“Not unless they have to”: Power, Politics, and Hierarchy in Lithuanian Holocaust Education

• In Event: As the witnesses fall silent: Holocaust education for the new Millennium (Panel and Book Launch)

Abstract

Teaching about the Holocaust is controversial in Lithuania, and, because of this, teachers who teach about it are often subject to negative scrutiny from their peers. Based on two years of anthropological fieldwork in Lithuania, this paper finds that many teachers viewed negative peer interactions as a significant reason why they avoided Holocaust education. Understandably, those with supportive school directors were more willing to undertake Holocaust education than those without similar administrative support. However, the influence of bureaucratic hierarchy depended on its source. The influence of international political hierarchies had a converse effect on teachers, as many saw international political pressure as counterproductive to their work. Many explained that international programs hindered their ability to persuade peers of the Holocaust’s local significance. Teachers felt that they could garner more collegial support if expectations for Holocaust education came from within a known hierarchy, such as their own schools, rather than through international politics, which many saw as bullying by the west. In light of this situation, this paper examines how hierarchy motivated teachers in the Lithuanian context, and suggests that studies of Holocaust education would benefit from more research on the role of transnational power relationships in educational policy reform.

Author

• Christine Beresniova, Indiana University, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Fellow