Has the UK removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum?

Answer 1

Answer

The claim is that teaching about the Holocaust has been removed from the United Kingdom (UK) school curriculum because their inclusion may offend Muslim citizens. However, this claim is unfounded. The UK government has not banned the teaching of the Holocaust in schools, nor is it planning to do so.

In fact, according to the BBC, "in England, teaching children about the Holocaust is compulsory". While other UK countries such as Scotland and Wales have their own school curriculum and Holocaust teaching is not compulsory, it is certainly not banned and is generally encouraged.

The false information in the message probably arose out of confusion generated by a Historical Association report commissioned by the English Department for Education and Skills. The report states, in part:

"Teachers and schools avoid emotive and controversial history for a variety of reasons, some of which are well-intentioned.

"Staff may wish to avoid causing offence or appearing insensitive to individuals or groups in their classes.

"In particular settings, teachers of history are unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship."

It cites the case of one school that did not select the Holocaust as a topic:

For example, a history department in a northern city recently avoided selecting the Holocaust as a topic for GCSE coursework for fear of confronting anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils.

Although it does discuss teaching of the Holocaust, the report also references a number of other emotionally charged historical events including the Crusades, slavery and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Thus, the report is certainly not focused just on the Holocaust, nor does it claim in any way that all UK schools have dropped the teaching of controversial historical topics.

Unfortunately, some news items and online commentaries have overstated the significance of the "northern city" example used in the report. In the same paragraph as this example, the report also states, "In another history department, the Holocaust was taught despite anti-Semitic sentiment among some pupils". However, some news articles have apparently chosen to focus primarily on the first example, thereby affording it more importance than it deserves. They have also implied via emotive headlines and news copy that avoiding the Holocaust is a widespread practise in UK schools. This is simply not the case, and such misleading reports have added to the burgeoning anger and confusion surrounding the issue.

Thus, the core claim in, repeated in a widespread email chain letter, is false. The UK Government has not forced schools to drop Holocaust topics. Certainly, we should ensure that our children are taught about the vast human tragedy of the Holocaust and the Second World War. Any attempts by schools or governments to water down or remove historically sensitive topics due to political correctness should be strongly opposed. And we ourselves should never forget. However, forwarding this highly inaccurate and misleading chain email will only serve to sow confusion and misdirected anger. In spite of its claim to be "In Memoriam", the message is not a fitting memorial to victims of the Holocaust or the Second World War.

Additionally, some feel that this chain letter (and others like it) are an insidious means by which companies can collect email addresses 'voluntarily' for future marketing or other purposes.

Answer

No.
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/uk-holocaust-removal.shtml
http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/UK-Holocaust.htm

Please see the related question.