Our unit on the Holocaust culminated last week with an amazing field trip that the Grade 8's and 9's took to Krakow. One full day of that trip was dedicated to touring Auschwitz/Birkenau which is located 2 hrs away by train from Krakow in a small steel town called Okocim. I've had a really hard time deciding how to approach this subject from the get-go, and that is probably going to be evident in the meandering nature of this posting.
This whole unit, I felt like something was wrong with the way I was teaching it. The students read all the materials I gave them, watched difficult documentaires, engaged in group discussions and reflected constantly on the tough subject matter. But no matter what I threw at them, it didnt seem to be making much of an impact. For example, at the end of the class on the Nazi euthenasia campaign, where we read heart breaking personal accounts of disabled children being put to death in rudimentary gas chambers, I felt like I had been hit by a steam-roller. The kids seemed to get over the subject matter instantly and began happily chatting away about the weekend as soon as the bell rang. It made me feel like I was really blowing it; how could they not be moved by what they were learning about?
In a way I was scared by what could potentially happen in Auschwitz with the kids. If they weren't being properly prepared for it in class, would going there be a disturbingly shocking event? There is an entire room FILLED with human hair. 90,000 pairs of old shoes. A 15'X40' gas chamber that killed approxiamtely one million people. How could seeing that stuff not shake them to the core?
The other thing that needs to be mentioned is that Auschwitz is now a very big tourist attraction and that had a pretty big effect on our experience. It is a one-day destination that is promoted and covered by every tourism kiosk in Krakow. I am one of those tourists, so I don't have much right to complain, but when we were there, there were thousands of other people there taking the tour. School groups, Isreali soldiers on leave, Bus tours... the list goes on and on. It was a big challenge to see something so intensely emotional in such a overtly public way, as was seeing the disrespectful ways some people treat the grounds. The IDF soldiers were taking pictures everywhere even where clearly marked NO PHOTOS signage was up and even after the guide asked them to stop. And believe it or not, there is actually graffiti all over Aushwitz too! Some of it is the 'never again' variety, some is staunch pro-zionist rants, some is actually run-of-the-mill tagging. All of it is terrible. There's even graffiti in the gas chamber. But to me, the worst part of the tourist angle is that you don't feel like to have time to really take it in. You find yourself looking at a bolt of fabric that was made out of human hair, and you can't even begin to take in how profoundly disturbing that is because the line is moving. You can't really stop and reflect. Its a destination, and they want to put as many people through it in a day as they can. This was something the kids commented on right away.
But our kids did so good. We knew we had a good group, but they showed such a high level of respect and reverence for what they were seeing that you could not help but be feel so proud. But at the end of the day, just as with this entire unit, they happily skipped off down the street towards the train back to Krakow once it was all over. I suppose if actually going to Auschwitz and seeing it for yourself doesn't make a big impact, then maybe your mind just isn't in a place to fully understand it yet. As we'd say in Child Psych, 'Formal Operations' must still be a few years off. And really, can you ever fully understand how terrible it was to live through the Shoa without actually having been there? Can any medium ever do it justice? I will admit, that once I got on that train back to Krakow, and began thinking about the rest of the trip, the horrible, horrible things I just saw began to slip away all too quickly. I myself am not a whole lot different than the students in this sense, I guess.
So in the end, my experience in teaching the Holocaust has been a real eye-opener. I think the most valuable thing I've learned is that there are times where kid's minds just won't sync up with your vision for learning no matter how much you plan for it. But they had an amazing experience, showed a great deal of maturity for their young ages and most of all they learned a lot... even if it didn't fully sink in.
This whole unit, I felt like something was wrong with the way I was teaching it. The students read all the materials I gave them, watched difficult documentaires, engaged in group discussions and reflected constantly on the tough subject matter. But no matter what I threw at them, it didnt seem to be making much of an impact. For example, at the end of the class on the Nazi euthenasia campaign, where we read heart breaking personal accounts of disabled children being put to death in rudimentary gas chambers, I felt like I had been hit by a steam-roller. The kids seemed to get over the subject matter instantly and began happily chatting away about the weekend as soon as the bell rang. It made me feel like I was really blowing it; how could they not be moved by what they were learning about?
In a way I was scared by what could potentially happen in Auschwitz with the kids. If they weren't being properly prepared for it in class, would going there be a disturbingly shocking event? There is an entire room FILLED with human hair. 90,000 pairs of old shoes. A 15'X40' gas chamber that killed approxiamtely one million people. How could seeing that stuff not shake them to the core?
The other thing that needs to be mentioned is that Auschwitz is now a very big tourist attraction and that had a pretty big effect on our experience. It is a one-day destination that is promoted and covered by every tourism kiosk in Krakow. I am one of those tourists, so I don't have much right to complain, but when we were there, there were thousands of other people there taking the tour. School groups, Isreali soldiers on leave, Bus tours... the list goes on and on. It was a big challenge to see something so intensely emotional in such a overtly public way, as was seeing the disrespectful ways some people treat the grounds. The IDF soldiers were taking pictures everywhere even where clearly marked NO PHOTOS signage was up and even after the guide asked them to stop. And believe it or not, there is actually graffiti all over Aushwitz too! Some of it is the 'never again' variety, some is staunch pro-zionist rants, some is actually run-of-the-mill tagging. All of it is terrible. There's even graffiti in the gas chamber. But to me, the worst part of the tourist angle is that you don't feel like to have time to really take it in. You find yourself looking at a bolt of fabric that was made out of human hair, and you can't even begin to take in how profoundly disturbing that is because the line is moving. You can't really stop and reflect. Its a destination, and they want to put as many people through it in a day as they can. This was something the kids commented on right away.
But our kids did so good. We knew we had a good group, but they showed such a high level of respect and reverence for what they were seeing that you could not help but be feel so proud. But at the end of the day, just as with this entire unit, they happily skipped off down the street towards the train back to Krakow once it was all over. I suppose if actually going to Auschwitz and seeing it for yourself doesn't make a big impact, then maybe your mind just isn't in a place to fully understand it yet. As we'd say in Child Psych, 'Formal Operations' must still be a few years off. And really, can you ever fully understand how terrible it was to live through the Shoa without actually having been there? Can any medium ever do it justice? I will admit, that once I got on that train back to Krakow, and began thinking about the rest of the trip, the horrible, horrible things I just saw began to slip away all too quickly. I myself am not a whole lot different than the students in this sense, I guess.
So in the end, my experience in teaching the Holocaust has been a real eye-opener. I think the most valuable thing I've learned is that there are times where kid's minds just won't sync up with your vision for learning no matter how much you plan for it. But they had an amazing experience, showed a great deal of maturity for their young ages and most of all they learned a lot... even if it didn't fully sink in.
Birkenau's ominous front gate.
Stairs to the gas chamber.
Disgusting.
Dale you done a great, job, what a hard subject to teach and convey, the depth of what has taken place, the pain, the truth. Doing your best is perfect and really speaks to your integrity and your willingness, to exspress the truth. For you as an north amercian to have to teach something so far from home, and so close to home thier is a pretty strange place. Your an awesome super duper human being!
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