Holocaust Education Requirement Advances

March 1, 2022, midnight ·

Nebraska Capitol (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News)
Nebraska Capitol (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News)

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Nebraska schools would be required to teach about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide, under a bill advancing in the Legislature. And lawmakers are moving ahead on subjects from the budget to sexual harassment complaints.

Twenty-three states require Holocaust education in their schools, and Sen. Jen Day wants to make Nebraska the 24th. Day said historical knowledge about the Nazi atrocity, and the death camps involved, is fading.

“Alarmingly, as we become further removed from World War II, knowledge among youth of the Holocaust is declining. In a 2020 survey of millennials and Gen Z, 63 percent of respondents did not know that 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and over half of those thought the death toll was fewer than two million. In a different 2018 survey 66 percent of millennials were unable to identify what Auschwitz was,” Day said.

Sen. Megan Hunt supported the proposal, saying it has lessons for Americans today.

“There’re also Americans who suffer from the fascism of neo-nazism and white supremacy. Who are followed out of mosques by people carrying guns. Who fear going to temple and synagogue because of a threat of white supremacy and gun violence. And all of these things are important to think about in the context of recognizing atrocities against the Jewish people,” Hunt said.

Sen. Steve Erdman asked Day about the definition of genocide.

“Is there in statute anywhere a definition of genocide?” Erdman asked.

“I’m not sure Sen. Erdman but I’d be happy to get that information for you,” Day replied.

“If there isn’t, I think it would be a good idea to have a definition, so it’s just not open-ended so someone could say ‘This is a genocide’ when it really isn’t,” Erdman said.

“Absolutely,” Day agreed.

Sen. Adam Morfeld read a definition of genocide from Black’s Law Dictionary.

“It is an international crime involving acts causing serious physical and mental harm with the intent to destroy, partially or entirely, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,” Morfeld said.

A version of the bill introduced two years ago listed historical events in Armenia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Sudan, Rwanda and Ukraine as examples of genocide. The Turkish government has long argued that while atrocities were committed against Armenians during World War I, there was no systematic attempt to eliminate them. This year’s bill mentions no other genocides than that Holocaust, although that could change.

Sen. Justin Wayne said he would not vote to advance the bill Tuesday, not because of what it says, but what it doesn’t say. Wayne said that could be corrected by the time the bill comes up for a second round of debate, a stage known as “Select File.”

“I think we have to figure out an amendment on Select to encompass what I would say one of the greatest tragedies in America, which was the slave trade. So it isn’t a vote against the Holocaust; it’s a vote against not mentioning slavery,” Wayne said.

Wayne suggested one good outcome would be agreement to his proposal to make the Juneteenth celebration of the end of slavery a state holiday. It is already a federal holiday.

Sen. Bruce Bostelman supported the bill, talking about people with personal experience related to the Holocaust.

“I had a great uncle that was a pastor. He was one of the first ones to go into the concentration camps. I’ve seen the pictures they’ve taken. I’ve seen the things that they’ve dealt with. I’ve talked with family who were in those concentration camps. And I appreciate Sen. Day’s bill on those measures. I think that is extremely important for us to focus on as far as our teaching on that, and that truth needs to come out,” Bostelman said.

The bill advanced on a vote of 44-0, with five senators, including Wayne, not voting.

On another subject, the Appropriations Committee has decided on more of the budget recommendations it will make to the full Legislature. Among those recommendations is $200 million for projects proposed by the so-called Star Wars Committee, including a 4,000 acre lake between Lincoln and Omaha, marinas at Lake McConaughy and Lewis and Clark Lake, and a new lodge at Niobrara State Park. The budget proposal is expected to be given to senators next week, with debate expected the week after that.

And a committee investigating the Legislature’s procedures for handling complaints of sexual harassment has hired outside counsel to help it. Sen. Anna Wishart, a member of the committee, said lawyer Tara Paulson of the Rembolt Ludtke law firm will assist the committee, formed in the wake of former Sen. Mike Groene’s resignation after taking pictures of an aide without her knowledge. Wishart said the committee will issue a report to the Legislature by the end of the session, currently scheduled for April 20. For Nebraska Public Media News at the Capitol, I’m Fred Knapp.