Encountering the Holocaust through Primary Documents
Paul Salmons
Wolf Kaiser2016, Essentials of Holocaust Education. Fundamental Issues and Approaches.
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Abstract
Primary documents are frequently used in history courses and in Holocaust education, often to illustrate a point or to tell part of a grand narrative of the past. Here we suggest a more dynamic approach to using primary documents – not so much as part of a narrative or in order to present a particular point of view or to convey a certain message or “lesson", but rather to suggest ways to help students inquire into the past. The aim of student interrogation of the sources is to reveal how differing narratives of the past are constructed; to deepen student understanding of the history of the Holocaust; to add nuance and complexity to their understanding; and to allow students’ own meanings to emerge out of that encounter with the past, rather than using the past to teach pre-determined “lessons”.
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