Rozic, NYC leaders call for more expansive Holocaust education

Holocaust survivors gathered outside the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Manhattan last year to mark the opening of a new exhibition featuring a train car that was used to transport Jews to Nazi concentration camps. Today, more than 40 percent of younger Americans do not know what Auschwitz was, according to a 2017 study. Photo by John Halpern courtesy of the Museum of Jewish Heritage

By Rachel Vick

Millions of European Jews were systematically murdered in the Holocaust — killed in their homes, in train cars used to haul livestock or cargo, and in death camps constructed by the Nazis and their collaborators across the continent. 

Many who made it out alive moved to the United States, particularly New York City, where some aging survivors still recount their experiences today.

Yet, many younger New Yorkers know little about the Holocaust. More than 40 percent of millennial-aged Americans do not even know what the Nazi death camp Auschwitz was, said Assemblymember Nily Rozic Thursday, referencing a 2017 study about the gaping lack of Holocaust awareness among younger Americans.

That ignorance highlights the substandard education about hatred and the Holocaust in New York City schools, Rozic said.

She joined Comptroller Scott Stringer and advocates to call for stronger curriculum to combat discrimination outside Young Israel of Hillcrest Thursday.

“An educational requirement is imperative,” she said. “You take the Regents and there’s barely a mention of the Holocaust. You take history lessons in New York City public schools and there’s barely mention of the Holocaust.”

New York City does require Holocaust education in its public schools, but the lessons are lacking, Rozic said. “The results on the ground don’t reflect the reality of the situation,” she added.

A rise in anti-Semitic offenses and other hate crimes motivated Rozic to introduce legislation to improve Holocaust education and fund Holocaust awareness events in 2019. The measure would also mandate a survey for all middle and high schools to gauge their awareness and the success of the curriculum.

On Jan. 6, the same day that far-right extremists attacked the U.S. Capitol, racist vandals hung a Confederate flag on a train car outside the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan. The Nazis used the train car to transport European Jews to death camps during the Holocaust

“We know what putting that flag on the train meant,” Stringer said. “All different backgrounds have to come together when one group is targeted — that's the only way we’re going to stop hate in this country, by all of us  understanding each other's cultures, each other's tragedies.” 

“This is not about us, this is about our children,” he added. “We have to make sure the future generations understand what’s at stake for our democracy.”

As the last of the Holocaust survivors enter their 80s and 90s, a stronger curriculum is more necessary now than ever before, said Dr. Shay Pilnik, director of The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies. 

“Those still alive, even child survivors, are often too frail to share their stories — now it’s on us,” Pilnik said. “If we veer away from education we are doomed to repeat.”