The role of commemoration sites, original sites and historical museums in Holocaust education and Human Rights education in the EU

This study, which was commissioned by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency and carried out by the Living History Forum (Stockholm), is based on two developments. First, with the increasing temporal distance from the Second World War and associated Nazi crimes, memorial sites to the victims and museums and exhibitions dealing with the Holocaust are becoming increasingly important, particularly in view of the educational objective of teaching about the human rights violations that characterised this period, their origins, nature and consequences. Second, human rights education has become increasingly prominent over the past years across the EU. Teaching practitioners sometimes connect the concept of human rights education (HRE) with “Holocaust education”, though the connection frequently remains rather limited and undeveloped.The study investigated the actual role that European memorial sites, museums and exhibitions play with respect to Holocaust education and human rights education for students who visit these sites. The researchers examined the literature on this topic, the official guidelines and recommendations of the relevant ministries in each EU member state, the viewpoints of students and teachers, and the descriptions of the institutions investigated provided by directors, curators, educators and volunteers working at memorial sites and museums. Observation of educational activities was included.