings with survivors, enabling interactive interviews, was one example. It also plans shortly to launch a digital version of its exhibit for primary schools. “We have embraced the digital age and there is a chance we will get into every primary school in the country,” he said.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said public interest was high, judging from the wish to mark HMD across the country and museum visits.
And Ruth-Anne Lenga, of University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education, highlighted the deep impact on children of encounters with survivors, who were driven by a sense of duty. “In many ways, I feel it is a sacrifice,” she said. “To relive the nightmare… in the hope that not only will young people know more about the Holocaust, but that it can change attitudes, including attitudes to Jewish people, is a great thing to do.”
