[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMENDING THE SCHOOLS OF BASEL, SWITZERLAND, ON THE HOLOCAUST 
                  EDUCATION PROGRAM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleagues to join me 
in commending the public schools of the Canton and City of Basel, 
Switzerland, on the comprehensive program of Holocaust education which 
has been adopted for their public schools.
  Much has been written and said about the outrageous behavior of some 
Swiss banking executives with regard to deposits of gold and other 
valuables by Holocaust victims during the period before and during 
World War II, but little attention has been focused on the outstanding 
degree to which the people of Basel and other Swiss cities and cantons 
have assumed the responsibility of teaching Swiss children about the 
horrors of the Holocaust. By making this a communal priority, they have 
determined to never let such atrocities take place again.
  The schools of Basel address the subject of the Holocaust with 
children of all ages, at all academic levels and in a wide variety of 
disciplines, primarily in history and in German language and culture 
classes. In the Wieterbildungsschule (elementary schools), young people 
learn about the fate of children in the Third Reich, the resistance 
efforts against Nazi occupation, and other introductory topics ranging 
from a basic understanding of anti-Semitism to the existence of 
ghettos, concentration camps, and Hitler's Final Solution.
  In the secondary level (Grades 5-9) adolescents encounter a wealth of 
documentary material dealing with anti-Semitism and the murder of the 
Jews, including The Diary of Anne Frank, the new reader Bilder in Kopf 
(Pictures in the Head), and numerous short stories which provide an 
assortment of different approaches to the Holocaust. In Gymnasiums 
(high schools), older student face an even more comprehensive and 
substantive treatment of the topic. They survey various theories 
dealing with the development and forms of anti-Semitism, as well as an 
analytical and unprejudiced look at their own country's position during 
World War II. Such syllabus topics include thoughtful subjects such as 
``The Refugee Question in the Second World War and Neutrality.''
  Mr. Speaker, the people of Basel have recognized the truth of the 
oft-quoted Santayana observation, ``Those who cannot remember the past 
are condemned to repeat it.'' Their schools are helping to raise a new 
generation of citizens unfettered by hatreds and prejudices of the 
past, a people that can use the painful lessons of decades ago to 
engender tolerance and understanding in the future. It is my pleasure 
to recognize and to commend the fruitful efforts the people of Basel.

                          ____________________