Russian Educators Learn to combat Intorlerance Through Study of the Holocaust

By Shifra Paikin

Five professionals from the Russian Ministry of Education were among the 35 participants at a recent two-week study seminar on the Holocaust held in Israel for educators from the former Soviet Union. Organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel in conjunction with the Ghetto Fighters Museum, and the Center for Holocaust Studies - Massuah, the program, was designed to provide educators with the pedagogical and methodological tools needed to teach about the Holocaust.

This initiative comes in response to the general lack of information in the FSU, among Jew and gentile alike, about the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Notwithstanding the deep public consciousness of World War II and the heavy toll it took in the USSR, the Soviet regime was successful in keeping the Holocaust out of the Russian lexicon. For most residents of the area, World War II evokes recollections of valor associated with heavily decorated family members or war casualties. Most people are unaware of the wholesale destruction of the Jewish people that took place in Nazi-occupied territories.

Through its Department of Jewish Zionist Education, the Jewish Agency, which maintains regular contact with scores of educational institutions for all ages in the FSU, has undertaken an initiative to introduce the teaching of the Holocaust into the curriculum of both Jewish and public schools. Through its Department of Jewish Zionist Education, the Jewish Agency, which maintains regular contact with scores of educational institutions for all ages in the FSU, has undertaken an initiative to introduce the teaching of the Holocaust into the curriculum of both Jewish and public schools.

The seminar, which began on August 2 at the Massua Institute on Kibbutz Tel-Yitzchak in the North of Israel, culminated with a closing ceremony on August 22, after a weekend at Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem. Participants also included 15 teachers in Jewish Agency ulpanim and 15 teachers in Jewish schools operated under the supervision of the Liaison Bureau from the various republics of the FSU. "I have a strong sense of Jewish identity," said Averbukh. "I feel very good about being in Israel," he said. "And this has been reflected in my performances."

The program included lectures and workshops on such topics as life in the ghetto, Jewish resistance, Holocaust art, the role of righteous gentiles, with a special focus on the Holocaust in the FSU. The personal encounter with survivors was a particularly moving experience for the participants. "It is impossible to fathom what the children of the ghettos went through," said one of the educators, "Image - growing up without ever seeing a butterfly!"

The seminar also addressed prejudice, tolerance, and majority-minority relations as universal issues. Highlights included a workshop on the expressions of the Nazi ideology in symbols and the connection between ideology and the Final Solution, learning about the Nazi era from postage stamps of the period, propaganda in Nazi movies, and a discussion of "following orders" versus individual responsibility.

Bigotry has become a growing problem in Russia, as immigrants from the Asian republics and other countries have flowed into a society that was once relatively homogenous. As part of the effort to combat intolerance, the Russian Government has set up the Center for Holocaust Studies in Moscow, a representative of which was among the Russian delegation. Being a minority – among a Jewish majority – was a first-time experience for the Russians, faculty members at the Institute for Teacher Training. They were sent by the Russian Ministry of Education, which wishes to introduce the study of the Holocaust into its curriculum on democracy, tolerance, and coexistence.

An interesting sidebar to the event was the resentment expressed by a number of the Jewish educators at the participation of the non-Jews. The tension subsided after one of the Russians sang a song she had composed: "I was born in Siberia and didn’t know what Israel was. Now I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with Israel." The entire group applauded and congratulated when she had finished.

The seminar was only the first part of the Jewish Agency’s program to introduce the Holocaust as an integral part of the educational system. According to Yafik Zarka, head of the FSU Desk at the Jewish Agency’s Department of Jewish-Zionist Education, an individualized curricula be worked out for various areas in the FSU. "The historical experience as well as the current reality is different in Moscow from Baku," says Zarka. "We are developing both courses of study as well as support materials that will enable participants in the seminar to implement what they have learned effectively and meaningfully in their home towns."