The Holocaust is one of the most studied and memorialized tragedies in history. One would hope that educational bodies would try to teach the topic with respect and thoughtfulness, however, the National Education Association (NEA) fails to meet this standard in the 2025 edition of its handbook. The 2025 handbook is riddled with misconceptions that distort the realities of the Holocaust by decentralizing Jews.
Roughly twelve million people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds were massacred by the German Nazi party between 1933 and 1945. Of those twelve million, half were Jews. Many would refer to the systematic killing of these diverse groups as “the Holocaust,” however, this is incorrect. Without trivializing the genocide of the Roma, Poles, disabled persons, etc., “the Holocaust” specifically refers to the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews in this time period. This is how the event is defined by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The distinction between the Holocaust and the genocide of other groups deemed undesirable may seem arbitrary, however, it is very important.
Nazis murdered particular groups based on how much they were considered “threats” to German society. The label was always given to the Jews. This caused the Jews to be targeted by the Nazis with far more intensity than any other group. Of all minorities, only the Jews were singled out for complete extermination. Consequently, a far higher percentage of Jews were killed than that of any other group. For example, the Nazis murdered 60% of European Jews, including around 90% of Polish Jews. Additionally, the propaganda used to demonize Jews was distinct in its ferocity and use of age-old antisemitic tropes. Thus, Holocaust studies center Jews because it stresses this significant difference in how Jews were treated versus other minority groups. This understanding continues to provide a unique perspective of state-sponsored genocide. Of course, the nuances of Holocaust study are far beyond the scope of this piece. What matters is that this is how the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Cherry Hill High School East teach it, and how schools should continue teaching it. However, the NEA seems to disagree in its 2025 handbook.
On July 24, the NEA published the latest edition of its handbook, outlining the updated guidelines for how to teach and protect both educators and students alike. Included in the updates is a new standard for how International Holocaust Remembrance Day should be observed: “NEA shall promote the celebration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 annually on its website and through other appropriate media to recognize the more than 12 million victims of the Holocaust from different faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/disabilities, and other targeted characteristics.”
At face value, this description of how the observance day should be recognized shows respect to the victims of the Holocaust. However, further inspection reveals clear ignorance towards what the Holocaust actually is. As previously mentioned, the Holocaust specifically refers to the persecution of the Jews. The NEA uses the Holocaust as an umbrella term for the Nazi persecution of all minorities. At best, the NEA misunderstands the nature of the Holocaust, as it encourages the idea that the Holocaust was not a specific atrocity. At worst, it commits an act of Jewish erasure at a time of heightened antisemitism.
The NEA’s new guideline could be antisemetic itself. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance defines the denial of the “fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” as antisemitism. This definition has been adopted by the U.S. government. The NEA’s use of “the Holocaust” as a more vague term for all those killed by the Nazis could fall into the category of denying the intentionality of the genocide, as they fail to identify Jews as the central victims. This false description distorts the realities of the Holocaust by making Jews seem like they were not the primary target of the Nazi regime.
Additionally, by diluting the term “Holocaust,” especially at a time when antisemitism is on the rise, the NEA risks portraying Jews as self-centered or dismissive of other Nazi victims when they attempt to educate the public (as I have done here), rather than acknowledging their unique position as the primary focus of Nazi extermination.
The NEA fails to make a distinction between the Holocaust and other atrocities committed by the Nazis throughout its handbook. There is a section about the Holocaust as an educational topic, but it provides no insight as to what the Holocaust is, instead focusing on how technology can be used to help educate about it. Additionally, while the NEA handbook suggests it will “honor Holocaust Remembrance Month,” it fails to promise any actual mention of the Holocaust on its website during the month, instead opting to post a Jewish star circled with the phrase “stand up against antisemitism.” This gesture is positive on its face, but worthless in light of the NEA’s other actions.
An accurate curriculum for the Holocaust is hugely important, and that is why it is the responsibility of the NEA to create guidelines that educate about it truthfully. While the current handbook does not reflect the realities of the Holocaust, simple changes can be made to fix it. Students should learn about the atrocities committed against all people by the Nazis. And, they should learn about the Holocaust, the specific atrocities uniquely perpetrated against Jews. Furthermore, the standards should urge teachers to explain how the Holocaust is distinct from the genocide of non-Jewish minority groups. In an effort to have the handbook revised, educators should reach out to their local or state union affiliates to speak about this issue.
