O pinion
The Holocaust is Exaggerated in Pop Culture. That Makes it
Hard for Educators Like Me to Teach the Truth
BY LUKE BERRYMAN
“HEY, I DID HAVE one
question ...” That was the
tentative opening to an email
I recently received from a high
school teacher. The Ninth
Candle, the Holocaust educa-
tion organization I founded,
had led some educational
programs for her students, and
the teacher and I had been
trading emails for a few weeks.

Even teachers at schools
with established Holocaust
programs can be reluctant
to get too close to the big
questions about it. I sense a
widespread but unspoken fear
of being called insensitive or
offensive — or worse, antise-
mitic. She only asked me her
“one question” after a relation-
ship had begun to form and she
had my repeated reassurance
that nothing was off the table.

And the question?
She wanted to know if
the Nazis had used human
fat, rendered from Jewish
prisoners, to make bars of
soap. The class materials she’d
been given said they had. She
doubted the claim but was too
afraid to challenge it.

The answer is no, they
didn’t. Despite the teacher’s
apprehension, it was perfectly
reasonable to ask.

This teacher shared more of
her class materials with me as
our exchange went on. Along
with the “soap myth,” which
academics are still untangling,
there was a mess of small
10 JULY 29, 2021
but significant factual errors:
chronology, place names,
victim numbers. We soon
realized that Holocaust educa-
tion at her school, like at many
schools across the country,
needed to be overhauled. A
recent study revealed that our
knowledge of the Holocaust
is declining. Most millen-
nials and Gen Z members
surveyed don’t know that 6
million Jews were murdered
during the genocide, and half
preparation of corpses made
a soapy byproduct used to
clean the institute during the
final months of the war. The
corpses weren’t Jewish, and no
bars of soap were ever made.

But Allied and Soviet propa-
ganda, and pop culture works
like Zofia Nałkowska’s 1946
book, “Medallions,” inflated
the institute’s disrespect for
the dead into something even
worse. There are many other
treatment of the Holocaust
makes it difficult to think
about it critically, or to feel
empathy for its victims, or to
connect it with the present —
especially if that’s where one’s
Holocaust education begins
and ends. (More than 30 U.S.

states still have no mandate
that the Holocaust be taught
at all.) Folding more cases
of resistance into Holocaust
curriculums is one way to
address this. I’ve seen students’
We learned many lessons from the war, but the threat of indifference
enabling hatred to run riot is as pressing today as it was in Germany in
the 1930s and 1940s. The Holocaust is the most radical demonstration
of what can happen when the suffering of others goes unchecked.

This is why improving the way we teach it must be a priority for
schools everywhere.

of those surveyed can’t name
a single concentration camp or
ghetto. Meanwhile, antisemitic
incidents are surging.

One of the first things we
can do to improve the situation
is to uproot myths from our
curriculums. This will involve
discussing all those difficult
questions. We also need to keep
class materials updated because
our knowledge of the Holocaust
is still evolving. (The U.S.

Holocaust Memorial Museum
is a good source for teachers
who want to make sure their
lessons are up to date.)
Take the soap myth.

Rumors that the Nazis made
soap from Jewish prisoners
emerged before World War
II was over, and evidence to
support them was presented
at the Nuremberg Trials. In
the 1980s, historians discov-
ered that the issue was more
complex than first realized, and
their investigations continued
into the 21st century.

We now know that the
Danzig Anatomical Institute’s
examples of our knowledge of
the Holocaust improving over
time. But such changes don’t
always make it into curricu-
lums and schools.

This is partly due to
Holocaust education’s depen-
dence on pop culture, with its
liberal use of works that delib-
erately blur fact and fiction.

Schools commonly choose to
include books and movies like
“Schindler’s List,” “The Boy
in the Striped Pajamas” and
“The Tattooist of Auschwitz.”
But these works aren’t useful
teaching tools. They treat
the Holocaust as a game of
cat-and-mouse, Jews as an
interchangeable mass who
went to their deaths unthink-
ingly and survival as a matter
of attitude. In addition, there
are so many advocacy groups
putting free, one-size-fits-all
Holocaust lesson plans on the
internet now that some schools
and teachers barely know
where to begin.

For students, pop culture’s
repetitive, two-dimensional
JEWISH EXPONENT
relationships with the subject
change when light is cast on
the uprisings in Auschwitz,
Sobibor and Treblinka, or
on resisters like Alexander
Pechersky and Zivia Lubetkin.

Another way is to study
the Holocaust alongside
Nazi Germany’s “forgotten
victims,” as the historian
Richard J. Evans calls them:
the Roma and Sinti peoples,
gay people, people with mental
and physical disabilities and
Slavs, among others. Students
often connect with books that
reach imaginatively beyond
the settings of camps and
ghettos. Liza Wiemer’s novel
“The Assignment” is about
two students challenging their
school over a classroom activity
that requires some of them to
argue in favor of the “Final
Solution.” Wiemer illumi-
nates historical facts about the
Holocaust with contemporary
ideas about what it means to be
an ally to marginalized groups.

The story is a timely response
to real-life “assignments.”
As a Holocaust educator, the
most common question children
ask me is: “How come the Jews
didn’t fight back?” This is a
product of their exposure to the
myth that Jews went to their
deaths “like lambs,” and it shows
the inadequacy of contemporary
Holocaust education. It also helps
explain why many young people
are prone to taking the Holocaust
lightly. Such ignorance can breed
indifference, and as the historian
Ian Kershaw said, it was indif-
ference that paved the road to
Auschwitz. Hitler wrote in “Mein
Kampf” that the Nazis would
never recruit members from “the
unthinking herd” of the public.

He knew that widespread indif-
ference would help his pursuit
of antisemitism more than
widespread fanaticism.

We learned many lessons
from the war, but the threat of
indifference enabling hatred to
run riot is as pressing today as
it was in Germany in the 1930s
and 1940s. The Holocaust is
the most radical demon-
stration of what can happen
when the suffering of others
goes unchecked. This is why
improving the way we teach it
must be a priority for schools
everywhere. l
Luke Berryman is the founder of
The Ninth Candle, a Chicago-based
nonprofit trying to end antisemitism
by sharing knowledge.

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O pinion
My Orthodox Life: A Response to ‘My Unorthodox Life’
BY RABBI JOEL E. HOFFMAN
THE REALITY SERIES “My
Unorthodox Life” is the talk
of the Jewish world since its
airing on Netflix on July 14.

The show’s star Julia Haart,
who left her Ultra-Orthodox
community in 2013 at age 42,
quickly advanced in the fashion
industry and is CEO of the
modeling agency Elite World
Group. In the show, Haart
constantly bashes Orthodox
Judaism with misrepresenta-
tions while trying to showcase
that living a secular life is way
better. I am not writing to cast
judgment on Haart for her
life choices. Judaism forbids
me from judging anyone but
myself. Rather, what follows is
a counter perspective to Haart’s
propaganda against Judaism in
general, and Orthodox Judaism
in particular.

My Orthodox Life consists
of ...

(1) Immediately upon
waking up in the morning my
first words are “Modeh Ani
Lifanecha ...” which thank God
for giving me another day. Also,
three times per day I engage in
formal prayer, and throughout
the day I say a blessing before
and after eating or drinking.

The first series of prayers in
deep-thinking on concepts
in Jewish philosophy. When
I pray I speak to God, but
when I study God “speaks” to
me — which means I obtain
answers to ultimate questions,
and every day I encounter a
teaching that is apropos for
something current in my life.

(3) By eating only kosher
food I concretize the value
of all life. This is because the
not speaking “Lashon Hara” —
which is not to say something
about a person that I would not
say if that person was present.

Trying to live by these ideals
is the ultimate in personal
development. (5) No essay about Judaism
would be complete without
discussing Shabbat. Every
Friday night I enjoy akin to
a Thanksgiving dinner with
I am not writing to cast judgment on [Julia] Haart for her life choices.

Judaism forbids me from judging anyone but myself. Rather, what
follows is a counter perspective to Haart’s propaganda against Judaism
in general, and Orthodox Judaism in particular.

the morning reminds me of
dozens of gifts from God such
as a properly working digestive
system, eye sight, clothes and
freedom. Praying and saying
blessings helps me foster a
sense of appreciation, which
is a key component for living a
happy/joyous life.

(2) A staple of everyday
Jewish life includes studying
Jewish texts. My daily study
regime entails studying Tanach
(Hebrew Bible), which is full
of moral and ethical teach-
ings, analyzing fine points of
Jewish law and engaging in
kosher slaughtering process is
the most ethical way to end an
animal’s life since it assures
the quickest death with the
least amount of pain. Keeping
kosher is Judaism’s compro-
mise with vegetarianism.

(4) Throughout my day I
try to live according to the
Jewish maxim: “Think Good
and It’ll Be Good,” as well as
the teachings: See the good in
every person; see the positive
in every situation; and view
every challenge as an oppor-
tunity. Perhaps the hardest
commandment to observe is
kindergarten?!) If God ever said we no
longer had to keep Shabbat,
probably 99.99% of Jews who
traditionally keep Shabbat
would continue to do so.

Haart has rejected all
the above and says she gets
meaning from being “free,”
which for her manifests in
wearing sexy outfits and
eating oysters; and she also
purposely uses the biased word
“Fundamentalism” to badger
Orthodox Judaism.

Interestingly, Haart’s
show co-stars her three adult
children, of which two have
remained Orthodox and they
concurrently demonstrate
that one can be an observant
Jew even while working in
the fashion industry. (Haart
also has a teenage son who is
Orthodox, lives with his dad
and appears on the show.)
There are aspects of the
show which I like and I intend
to watch future seasons, but my
focus here is on My Orthodox
Life. As one can hopefully
see from this essay, the more
Jewish practices in which a Jew
engages, the more meaning he
or she will add to their life. l
my family, and for 25 hours
I am free from all appoint-
ments and refrain from using
technology — so no using a
cellphone, computer or car.

Plus, all the food I intend to
eat on Saturday is cooked
before Shabbat. Shabbat aligns
a person to spend one day
per week focusing on only
the important things in life:
family, camaraderie with other
Jews, praying and learning,
while getting mental and
physical rest. A Shabbat after- Joel E. Hoffman is ordained as
noon nap is amazing! (Why a rabbi but works as a math and
did afternoon naps stop after special education teacher.

My Four Days in Israel with JFNA: Standing in Solidarity with Israel
transformative life experience.

This July, I had the privilege of
traveling to Israel with 35 other
leaders from cities across North
America on a four-day national
solidarity mission. I knew the
trip would be an emotional
one, but getting the opportu-
nity to support the country
that I love in the aftermath of
the recent Gaza conflict was
an important journey for me
BY SHERRIE SAVETT
to take.

We focused on three big
IT IS NOT OFTEN that issues on this trip: the 2021
one gets to experience a Gaza conflict, Israel’s new
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM government and its challenges,
and internal social issues. Israel
is ever-changing and evolving,
and always seeking effective
and creative solutions. While
the strength and effectiveness
of the new coalition govern-
ment remains to be proven,
many are hopeful and see its
diversity as an asset. The new
government has members from
left- and right-wing parties, as
well as, for the first time in
history, an Arab party.

Israel faces many complex
internal issues and external
JEWISH EXPONENT
threats. Most recently, more
than 4,300 rockets targeted
Israel during an 11-day period.

The civilian population
all over the country experi-
enced these attacks and the
constant sirens warning them
to run to safe rooms and bomb
shelters. Residents of Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem had never
experienced missile attacks
before and were stunned
by the experience. Trauma
among Israelis, and especially
children, is widespread.

We were fortunate to meet
many people during our
trip, inspiring people, trying
to overcome the incredibly
challenging problems and
working to heal themselves,
others, and their country. Taly
Levanon, director of the Israel
Trauma Coalition, introduced
us to talented and brave thera-
pists who risked their lives
amid rocket fire to comfort
families. Like all mission trips, our
days were packed. Each person
See Savett, Page 19
JULY 29, 2021
11