How will these resources help you?

The sheer scale of the Holocaust and its horrific nature can make it a daunting subject to approach in the classroom. Research suggests that many teachers are anxious about teaching the subject due to a feeling of being overwhelmed by its significance, scale and complexity (UCL Institute of Education, 2009). School textbooks that cover the Holocaust tend to give it only limited space within the wider scope of twentieth-century or German history and thus tend to narrow their focus of study, using Auschwitz-Birkenau as a ‘case study’ of the Holocaust as a whole. However, the story of the Holocaust is far greater than what took place at Auschwitz-Birkenau and other Nazi camps. Effective teaching about the Holocaust requires an awareness of these wider historical narratives and the challenging questions that come with it, including those of agency, responsibility and interpretation. This list aims to help teachers think beyond Auschwitz when delivering Holocaust education and to enable them to help students grapple with the challenging issues while developing their historical understanding.