This Holocaust Remembrance Day marks nearly 81 years since the end of World War II. Few living witnesses remain, whether Holocaust survivors or military veterans.

As we move further in time from the events of the Holocaust, a troubling contradiction has emerged. On the one hand, American political discourse and social media feeds are saturated with references to Nazism. The Holocaust seems ever-present in American culture. And yet, multiple surveys, including one released in 2025 by the Claims Conference, have found that middle and high school students lack basic knowledge of its history. More troubling, the United States has seen a rise in antisemitism, including terrifying violence against Jews at synagogues from Pittsburgh to West Bloomfield, Michigan. Streamers talk about admiring Hitler. An artist who releases a single called “Heil Hitler” sells out a Los Angeles arena.

Does this mean Americans have failed to learn the lessons of the Holocaust? And if so, who is to blame?

It might be tempting to conclude that Holocaust education has failed. Many critics have determined that it has. Multiple prominent Jewish voices have even claimed that Holocaust education could be making antisemitism worse. As these ideas have gained traction, Holocaust educators have been thrown into a panic.

What’s missing from these discussions are clear-eyed assertions about the purpose of Holocaust education, as well as a recognition of its limits. We have little agreement on the questions: What can and what should Holocaust education do?

As critics have........

© The Jewish Week