An Analysis of the Treatment of the Holocaust in Selected High School World History Textbooks, 1962-1977.

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine, quantify, and analyze the treatment of The Holocaust in selected high school world history textbooks currently in print. Three questions were posed at the outset of the study which guided the research process. They were: (1) Is the event, The Holocaust, mentioned in the textbooks under consideration? (2) If it is mentioned, how accurate is the information which is presented? (3) What is the quality of the information provided? Procedures. The researcher combined a number of processes in order to synthesize the methodology of this study. (1) A topical checklist was first developed. This checklist consisted of the following seven major topics: (I) The History of Anti-Semitism; (II) Germany 1933-1945: Nazi Policy; (III) World War II and the Establishment of the Polish Ghettos; (IV) World Reaction to the Atrocities; (V) Resistance and Rescue; (VI) Genocide; and , (VII) The Significance of the Holocaust. Each of these main topics contained a varying number of subtopics. The total number of subtopics was forty-seven. (2) A pre-test was run using two coders plus the investigator. (3) The checklist was subjected to a jury of Holocaust educators for suggested revisions. (4) Utilizing the checklist as the st and ard, a measurement of presence or absence of Holocaust was taken. (5) Data present wre measured for accuracy against a st and ard of established scholars. (6) The data quantified were reported utilizing tables and figures. (7) A model of accurate data was constructed as a means of interpretation. Findings. (1) The history of anti-semitism was scattered throughout the textbooks. This diffusion of the topic would not lead the student to a clear underst and ing of the evolutionary nature of Nazi ideology. (2) The highest mention score for a main topic was "Germany 1933-1945: Nazi Policy." (3) The subtopics which dealt with how Nazis deluded Jews and the variety of Jewish responses were very inadequately treated. (4) The reader did not receive the message, in any of the texts, that killing Jews was part of a methodically planned process. (5) "Resistance and Rescue" was the lowest ranking of the seven main topics. (6) The lowest ranking subtopic for accuracy was "What was Known in 1942 and What was Done in 1942." Of the twenty-eight texts analyzed, two had no mention of any of the forty-seven subtopics. The great majority of the textbooks had a total mention score of less than fifty percent. Conclusions. (1) The investigator found that not all high school world history textbooks mentioned The Holocaust. (2) The data presented were insufficient to lead the student to a clear underst and ing of how The Holocaust occurred. (3) The treatment of The Holocaust in selected high school world history textbooks currently in print is clearly inadequate.