The Holocaust: Lessons for the Third Generation

The grandchildren of the men and women who experienced the Shoah as victims, rescuers, bystanders and perpetrators, lack the memories and experiences of their grandparents as well as the early recollections of their parents' generation. The Holocaust is, for many, an event as distant as the Civil War, antedating their collective memory and accessibility only through books, films and television. Yet their presence in the classrooms testifies that the story of the Holocaust maintains its resonance for the MTV generation. This success notwithstanding, in the face of a growing campaign of denial and a revival of the extreme right, there remain many who need to be reached, to hear the story and confront the questions which have not lost their urgency.