Ever thought of organizing a student excursion to a former concentration camp, but don’t know how to approach it? Many teachers feel underqualified to address sensitive and heavy topics like the Holocaust, and without the right resources, may choose to avoid the topic altogether. What questions do you ask your students before the visit? What kind of reflection do you prompt on arrival? What are the main thoughts students should take away from such an experience?

Thankfully, Holocaust Education Trust Ireland (HETI) have compiled a useful set of guidelines for educational visits to former concentration camps, with materials that include:

  • terms and key concepts
  • reflection questions
  • research inquiry questions
  • preparation and post-visit discussion points

Learning from the Holocaust: Visiting Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau

Learning from the Holocaust: Leaving Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau

  • Examine the past through a “Memory walk”
  • Making your students more independent
  • How the process of historical enquiry helps to make school history more accessible
  • How strategies of differentiation can help creating an inclusive environment for student development
  • Understanding Historical Times through the use of layered timelines