I have taken a two-week break here. It was not because of the holidays and the turn of the year, or because there was not enough going on in the world for me to write about. It was because I was fully focused on my new book.
Press release
Germany–Jan. 9, 2025–Melanie Carina Schmoll, PhD, German Historian and Holocaust Education expert who works as research fellow, author, editor, advisor, and speaker, will write “Hatred of Jews–A Failure of Holocaust Education?” on the possible failure of Holocaust education in light of the dramatic rise in Jew-hating incidents since October 2023.
After years of working in Holocaust education not only as an academic and in the university environment but also in the public school system, Schmoll became also an author and consultant for academic and school teaching materials, both digital and traditional print. Based on her own academic research and the studies she has conducted, Schmoll also decided to become active in practice.
Schmoll knows firsthand that the existing teaching and learning materials in Holocaust education could often be improved, and that there are many approaches that would be helpful here–if only they were put into practice. Because of the massive increase in hatred of Jews worldwide, the question whether Holocaust education had failed increasingly arose.
In her new book, Schmoll explores precisely this question. Is there a connection between a failure of Holocaust education and the rise in hatred of Jews? “The assumption that people receive a kind of medicine - Holocaust education - and then automatically hate Jews less is wrong,” said Dr. Melanie Carina Schmoll. “It takes more than the Holocaust education practiced today to make people think and change their views.”
The book teaches academics and practitioners why and what to expect when teaching about the Holocaust. Content, outcome of Holocaust education, gaps in knowledge and the reasons for are examined. In comprehensible explanations, Schmoll shows the potential failures in Holocaust education and why the teaching of history still matters. Hatred of Jews–A Failure of Holocaust Education? bridges the gap between academic research and practical support for educators, teachers, and textbook publishers. A step-by-step guide helps on how to improve it in the future.
Fully focusing on the book means apart from the actual writing, I am in constant contact with the publisher, the graphic designer, and the proofreader – it is all very time-consuming. I also did some research at the university library the day before Christmas because it was closed for the holidays. As I wanted to include the latest relevant publications for my book, I had to look everything up before the vacations. Over the holidays, I then finished the content of the chapters and edited them again and again. Why am I doing this? Not because I am expecting a million-selling bestseller - although I'm not ruling that out! - but because the topic is so urgent and important that I couldn't not write the book. My colleagues also share this view:
Testimonials:
Why and how should we teach Holocaust studies? In this well-written and fascinating study, Holocaust researcher Melanie Carina Schmoll addresses these questions, learn about potential problems that can arise while teaching the Holocaust, what to expect from our students, and how to do it better. An important and timely book for all Holocaust educators, particularly in view of the rise of antisemitism worldwide after the events of October 7, 2023.
Prof. Judith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz, Director, the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
The main thrust of this book is that Holocaust education as now practiced in many nations and jurisdictions within nations seems not to have done very much to mitigate against anti-Semitism. We have seen anti-Jewish manifestations from peaceful to violent in many European and North American nations and in Australia. The book shows what has gone wrong with Holocaust education as now practiced and how such education must be changed and improved. No one can understand the ongoing conflict between Israel and its enemies without a solid grasp of this subject which is provided by this study.
David J. Bercuson, Professor of History, University of Calgary, Canada.
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