Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’ thesis, reportedly written on “Holocaust education,” has been criticized for de-emphasizing the uniqueness of the Holocaust and focusing more broadly on genocide as a whole. This has led to concerns from Jewish groups that Walz is not fully acknowledging the importance of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust.
Walz’ thesis, titled “Improving Human Rights and Genocide Studies in the American High School Classroom,” argues for the teaching of the Holocaust within the context of human rights abuses, rather than as a unique historical anomaly or as part of a larger unit on World War II. While he acknowledges that this approach is “controversial” among Holocaust scholars, Walz maintains that de-emphasizing the uniqueness of the Holocaust can help students identify patterns with other genocides like the Armenian and Rwandan genocides.
Critics argue that by focusing too much on the broader concept of genocide and not enough on the specifics of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, there is a risk of overlooking the dangers of antisemitism and even potentially accusing Israel of “genocide” against the Palestinians. This approach could also inadvertently turn victims of the Holocaust into perpetrators by misrepresenting their history.
Ruth Wisse, a leading authority on Yiddish literature who fled the Holocaust in Europe and found refuge in Canada, opposed a chair in “Holocaust studies” at Harvard for similar reasons. She argued that the potential for corruption arises when the Holocaust is used as a universal symbol of evil, rather than focusing on the specific context of how it was overcome through American soldiers fighting against the Nazis and Israelis protecting their newfound freedom.
While Walz’ thesis should not be considered antisemitic, it may be more accurate to label it as “human rights and genocide studies” instead of a direct focus on the Holocaust itself. This raises questions about how the history of the Holocaust should be taught in American schools, with some arguing for a broader context that highlights human rights abuses while others maintain that focusing solely on the Jewish experience is essential for truly understanding and preventing future genocides.