Laws requiring teaching of the Holocaust

A number of countries maintain laws that require the presentation of information concerning actions of the government of Germany regarding Jews in its territory during the period of that government's control by the National Socialist (Nazi) German Worker's Party from 1933 to 1945, commonly referred to as the Holocaust. In the United States, laws of this kind are maintained by individual states and typically specify curriculum content and the ages of the pupils to which various portions of the curricula are to be presented.

Many of the particulars of conformance with these laws are specified or influenced by policies and pronouncements of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Holocaust Remembrance, and Holocaust Research. A country's membership in this organization, however, does not necessarily imply any legal mandate within the said country regarding Holocaust education.

Laws prohibiting "Holocaust denial" are maintained by many—but not all—of the same jurisdictions that have these laws. These laws apply to individuals and involve criminal punishment and therefore they are in all cases separate statutes.

Nations and U.S. states
As of June 2022, laws mandating education in the Holocaust were on the books in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

In the United States, the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin. In total, 23 states have mandatory Holocaust education.

Current Education Plans By State
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has opened a form so that members of state governments can have the education plan websites available for patrons to access. Out of all 50 states, there are 23 that have current education plans and that opted into having them posted on this website. The states involved and their plans can be accessed below:

Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maine Michigan Missouri New Hampshire New York North Carolina Oklahoma Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Virginia Wisconsin

According to the museum, further resources about these education plans are available on the Association of Holocaust Organizations website.

Efficacy of Holocaust Education Practices
According to an article released by ASU, in August of 2021, Governor Doug Ducey signed into law the HB 2241 bill, which mandated student education on topics of genocide a minimum of two times throughout the duration of 7th through 12th grades. The Vice President of the Phoenix Holocaust Association, Janice Friebaum, stated that there has not been a comprehensive review of all bills passed by states that mandate Holocaust education to establish certainty regarding the quality of education and success of implementation generally. The ASU article also brings to light a study conducted by the Pew Research Center that demonstrated that less than half of Americans were able to ascertain that Hitler came into political power through democratic processes. Three out of ten Americans stated they did not know how many Jewish people were killed, one in ten overestimated the number, and 15% believe that fewer than 3 million Jewish people lost their lives (study linked here). Experts in the holocaust and World War II events seem to see a “rise in ignorance and anti-Semetic attacks” (Lindsey Stillman, World War II Studies, Master’s Student) and cite it as the reason they wish to conduct some form of systematic quality control over the education programs on a large scale to ensure their effectiveness.

Heal Act
On December 22, 2022, a new piece of legislation was introduced to the House. The Heal Act, or the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act, sought to conduct a systematic examination of all Holocaust education efforts across public schools nationwide. It seeks to ensure that Holocaust–focused education is effective, thorough, and accurate across the country. Additionally, it will identify all states and local school districts that do and do not require education on these topics. One of the main focuses of the motivation for this legislation is the means for combatting antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

It was introduced to the House with over 60 cosponsors and was a firmly bipartisan effort. This bill is being co-led by Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ–5), the Co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism Congresswoman Kathy Manning (NC-6), House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10), and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA–1). The official bill can be found here and the official press release can both be viewed online.

According to the official press release from January 27, 2023, there is support across the aisle to pass legislation to improve education on the Holocaust; data and analyses are being released about the state of Holocaust knowledge and antisemitic acts in the United States that are cause for concern for many members of Congress. The press release included statistics related to the understanding of the Holocaust by American respondents. The 2020 survey showed that two-thirds of respondents did not know how many Jewish people died, and out of the Americans between the ages of 18 and 40 who were a part of this survey, 48% were unable to name one concentration camp or ghetto. The article also cites a 34% increase in Antisemitic Incidents in 2021 from 2020, recording 2,700 throughout the U.S. that year. Members of the ADL, Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA), American Jewish Committee, Orthodox Union Advocacy Effort, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, B’nai B’rith International, and many more all shared a common sentiment that the education in the U.S. requires reformation, the increase in antisemitic attacks should be stopped, and a plea to congress to pass the HEAL Act to begin progress as soon as possible.

Despite the seemingly large amount of support this bill received in Congress, and across the aisle at that, the bill has still not been passed despite its introduction several years ago. There is no conclusive information about its current status or any continuing efforts to get it to the Senate as of May 12, 2024.

The United Nations and Holocaust Denial
Member states of the United Nations spoke out in 2022 about a perceived increase of Holocaust denial or distortion due to social networking and communications technology. On January 13th, 2022, over 70 countries came together in General Assembly to discuss Agenda item 16: Culture of peace. All member states were also given the recommendation “reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end.” The UN released an article covering the resolution met in this assembly, which also touches on the fact UNESCO will aid in the development of training programs for teachers and policy guidelines for governmental and educational bodies worldwide. The article also touches on initiatives to combat concerns over the influence of social networking on an increase in antisemitic sentiments; the World Jewish Congress and Facebook signed an agreement to divert traffic searching for Holocaust or Holocaust denial-related keywords to a “joint website” that has been translated in 19 languages.

This concern regarding a rise in intolerance, racism, antisemitism, and hate-fueled violent acts is being discussed by not only the member states but also the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. She believes widespread reformation of policies and narratives is necessary in order to highlight our “common humanity” and rights. She highlights a study by the Fundamental Rights Agency that stated 89% of respondents have noticed a rise in antisemitism in their countries. According to Bachelet, a significant portion of this rise can be attributed to political profit and strategy, stating “By heightening the emotions of their supporters through campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, they gain media attention, and votes– but they also drive deep, violent and profoundly damaging wedges through societies”.