Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)

Contemporary Debates in Holocaust Education, by Michael Gray. 2014. Palgrave MacMillan, Hampshire, New York

De-Judaization, Huh? Why is Anne Frank in Every Classroom? Don’t Ask

Most statements on the alleged de-Judaization of the Holocaust are vague claims that the Holocaust, as presented in the classroom and in society in general, is not “Jewish enough”. This begs the question about how strong the Jewish narratives in the classroom are supposed to be.

JEWISH-SERVING VICTIM HIERARCHY ONCE AGAIN

This book is more specific. Author Gray writes, “It is particularly the use of Anne Frank as a symbol of generalized rather than Jewish suffering which has characterized both the universalization and the consequent de-Judaization of the Holocaust. Barnouw states that ‘Anne Frank is by now more a symbol of the universal suffering of man than ‘the voice of six million vanished souls.’ Characteristic of this is the life-sized bust of Anne Frank outside the British Library in London with a commemorative tree planted a few feet away. The inscription accompanying this memorial states that it is there ‘to commemorate Anne Frank and all the children killed in wars and conflict in this century.’ Yet Anne Frank’s death was not an accident of war, but rather a systematic murder on account for her being Jewish. To suggest that Anne Frank is a universal symbol for suffering, or even the deaths of children killed in war and conflict is to de-Judaize the Holocaust.” (p. 75).

This is priceless! The death of a child killed because of war is not as significant as the death of a child for being Jewish. This is Holocaust supremacism in its purest and sincerest form. Now tell me again that there is no such thing as a hierarchy of victims.

The foregoing complaint is also revealing in a number of other ways. It shows that Anne Frank is present in every classroom not because of her writing talents, but because her fame and prestige can and should be used to promote the Holocaust. In fact, Anne Frank is affirmed as one of the icons of the Holocaust:

https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2019/11/04/holocaust-indoctrination-via-manipulative-symbols-stier/

HOLOCAUST IS UNIVERSAL: A GIMMICK

The foregoing complaint also shows that the “universalization of the Holocaust” is a foil for getting the Holocaust into the classroom. The mask has fallen. Holocaust education is not about “preventing genocides” or “promoting tolerance”, as we are often told. It is about advancing Jewish interests.