Senate Engrossed

State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fourth Legislature First Regular Session 2019

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1028

 

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

supporting holocaust education in arizona's schools.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Whereas, the Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and attempted annihilation of European Jews and other groups deemed "undesirable" by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945.  Under this system, six million European Jews were murdered and, along with Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, some of the Slavic peoples and Afro-Germans, they were targeted for destruction solely for racial, ethnic or national reasons.  Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny; and

Whereas, eighty years ago, during the year leading up to World War II, parents from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland put their children on trains to the United Kingdom to ensure their escape and survival from the increasing Nazi violence, most never to be reunited; and

Whereas, the children from this rescue mission, known as the Kindertransport, represent some of the youngest Holocaust survivors, and the number of living survivors is rapidly diminishing; and

Whereas, losing the live testimonies of survivors increases the likelihood that the historical significance of the Holocaust and its relevance to more recent genocidal conflicts will diminish; and

Whereas, Holocaust knowledge in the United States is significantly lacking, especially among younger generations, as nearly 22 percent of millennials have not heard of the Holocaust and only about 50 percent identify it as an attempted extermination of the Jewish people; and

Whereas, the study of the Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies and governments; and

Whereas, nearly 58 percent of Americans believe something like the Holocaust could happen again; and

Whereas, comprehensive education on the Holocaust and other genocides is vital to deterring such a devastating event from repeating and to preserving history and the voices of the survivors; and

Whereas, there is an abundance of local resources for educators and communities to engage in Holocaust remembrance and education events, including special programs and exhibits sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's special programs, exhibits and biannual trainings for teachers and the Bureau of Jewish Education's Annual Educators' Conference on the Holocaust; and

Whereas, Arizona is home to the nation's largest annual educational event about genocide, Genocide Awareness Week, which is hosted by Scottsdale Community College and presents an occasion for people of all ages and backgrounds to gather, discuss and learn about the Holocaust and other genocides; and

Whereas, the State of Arizona has resources to ensure our students are exposed to and taught about this important part of history, including the Anti-Defamation League's Echoes and Reflections teacher lessons and trainings and the Phoenix Holocaust Association's Speaker Bureau, which facilitates speaking engagements by survivors and their families at Arizona schools; and

Whereas, the Holocaust is not a required topic in the Arizona academic standards and is therefore not required to be taught in our schools.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the Members of the Legislature prioritize educating children and citizens on the Holocaust and other genocides by urging the inclusion of this information in school curricula, support the provision of resources to schools to ensure that all educators are knowledgeable and trained on the subject, and encourage all students in grades eight through twelve to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides.