What you need to know on education about the Holocaust and genocide

Education about genocide and violent pasts is the historical study of atrocity crimes and persecution, their causes and legacies, and how they can be prevented in the future. This includes the study of the Holocaust (or Shoah), the systematic murder of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, as well as the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in which more than 1 million people were killed, along with other historical episodes of violence targeting groups of people. In studying such events, we can better understand what drives mass violence globally, raise awareness of the warning signs and promote human rights and responsible civic engagement that support peace and human solidarity.  

Learning about past genocides and other atrocity crimes illustrates the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and all forms of discrimination and dehumanization. Examining these histories raises questions about human behaviour and our capacity to succumb to scapegoating or simplistic answers to complex problems in the face of societal challenges. It also reveals the full range of human responses raising important considerations about ideological, societal and individual motivations and pressures that lead people to act as they do – or to not act at all.  

UNESCO works with countries and partners to develop programmes that foster understanding of the causes and consequences of the Holocaust, how genocides happen, and that to encourage a constructive engagement in today’s societies. It provides guidance and tools to support textbook and curriculum revision, develop and revise policies, promote appropriate and relevant pedagogies, and enhance cooperation between formal and non-formal sectors of education, including with museums and memorials. UNESCO also creates Chairs in universities to sustain research and education about the history and the prevention of extreme forms of violence.  

Globally, UNESCO supports education policy-makers of all regions through the International Program on Holocaust and Genocide Education.  In Latin America, support is provided through the UNESCO Latin American Network on Education about the Holocaust and Other Genocides.  UNESCO is also an active International Permanent Partner of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. 

UNESCO organizes commemorative and cultural activities remembering violent pasts and honouring the victims, through the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust (27 January) and the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda (7 April). UNESCO supports the preservation and dissemination of genocide-related archives of outstanding value through its Memory of the World Register and the protection and development of the Auschwitz Birkenau former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.