Pupils’ perceptions of the motivations of those who took part in the Holocaust

Abstract

This article explores how Norwegian secondary school pupils understand the motives of those who took part in the Holocaust. This study is particularly relevant because the new Norwegian curriculum from 2020 presents holocaust education as a way of stopping future extremism. The article is based on interviews with 41 pupils at four different secondary schools. The analysis is based on theoretical perspectives on historical empathy and focuses on how the pupils in the study engage with the historical participants. The study shows that the main component of the pupils’ understanding of the Holocaust is Hitler’s personal anti-Semitism. At the same time, they explain the other Germans participating in the genocide as mostly due to fear. The present article argues that this way of understanding the Holocaust is a hindrance with regard to reaching the goals in the curriculum.