The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is an advisory body of the European Union. It was established in 2007 by a legal act of the European Union and is based in Vienna, Austria.
Every year millions of young people visit sites and museums in Europe connected to the Holocaust and Nazi crimes. The importance of educational activities at these sites and museums are acknowledged throughout the EU by ministries, teachers and students. Ministries assume that there are strong links between these visits and strengthening human rights and democracy among youth. However the visits are normally too short for training in human rights and democracy issues.
These are results from the study “The role of commemoration sites, original sites and historical museums in Holocaust education and Human Rights education in the EU”. The study was launched by the Fundamental Rights Agency and conducted by the Living History Forum in cooperation with experts from several European countries, including Poland, Germany and Great Britain.
The study shows that Holocaust education and human rights education are treated as two different fields and two separate discourses. There are only few examples of educational activities dealing with as well the historical process of the Holocaust and of general human rights aspects. There is a common understanding of the relevance of Holocaust education for the presence and for the future and for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights providing an orientation when dealing with the Holocaust. However there is no consensus that Holocaust education and human rights education should and can be integrated at memorial sites and museums.
The study has as well examined the conditions for successful education of Holocaust and human rights. Focus group discussions have been held with teachers and with students in nine of the EU member states. The results suggest that for a successful training the following points are worth aiming at:
- active participation of the students
- time for reflection
- space for seminars and discussions
- educators with great communication skills experienced in facilitating and moderating student-centered learning processes
The students in the study emphasize the importance dedicated and knowledgeable teachers have for successful education, as well as the big emotional impact visits to original historical sites make.
For more information please visit the website of FRA www.fra.europa.eu
Excursion to the past - teaching for the future: handbook for teachers
