LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — Currently in Nebraska, it is up to each school system whether or not to teach students about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. A bill in the Nebraska Legislature would require it.
As Senator Jen Day of Omaha points out, the survivors of the Holocaust are passing away and with them, their own memories of what happened.
“Ignorance will only increase as it falls further into history,” said Day.
That’s one reason she wants a requirement in Nebraska public schools to educate all students on the history of the Holocaust and other genocides.
She was backed by many including Mark Dreilling, who is the chief of staff for Congressman Don Bacon.
“This important legislation is not just about the here and now, it speaks to future generations. It shows what kind of people we are and what we intend to be," said Dreiling.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says antisemitic incidents are rising nationwide and in Nebraska. More and more people are comparing the Holocaust to current events. For example, lawmakers comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.
In Nebraska, just last year we saw members of the public comparing the State Board of Education to Nazis for pushing to implement sex education in schools.
Gary Nachman, regional director for the ADL, says these analogies take away the memory of all the lives lost.
“It's just, their deaths are in vain when people use them so loosely. And it’s because of ignorance and most of these are not done maliciously, it’s done out of ignorance,” said Nachman.
Eleanor Dunning saw a classmate in college use a Nazi salute and refused to apologize.
She said these requirements would give future generations basic knowledge to navigate the world.
“I want to be here to make sure this never happens to another student,” said Dunning.
There’s evidence younger generations are losing touch with what happened in Nazi Germany.
One example, a poll from 2018 showed two-thirds of millennials could not identify that the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp was a concentration camp.
“What is particularly shocking and disappointing about this decline in knowledge in the Holocaust is that it is a relatively recent event,” said Day.
This bill quickly got out of committee with no votes against it. This means it will likely go to the full legislature before the end of the session.
No opponents testified against the bill.
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