TEACHING THE HOLOCAUST WITH THE USE OF ACTIVE LEARNING METHODS THE CASE OF A LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH A HIGH NUMBER OF NEO-NAZI SUPPORTERS IN NORTHERN GREECE

The Holocaust is a topic included in the Curriculum of the year 9 in the Greek Secondary Education. When taught according to the course book it has a slight impact on students and therefore it cannot be exploited in order to make them aware of its importance or to contribute to the prevention of future genocides. Given the quick rise in the number of the Neo-Nazi movement supporters in our region due to the late crisis and the need to create a new generation of active citizens who will react to any attempt of racial discrimination and violation of the human rights, we tried to teach the Holocaust in an interdisciplinary way with the use of active learning methods such as drama classes, visits to relevant sites and museums in order to observe and research so as to create a piece of art, use of personal testimonies etc. In order to assess the results, we used a pre/post questionnaire distributed to students at the beginning and in the end of the study as well as class diaries kept by the responsible teachers. The research proved that there was a significant progress not only in the knowledge acquired by the students on the Holocaust but also an evident change in their opinions on issues concerning racial superiority, social discrimination, tolerance and acceptance of the other, an active involvement of the school community in the local society as well as an increase in their willingness to participate in the decision making process of their region.