A new report from Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation (ACJC) has revealed the profound challenges facing Holocaust educators in Australia, particularly around their role in combating contemporary antisemitism.
The report, Holocaust Education and its role in addressing antisemitism in Australia, is a qualitative research project forming part of the Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA). It draws on in-depth interviews with 25 leading educators, scholars and museum professionals in Australia and abroad to provide an evidence-based analysis of how these practitioners are responding to current social and geopolitical pressures.
Professor David Slucki, MIRRA Chief Investigator and ACJC Director, said the report’s findings highlight a growing tension between maintaining the historical specificity of the Holocaust and the push to apply its lessons to address both expressions of contemporary antisemitism in Australia and the current geopolitical context, namely the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Our analysis reveals a sector facing deep uncertainty as educators confront the reality that growing awareness of and teaching about the Holocaust has not necessarily seen a decrease in antisemitism in Australia in recent decades. Conversations with key stakeholders highlight the increasing pressure on Holocaust educators to address both the rise in antisemitism and the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza.
“What is clear from those teaching in museums, universities, and schools, is that we need to be realistic in what we can expect from Holocaust education as a salve to a society-wide problem.”
The report notes that the violence in Gaza over the last few years has introduced new challenges for Holocaust educators in Australia, exposing gaps in educators’ confidence, training and guidance in increasingly politicised and polarised classroom settings.
“As we continue to adapt Holocaust education for an ever-changing Australia, there is a growing tension between universal lessons from the Holocaust colliding with the implications of those lessons when it comes to contemporary global events. Practitioners urgently need the tools and training to navigate these sensitive conversations,” Professor Slucki said.
Although this tension is not new, those engaged in Holocaust education are increasingly being put in the spotlight, with pressure coming from many different places to frame their teaching in particular ways that typically align with different political attitudes or ideas.
Participants also warned that anchoring Jewish identity primarily in the Holocaust risks defining the Australian Jewish community through victimhood and tragedy – humanising victims of the past while failing to reflect the vibrant, living culture of Australian Jewry today.
Alongside a complex geopolitical landscape, the sector is grappling with structural challenges including restricted time, limited resources, competing demands and the complexity of the subject itself when teaching about the Holocaust in school curricula. These pressures are compounded by the proliferation of antisemitism and disinformation online. Without clear guidance, teachers are confronted with navigating volumes of digital content to inform their lesson-planning.
To address these challenges, the report recommends a fundamental shift in how Holocaust education is approached nationally. Researchers are calling for the Federal Government to support a national framework to ensure consistent standards and shared educational goals for Holocaust education in Australia. Central to this approach is ensuring antisemitism prevention be developed as a distinct educational focus separate from teaching of the Holocaust, ensuring that addressing contemporary forms of antisemitism is a distinct focus rather than a secondary outcome of historical learning.
On the frontline, the report highlights an urgent need for specialised training to help Holocaust educators navigate highly polarised classroom discussions, particularly concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict. It recommends creating space for difficult questions for educators themselves to grapple with the relevance of teaching about the Holocaust in today’s multicultural Australia. Crucially, the report emphasises that this support must reach beyond Melbourne and Sydney, ensuring that educators in regional and less-resourced areas have broad access to expert guidance and shared strategies
Professor Slucki notes that the report highlights an urgent need to address antisemitism within the educational environments where it arises. He argues that prevention efforts should extend beyond the curriculum and be integrated into broader institutional safeguarding policies.
“While the sector is facing a moment of reckoning, we need a sustained commitment to research that evaluates the real-world impact of our teaching and learning about the Holocaust, ensuring it remains a powerful tool for social cohesion in a complex world. However, we must also recognise that Holocaust education is only one part of the solution, it cannot be the sole mechanism for addressing contemporary anti-Jewish prejudice in a multicultural society.”
