The problem of how to make our memories as authentic as possible, warts and all, is not easily solved.
It challenges us to accept how complex and contradictory history can be, and to reflect that our remembrance of the past is conditioned by our own points of view and by our own knowledge of history. Today, the Holocaust and other genocides are remembered across the world.
And while there is no single, uniform way of remembering, there are certainly some common themes.
- Sometimes a Lady.
- Raphael Lemkin and the Genocide Convention | Facing History and Ourselves.
- I Learned a New Word Today ... Genocide.
- I Learned a New Word Today Genocide - The Key Publishing House Inc..
Pledges like 'never forget' and 'never again' are examples, and so is the belief that we can and should learn about and learn from the Holocaust. These ideas give memory an educational role: But there are some questions to raise about this. Who decides what the lessons of the Holocaust are? How useful is it to think in terms of 'lessons' at all, when history cannot repeat itself? Preventing genocide is a moral and human imperative, and remembrance and education certainly help toward this goal.
But we need to be clear about the difference between learning and remembering, and aware of the complexities of both.
I Learned a New Word Today Genocide by Elizabeth Hankins
The last 30 years has seen a dramatic increase in knowledge and awareness of the Holocaust, bringing in its wake greater recognition of historic injustices and persecutions, and widespread support for the codification and protection of human rights. Sometimes, however, using the Holocaust as a symbol of evil results in it being removed from its historical context, over-simplified and leaving it open to misappropriation or even trivialisation.
Remembering the Holocaust and other genocides should not and cannot be easy: Mass violence and murder force us to confront the ethical issues that surround any act of collective remembering: Who and what should we remember? Why is it so important? And what if anything should we try to forget? A Story of Remembrance is broadcast on Wednesday 28 January , at Years of research have greatly advanced our knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and other genocides.
Remembering genocide: Are we doing it right?
We need to be open to this. In trying to answer why genocide happens and how we prevent it we need to be inquisitive and prepared to confront ourselves — as individuals and communities. Teaching about genocide is challenging. But it is a priority. It needs time, sensitivity and grounding in the demands of the classroom and how people learn.
Buy it and pass the gift on to another. You and they will be richer for it! Children who learn about the atrocities of the twentieth century today will evolve into the constituency that continues to stand up against human rights abuses in Darfur, Burma, and Congo, now and in the future.
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Hankins demonstrates to her young readers that with time and dedication, their collective outcry will move the international community to action. Cory Smith — December 22, This essential book will shape young lives and install a lifelong commitment to end genocide and mass atrocities once and for all!
Peter Swann — December 22, For many of us, genocide is a foreign term with generic statistics, too overwhelming and distant to process. It is skillfully crafted, a captivating read for the reader of any age. Yet even more, it compels one to action. I treasure this book and wholeheartedly endorse it.
The Key Publishing House Inc.
May we all be powerfully moved. McDonnell — December 22, And out of a faith in the compassion of young people the world over, and a faith in their desire to do justice and love mercy, she has given the responsibility of telling this story of the sobering reality of genocide to a fifth grader, Javier Mendoza. Amazon Review by Gaby Chapman — December 22, It keeps our worst intentions toward each other, which as a species we seem to have an abundance of, in check.
But how far does the Golden Rule reach? To those in our house? Or does it extend to every human being on the planet? Genocide that she has written for middle school kids. She has chosen to write this book for kids for two reasons as I see it: In this book, she brings those distant places into the schoolroom, the place where kids learn the essentials of what they need to know about their world.
Hankins has chosen to write this in the voice of a fifth-grade boy who is learning about genocide in his classroom from two teachers who have had personal experience with genocide. While this may not be a book that kids will choose to read, it is a book that could be effective In the classroom as a teaching aid.
For anyone, child or adult, it is an excellent summary of the history of genocide, the legal definition of genocide, and the ways people can help stop it. Flamingnet Book Reviews — December 22, From an upset parent to a genocide victim, Javier is inspired to help stop genocide. This very informative book covers different genocides from the last century and explores the roots of genocide. Any reader wishing to broaden their scope of global understanding and human suffering would do well to pick this book and give it a read.
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In the style of a journal, the horrors of genocide are explained in simple, easy to understand words. I liked that this book gave a straight-forward approach to what genocide is, what causes it, and why it is awful.
This book was definitely an eye-opener. Adult guidance is recommended because the descriptions of genocide can become semi-graphic.