Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization:
The Genocide of the Armenians
Between 1915 and 1923, it is estimated that the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire systematically killed more than 1.5 million of its Armenian citizens. This book combines the latest scholarship on the Armenian Genocide with an inter-disciplinary approach to history, giving readers the opportunity to concentrate on the choices and dilemmas that individuals, groups, and nations faced before, during, and after the genocide. While focusing on the Armenian Genocide during World War I, the book considers the many legacies of the Armenian Genocide including Turkish denial and the struggle for the recognition of genocide as a “crime against humanity.”
Facing History and Ourselves:
Holocaust and Human Behavior
This resource book contains the essential materials needed to incorporate the Facing History program into a school or class. Its readings reflect the latest scholarship on the Holocaust and include both primary sources and secondary commentary that give clear examples of abuse of power, violations of human rights, and unthinking obedience in response to authority. The book provides sources and methodology to explore prejudice, antisemitism, and discrimination in our own lives and then investigates the failure of democracy and the rise of the Nazis in Germany and the steps and events that led to the Holocaust. The final chapter explores how positive participation in a democracy can make a difference in achieving a society of tolerance and justice.
Facing History and Ourselves:
The Jews of Poland
The Jews of Poland describes Jewish life in Eastern Europe before, during, and after the Holocaust. For centuries, Poland was home to about half of the Jews in the world. The book considers the ways they and their non-Jewish neighbors responded to questions of identity, membership, and difference at various times in their shared history. Students explore this history through excerpts of autobiographies, diaries, official documents, literary works, and other sources.
Race and Membership in American History:
The Eugenics Movement
At what point do differences become powerful social divisions? Race and Membership in American History explores this question by focusing on eugenics, a branch of “scientific” inquiry that sought to end social ills by ridding society of “inferior traits.” In the early 20th century, racism and eugenics had worldwide appeal. In Nazi Germany they were used to justify racial policies that led to the Holocaust.
To order these and other resource materials from Facing History and Ourselves, please visit www.facinghistory.org.