Last week, Education Minister Rachna Singh announced what many educators are calling a long-overdue expansion of Holocaust education in British Columbia’s school curriculum. Standing alongside representatives from the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Singh unveiled plans to make Holocaust studies mandatory for all Grade 10 students starting next September.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. Antisemitic incidents have surged across Canada since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, with B.C. recording a troubling 150% increase in reported incidents compared to the same period last year, according to B’nai Brith Canada’s tracking data.
“Our students need to understand the historical contexts that allow hatred to flourish,” Singh told reporters at the announcement held at King David High School in Vancouver. “When we see Jewish students feeling unsafe in our schools today, we know we must do more.”
The current curriculum touches on the Holocaust primarily through World War II studies, but lacks the depth needed to help students connect historical antisemitism with contemporary manifestations. Under the new framework, teachers will receive specialized training and resources to deliver approximately six hours of dedicated Holocaust education.
Nina Krieger, Executive Director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, who collaborated with the Ministry on the curriculum revisions, emphasized the importance of firsthand testimony. “We’re losing Holocaust survivors every day. Their stories must continue to reach young people, especially as we see dangerous rhetoric normalizing antisemitism in social media spaces where our youth spend so much time.”
The curriculum expansion represents more than just additional classroom hours. Teachers will receive professional development focusing on how to handle difficult conversations and counter misinformation that students may encounter online. The $1.2 million initiative includes funding for classroom resources, survivor testimony videos, and school visits to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
Nico Slobinsky from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs praised the move but cautioned it addresses only part of a larger challenge. “Holocaust education is crucial, but we also need broader anti-hate education that addresses antisemitism in its modern forms,” he said, noting that many young people struggle to recognize antisemitism when it’s framed as anti-Zionism.
The Ministry’s decision follows similar curriculum enhancements in Ontario and Alberta. Education policy experts note these provincial initiatives are filling gaps left by the absence of a national standard for Holocaust education in Canada.
At King David High School, Grade 11 student Maya Berkowitz shared her experiences with classmates who knew little about the Holocaust. “Some of my friends at other schools thought it was just a chapter in history, not something that still affects Jewish people today,” she said. “When swastikas appeared at a school in Coquitlam last month, some students didn’t even understand why it was harmful.”
The curriculum changes will integrate both historical study and contemporary connections. Students will examine how Nazi propaganda techniques compare to modern disinformation, and explore how antisemitic conspiracy theories continue to evolve in today’s digital landscape.
Not everyone sees the curriculum change as sufficient. Some community advocates argue six hours remains inadequate for such complex subject matter. Others question whether teachers will receive enough support to address pushback from parents or students who might bring competing narratives from home.
Dr. Catherine Sheldrick Ross, an education researcher at UBC, suggests the effectiveness will depend largely on implementation. “Teachers need ongoing support, not just initial training,” she said. “And we need to remember that Holocaust education works best when it’s part of a broader commitment to human rights education throughout the curriculum.”
Ministry officials acknowledged these concerns, noting the new curriculum represents a starting point that will evolve based on teacher and student feedback. They’ve also indicated that additional components addressing other historical genocides will be developed to help students recognize patterns of discrimination and dehumanization.
The curriculum changes come amid concerning statistics from a 2022 survey that found 33% of Canadian students questioned whether the Holocaust actually happened or was exaggerated – a significant increase from similar surveys conducted a decade earlier.
In classrooms across Vancouver, teachers like Sam Weinstein at Point Grey Secondary are already working to prepare for the new requirements. “Many of us have been teaching beyond the curriculum already, but having official backing matters,” Weinstein said. “When students hear Holocaust denial online, they need the historical foundation to recognize it as false.”
As B.C. joins other provinces in strengthening Holocaust education, the challenge remains to translate classroom learning into real-world understanding. For survivors like 92-year-old Leon Stein, who occasionally speaks at local schools, the curriculum changes represent hope. “I tell my story not to dwell on suffering,” he told me after the announcement, “but because each new generation must learn to recognize the warning signs before hatred becomes normalized.”
With implementation set for the 2023-2024 school year, educators and Jewish community leaders now face the task of ensuring these curriculum changes translate into meaningful learning experiences that equip students to recognize and confront antisemitism in all its forms.
