Teaching at Holocaust memorial sites: Swedish teachers’ understanding of the educational values of visiting Holocaust memorial sites

Abstract

The present article focuses on teaching and learning about the Holocaust in Sweden, conducted as study trips to Holocaust memorial sites. Although about a quarter of Swedish teenagers visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum each year, this study is the first to examine these Swedish study trips. Since there are no centralised systems for arranging these study trips, this study regards dedicated teachers as the main stakeholders. By deploying critical discourse analysis of transcripts of nine in-depth interviews with teachers, the study terms the discursive order of the teachers’ talk about the study trips ritual democratic catharsis. The teachers’ two main purposes are the use of the study trips as a vehicle for the social dynamics in the group to evolve in order to promote personal growth among the students, and the students’ learning about democracy and human rights. Their overarching didactic strategy of focusing on the suffering of the victims is meant to evoke empathy among the students, but lacks an explanatory aim. The study critically points out the teachers’ unreflected relationship to historiographic Holocaust content as a subject, making their teaching vulnerable to contemporary political influences, jeopardising the democratic purpose of these trips.

School trips to historical sites: students’ cognitive, affective and physical experiences from visits to Auschwitz

“…As demonstrated in the results, there are also examples in this study where students link their interaction with historical artefacts at the site with cognitive reasoning in the present, including reflections on their place in a historical context. In this respect, the empirical analysis of the students' responses in this study contradicts previous research findings that suggest that affective experiences prevent effective learning (Flennegård and Mattsson, 2021). Zachrich et al's (2020) model has many merits.…”

“…Extant research has indicated that Holocaust sites are complex places with different roles and functions that operate in tandem (Richardson, 2021). It has been suggested that the emotional experiences that accompany visits to such sites can hinder students' learning; however, the interplay between the cognitive, affective and physical dimensions of students' historical experiences in authentic learning contexts has not been explored fully yet (Flennegård and Mattsson, 2021;Nesfield, 2015). In research investigating visits to museums and historical sites, as well as the role that these sites play in teaching, questions about students' varying historical experiences are featured more prominently (see Marcus, 2007;Rohlf, 2015;Savenije et al, 2014;Spalding, 2011).…”

“…Holocaust sites have a present and future relevance that points to the orienting potential of teaching-embedded site visits. According to Flennegård and Mattsson (2021), despite extensive studies on both teaching about the Holocaust and on school trips to Holocaust sites, relatively little research has been conducted on students' experiences during their visits to Holocaust sites, as well as these visits' potential impact on students' learning and historical orientation.…”

Participating in professional development programmes or learning in the wild? Understanding the learning ecologies of Holocaust educators

“…Informal learning settings such as visits to memorials, museums or events focusing on the Holocaust are generally highly valued by educators (Cohen, 2016; Flennegård & Mattsson, 2021; Oren & Shani, 2012; Oztig, 2023; Saba, 2012). In our study, we found a balance between formal and informal learning preferences.…”

“…Study trips to Holocaust memorial sites, such as former concentration and extermination camps, have become increasingly important in creating high‐impact learning experiences (Flennegård & Mattsson, 2021; Saba, 2012). Holocaust museums and memorials play an important role in providing educational opportunities for teacher training, lifelong learning and raising awareness about education and remembrance (Oren & Shani, 2012; Oztig, 2023).…”