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Visits to Auschwitz



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Published Date: 06 October 2008
The Scottish Association of Teachers of History would like to add its voice to those urging the Scottish Government and local authorities to come to some agreement which would enable the Holocaust Educational Trust's "Lessons of Auschwitz" visits to continue.
These visits bring home the realities of the Holocaust and the lessons to be learned, not just for the two sixth-year pupils and occasional teacher from each of the large number of participating schools, but also, through follow-up reports and activities, to the whole school and wider community such as presentations to year group assemblies and community groups, class activities and articles in the local and national press.

Thus it takes the issues beyond those directly involved in the visits or in the study of history to include other school departments – such as modern studies, RE, English and guidance – and provides the wider school and local community with a unique opportunity to reflect on the Holocaust and its continuing significance for humanity. It would be a very retrograde, not to say shameful, step if Scotland were to be seen to be opting out of these visits for whatever reason.

DUNCAN TOMS
President, Scottish Association of Teachers of History
Morven Road
Glasgow



The full article contains 206 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 05 October 2008 8:48 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Steve,

Bo'ness 06/10/2008 00:17:43
No it wouldn't be shameful at all, that's just silly.
It would be prudent. Scotland is gripped by recession, or haven't you noticed? Surely the money could be put to far better use.
Kids dont need to wade through the mud of Auschwitz to appreciate what horrors happened there.
2

Richardinho,

06/10/2008 07:57:31
Are teachers really incapable of conveying the horrors of the second world war without going on an expensive field trip?
3

Linda,

Edinburgh 06/10/2008 08:06:33
The £214,000 each year could give every pupil a DVD on the subject
4

Martinh,

06/10/2008 08:45:30
Arn't we mising something here? The educational value of school trips cannot be underestimated, its just that visits to Auschwitz seem to have incurred a particular controversy. Those who don't learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat the mistakes, and there is something so uniquely vile about the Nazi extermination camps that it might not be the right time to call time on this direct learning experience. Children (and adults) retain a far higher proportion of what they see and hear than what they read, and a school trip (away from parents) can also inspire confidence in youngsters, all part of the growing up procedure. So please, let us not politicise school trips to Auschwitz,or anywhere else. The President of Iran might have benefited from such a trip when he was young.
5

Martinh,

06/10/2008 09:09:48
So what about school trips to Culloden, Bannockburn, Flodden etc etc?
6

Kate,

Zurich 06/10/2008 09:18:10
Teach the children as well to fundraise so they can finance the trips themselves. That's what we did when we went to Dachau and the WW1 trenches - our parents and local authorities paid not a penny!
7

Martinh,

06/10/2008 10:00:42
#8. Dave from Barra. You have not learned the lessons from history re Rorkes drift, which was a trading post essentially, manned by a few hundred mostly non military members of the British army. Following the mass slaughter of the British army at Isandlwana, the young Zulu bucks who hadn't had a piece of the action, followed up (against the express command of the then Zulu Chief, who knew only too well what the eventual consequences would be ) at Rorkes Drift. They were an undisciplined rabble fired up on testosterone, and against unbelievable odds, the fighting soldiers garrisoned at Rorkes Drift held out.

In what must have been one of the first classic pieces of political spin, the British Establishment managed to turn their disastrous defeat at Isandlwana into a 'victory' for British Imperialism at Rorkes Drift. A disproportionately high number of those who died at Iswandlwana were Scots and Welsh soldiers trying to escape poverty and deprivation at home (the Clearances in Scotland were still going on). But they had taken the King's shilling and died nobly in hand to hand combat. Most were scalped by the Zulus, not as portrayed an act of savage brutality, but the Zulus believed that by doing so they would release the dead man's spirit and capture their strength.

The revenge of the British followed inevitably for the wipeout of their army at Iswandlwana, and they returned in force to essentialy exterminate the Zulus as a Nation. All this I learned from a personal visit to the Zulu battlefields, not from the Michael Caine film 'Zulu'. I did pay for the trip myself however!
8

Hamish Scott,

06/10/2008 10:19:22
I'd quite like to learn about the use of cruise liners as troop ships in the WW2. I think taking a transatlantic cruise would be educational if anyone wants to sponsor me.
9

FLUB,

a rocky outcrop in eastern central Scotland 06/10/2008 10:34:04
#8 - Dave, such trips to Jamaica or indeed most other Caribbean Islands would be better aimed at modern Africans who can learn about the privations visited upon their unwilling fellows when their ancestors sold them to European slave traders, as they had done for centuries to Arab slave traders.
10

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 06/10/2008 14:36:39
Steve:

"Kids dont need to wade through the mud of Auschwitz to appreciate what horrors happened there"

I agree totally.

I have never been to Auschwitz (although I would like to) but from what I have read about it, it appears to be a place that is not particularly pleasant to be in, can be very upsetting and is only somewhere you visit if you really want to.

The last thing they should be doing is encouraging school kids to go there. Tell them the facts and let them make up their own minds if they want to visit the place later on, when they are adults.

 

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