Remembrance and Commemoration of Two Catastrophes:
September 11th and the Holocaust
About this Issue
Tragic events profoundly change our history and the future. As we approach the first anniversary of September 11th, professors, scholars, teachers, Holocaust survivors and students are questioning the best way to commemorate this horrific event. As the Holocaust has served as a frame of reference for Holocaust survivors to interpret and articulate their feelings, many ask if September 11th will become the new frame of reference for viewing historical events? Remembrance and Commemoration of Two Catastrophes: September 11th and the Holocaust has been designed to help students understand the magnitude of these events and its effects on them and people around the world.
Remembering September 11th: Lessons and Discussion Questions
Holocaust Survivors Reflect on September 11th: Lessons and Discussion Questions
For many Holocaust survivors September 11th was a reminder of their own past and the importance of fighting hatred, racism and fanaticism. The sights and sounds of September 11th conjured up memories and visual images for people subjected to the terror of the Nazi regime. Before we consider the survivors' responses, it needs to be stressed that September 11th and the Holocaust are very different historical events. However, similarities for Holocaust survivors were not in the specifics of the events but in the kinds of feelings that emerged — fear, uncertainty, dread of the future and vulnerability.
• Feeling Out of Control
Maud Dahme, a child hidden during the Holocaust, discusses how September 11th brought back memories of chaos and war.
• Recognizing Terror and Injustice
Betty Grebenshikoff, a Holocaust survivor, reflects on the killing of innocent civilians during Kristallnacht and September 11th.
• Shattered Dreams
Irving Roth, a Holocaust survivor, poetically describes his feelings that evil has been resurrected and his security shaken by the terrorist attacks.
• Remembering Tyranny
Fred Spiegel, a Holocaust survivor, encourages students to defeat the common enemies — terrorism, racism and fanaticism — and to face the future with confidence.
Teaching the Holocaust in an Age of Terror: Lessons and Discussion Questions
How do we maintain our national tradition of civil rights and civil liberties in a period of national crisis? How do we protect our country against terrorist acts? Scholars from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Holocaust and Genocide Studies remind us that as good citizens we have various responsibilities: individual, family, community and global.
• Making Connections: September 11th and the Holocaust
Professor Yehuda Bauer discusses how terrorism and militant fundamentalism have to be fought ideologically, economically, politically and militarily.
• Teaching the Holocaust in the Shadow of September 11th
Professor Hubert Locke suggested four levels of responsibility that raise questions about the past (the Nazi era), the present situation, post-September 11th, and the lessons we have learned from both.
• Ideas for Additional Workshops
In the months immediately following September 11th, Dr. Mary Johnson facilitated workshops for high school students that explored how memories are shaped by atrocities such as September 11, 2001, Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) and the Holocaust (1933-1945).
• Proposal for a Semester Course on September 11th
Professors David Emmons and Paul Lyons will assess the impact of students' perceptions and understanding of September 11th, its causes, context and consequences.
Remembering and Commemorating September 11th: Classroom Activities
How does the challenge of remembering and commemorating September 11th impact students? The Dugan Classroom Archive Project is a case study that presents various ways that students can document what occurred on September 11th as a form of memorialization.
Glossary of Terms
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