“It is not enough to listen to a witness who is over 80 years old if you do not connect his/her experience to the present time, if you don’t recognise there is still a deficit in human rights today.” (Teacher, Focus Group, Milan)

At a Ministerial Conference being held in Auschwitz from 26-28 January,  the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is releasing the findings of the first ever EU-wide "Discover the past for the future - A study on the role of historical sites and museums in Holocaust Education and Human Rights Education". On the eve of the 2010 International Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Holocaust, the report reveals that at historical sites and in schools across the EU, teaching about the Holocaust rarely includes discussion of related human rights issues. 

Teachers and guides are considered to be key to ensuring interest in the subject, yet there is a lack of human rights training on behalf of both groups. Based on the findings of its study, the FRA encourages national governments to better integrate human rights education into their school curricula to reflect the significance of human rights for both the history and the future of the EU.

FRA Director Morten Kjaerum: "The findings of our report reveal the importance attached to Holocaust education, democracy education and human rights education by governments throughout the EU. However, this is not sufficiently reflected in school curricula and links are not established between important historical events, like the Holocaust, and human rights. When this is achieved young people in the EU will be able to fully understand their past and go on to build a more united future." 

Students ask for link to the present
Many of the interviewed students stated that they would appreciate a stronger connection to the present in education activities about the Holocaust, both at school and at historical sites and museums. However, only one of the 22 surveyed Holocaust commemoration sites regarded informing people about human rights as its most important objective. Based on the findings of the study, the FRA is of the opinion that Holocaust education should go beyond the mere transmission of historical facts to include discussion and debate on past and present human rights issues.

Teachers call for guidance
Interviewed teachers appealed not only for financial support for visits to memorial sites, but also for guiding material on how to make best use of such visits. The FRA will publish a handbook for teachers on Holocaust education and human rights education, as well as a handbook to be used by memorial site staff, later in the year.

View the Main Results Report "Discover the past for the future".