Teaching Tragedy & Deepening Democracy: Analyzing the Development of Holocaust Education Policy in Argentina

Abstract

The need for Holocaust education around the world has significantly increased in recent decades as hate, violence, and extremism have been on the rise and the last generation of Holocaust survivors continues to age. The importance of this education is especially critical in countries with a history of violence, which stand to gain from lessons against the dangers of authoritarianism, discrimination, and state-led brutality. Argentina is not only home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, but is also a country in which the memories of the organized kidnapping, torture, and murder of 30,000 civilians at the hands of its last military dictatorship are still felt by citizens today, more than 40 years later. Given this context, this thesis examines the role that Holocaust education has played in Argentina as well as the political processes that have impacted its development in recent decades. Through interviews with government officials and members of leading Jewish organizations and analysis of legislative and educational materials, this thesis argues that a combination of state priorities and Jewish advocacy led to the development of Argentine Holocaust education seen today. In addition, this thesis presents evidence that the strong role of national memory in Argentina that is present within educational policy has meant that Holocaust education is often used to teach lessons about the dangers of authoritarianism and state-led violence. This study’s findings imply that Argentine Holocaust education has been considered a vehicle to promote democratic values within the next generation of citizens in order to prevent another violent dictatorship. The implications of these findings suggest that an alternative objective of Holocaust education could be to cultivate a defense of human rights and an appreciation of democracy within countries with violent histories.