Teaching the Holocaust

Research appears to show teacher fears around teaching students about the Holocaust. Hearings resumed this week at the antisemitism royal commission, with public figures, including MPs, recounting their experience with anti-Jewish prejudice.  The hearings coincided with new research showing some high school teachers in New South Wales were nervous about teaching the history of the Holocaust because of a backlash from some students.   Plus  July the 4th marks 250 years since the founders of the United States ratified the Declaration of Independence. For a nation that was designed explicitly to separate church and state – unlike much of old Europe – the US became remarkably religious.  Even as the number of non-religious Americans grows, faith still permeates the culture and, especially, the politics. As part of Radio National’s America 250 series, we caught up with historian Matthew Avery Sutton – a longer version is on our webpage.    Guests:  Dr BREANN FALLON is chief executive at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, which runs programmes dealing with genocide education. MATTHEW AVERY SUTTON, author of Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity.