359: Teaching the Unthinkable: A Classroom Approach to Holocaust Education

Getting Unstuck – Cultivating Curiosity

Guest Matt Ence is a teacher at Bountiful High School in Bountiful, UT. Matt retired from the military in 2017, when he began his teaching career. He teaches a course on the Holocaust, as well as courses in AP World History and US History. Matt became a Museum Teacher Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2023. Summary

Matt discusses teaching a dedicated Holocaust course. He covers the chronology of events from Hitler's rise to post-liberation challenges using survivor testimonies, primary sources, and interactive activities. Matt emphasizes personalizing the Holocaust beyond statistics, exploring collaborators and bystanders alongside perpetrators, and connecting this history to other genocides to help students recognize warning signs and develop empathy for different groups.

Three Important Takeaways

1. Teaching chronologically helps students understand cause-and-effect relationships in Holocaust history, while personal testimonies humanize the statistics of 6 million victims.

2. Holocaust education should include an examination of four groups: perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, and rescuers, showing the complexity of human choices during this period.

3. Connecting Holocaust history to other genocides helps students recognize warning signs and potentially prevent future atrocities through informed action.

   Contact/Social Media

   Matt’s email: [email protected]

   U.S. Holocaust Museum’s website: https://www.ushmm.org/

   Matt featured in Medium

   Museum’s Social media:

   https://www.instagram.com/holocaustmuseum/

   https://www.youtube.com/ushmm

   https://www.twitter.com/holocaustmuseum

   https://www.facebook.com/holocaustmuseum

   Yad Vashem