teach1st
10-21-2007, 07:11 AM
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/21/Southpinellas/Holocaust_s_other_vic.shtml
Michael Preisler's arm still bears the signs of Auschwitz. He was number 22213.
Preisler doesn't fit the most common perception of Holocaust victims. He is a Polish Catholic, a group that scholars say represent 1.9-million of those killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Some scholars also estimate that a million Polish Catholic soldiers died in battles with German and Russian armies. As Holocaust survivors die, Polish Catholics across the country are stepping up efforts to get their stories and those of their ancestors reflected in history books, museums and in the larger public's knowledge.
Time is running out, they say.
"There are very few victims left," said Preisler, 88, who lives in New York City. "I'm fighting for the truth."
...
Cheslock, the bay area dentist, says both the state museum and local school systems have given short shrift to the portrayal of Polish Catholics in the Holocaust. He wants them to make adjustments.
Pinellas County school officials say they teach according to state-mandated standards and adequately cover the Holocaust. They also offer Holocaust education electives for students and special training sessions for teachers, district leaders said. At Cheslock's request, the district purchased resource books on Polish Catholics and the Holocaust for its professional library.
"I guess I would suggest that if our curriculum is perceived as inadequate, that the fight is not necessarily with us," said Clayton Wilcox, Pinellas County school superintendant. "We're a local school system, and we rely on the expertise of state and national experts to help us define our curriculum."
Hillsborough County public school officials say they will investigate their curriculum to see if it comes up short. "If it's something that should be added into our curriculum, then we'll consider it," said Dennis Holt, the county's supervisor of secondary social studies.
More (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/21/Southpinellas/Holocaust_s_other_vic.shtml)
Michael Preisler's arm still bears the signs of Auschwitz. He was number 22213.
Preisler doesn't fit the most common perception of Holocaust victims. He is a Polish Catholic, a group that scholars say represent 1.9-million of those killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Some scholars also estimate that a million Polish Catholic soldiers died in battles with German and Russian armies. As Holocaust survivors die, Polish Catholics across the country are stepping up efforts to get their stories and those of their ancestors reflected in history books, museums and in the larger public's knowledge.
Time is running out, they say.
"There are very few victims left," said Preisler, 88, who lives in New York City. "I'm fighting for the truth."
...
Cheslock, the bay area dentist, says both the state museum and local school systems have given short shrift to the portrayal of Polish Catholics in the Holocaust. He wants them to make adjustments.
Pinellas County school officials say they teach according to state-mandated standards and adequately cover the Holocaust. They also offer Holocaust education electives for students and special training sessions for teachers, district leaders said. At Cheslock's request, the district purchased resource books on Polish Catholics and the Holocaust for its professional library.
"I guess I would suggest that if our curriculum is perceived as inadequate, that the fight is not necessarily with us," said Clayton Wilcox, Pinellas County school superintendant. "We're a local school system, and we rely on the expertise of state and national experts to help us define our curriculum."
Hillsborough County public school officials say they will investigate their curriculum to see if it comes up short. "If it's something that should be added into our curriculum, then we'll consider it," said Dennis Holt, the county's supervisor of secondary social studies.
More (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/21/Southpinellas/Holocaust_s_other_vic.shtml)