The Importance of the Holocaust to Today’s Young People
In an age that marks an increase in anti-Semitism, racism and other prejudices, an education in the events of the Holocaust is more important than ever for younger generations. An awareness of this terrible part in our history will provide youngsters with a chance to learn from mistakes gone before through gaining a deeper understanding of the events. The Lessons from Auschwitz Project is creating the opportunity to bring the memory back to life among younger generations – ones with no first-hand experience of it.
Firstly, a thorough education on the events of the Holocaust is desperately needed for youngsters, to provide them with a true account and to dispel all misconceptions they may have. Many find it difficult to process or even believe that groups of people, in particular Jews and Homosexuals, would be punished for no valid reason as they were by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The extremities of the deaths seemingly lead people to form the idea that the targeted groups were in the wrong, which of course was not the case. It is not uncommon today for young people today to use the term, ‘Jew’ or ‘gay’ in a derogatory way. This is clear evidence that somewhere in the education of the Nazi rule, students are misinterpreting the information they are given or are being taught incorrectly. In most cases the student will recognise the wrong doing of the Nazis but still hold a disliking, similar to that of the Nazis yet less severe, towards the targeted groups, particularly Jews. The LfA Project enables students to see the reality of the Holocaust first hand and by viewing the piles of shoes, hair and personal belongings that remain at Auschwitz perhaps they will recognise that these victims were innocent human beings, not in the wrong any more or less than anyone else.
