Jewish Community: The Main Force Behind Holocaust Education In American Schools

The Holocaust is an inhuman tragedy in human history. It not only gave a fatal blow toworld Jewish people, but also offered a profound introspection to the people all over the world.After World War II, many regions and countries held different activities to memorize Holocaust.Among them, the U.S. paid much attention on Holocaust education and commemoration, whichis particularly prominent, especially in the rise and prosperity of the Holocaust education inAmerican schools. It was widely believed that the core reason to the rise of the Holocausteducation in American schools is the strong support from the U.S. government and the rise ofawareness of the Holocaust among American people. However, the author in this article arguedthat the American Jewish community has played a leading role in this achievement. Developmentof Holocaust education in American schools is mainly due to the efforts of the American Jewishcommunity. The American Jewish community tries to gain the support for Holocaust educationU.S. government and public from aspects of the finance, academic and policy.This thesis consists of three parts. It analyzes the efforts of American Jewish communities inpromoting the Holocaust education in U.S. schools from the perspective of finance, academic andpolicy supports. In chapter one, the focus will be on the financial supports from American Jewishcommunities. Finance to the Holocaust educators, learners as well as the Holocaust curriculum inAmerican schools will also be discussed. In chapter two, the academic supports from Americancommunities will be mainly discussed. In the third chapter, the author will discuss how AmericanJewish communities made efforts to gain the supports of American government in promoting theHolocaust education in U.S. schools. By analyzing American Jewish community as a leadingforce of promoting Holocaust education in American schools this paper hopes to offer a clearerunderstanding of the unmatched influence of American Jews. In addition, the paper also aims atoffering some introspection to China’s education on Nanking Massacre which is a great disasterin Chinese history.