Refusing To Face History and Ourselves

A widely acclaimed program for teaching public school children about the Holocaust is under fire from some right-wing female leaders in America. Because of this, it has also been denied funding by the U.S. Department of Education, which supports more than 400 programs to schools.

According to Margot Stern Strom, the executive director of “Facing History and Ourselves,” Phyllis Schlafly, head of the right-wing Eagle Forum, has stated that the program is anti-Christian, and that Americans don’t need to know about the Holocaust.

Christina Price, who reviewed “Facing History and Ourselves” for a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing, objected to the curriculum because it failed to provide the viewpoint of the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Price was hired by Shirley Curry, a Department of Education official who is also an Eagle Forum board member.

“Facing History and Ourselves” examines the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism, along with morality and ethics for citizens, technology abuse and democratic failure. It is geared for junior high school students.