Yes, I believe there should be a component of history devoted to the Holocaust, but it should be taught as a salutary lesson about how vulnerable we all are to the machinations of Government. The Jews were selected as a scapegoat group by Hitler, yet many of the individuals were a prosperous, civil and well-regarded part of German society. They were the middle class, just as we contributing here are likely to be of the middle class and yet they were herded into camps and killed willy-nilly.

Our recently departed Prime Miniature serves as a salutary reminder (albeit on a lesser scale) of the fact that scapegoating is still a favourite Government tactic. One has to wonder what atrocities may have been committed by and against ordinary Australians if his regime had coincided with spectacularly bad economic conditions, such as obtained in pre-War Germany, rather than the global burst of productivity he was lucky enough to enjoy the political benefits of.

Boaz, I shouldn't be depressed by further evidence of your one eyed view of the role of Islam, but I am.

The vast majority of your syllabus focuses on muslims. While they of course, deserve a place in a history syllabus, to engineer a syllabus such as yours which constantly harps on about them, is proof that you really do live in a world simply of Christians vs Islam, to the exclusion of other matters.

All your historic information seems to have these things at their focus.

Where's the analysis of the Chinese empire, one of the largest and longest in existence, and now in position to be the world's leading empire?

Not important, compared to your muslim crusade?

Where's the history of colonialism - from Australia, to Canada, to US and the spread of western thought?

Not important, compared to your muslim crusade?

Where's the discussion of the Greeks and their war against the numerically superiour persian empire? The foundation for hellenism, which shaped the roman empire and western ideals?

Not important, compared to your muslim crusade?

Where's the discussion of the Empires of ancient egypt, mesopotamia and the hittites, some of the earliest large-scale civilisations we know?

Not important, compared to your muslim crusade?

Honestly boaz, you wonder why people think you have a biased agenda that lacks perspective.

The Holocaust and the contemporaneous slaying of 20 000 000 Russians, the Israeli "Nabkah", and all the other barbarities of the 20th Century including the terror bombing of N. Vietnam and the killing of 1 in 10 (3 million) Vietnamese, and the truth behind that murderer Pol Pot, should all be taught as part of a compulsory comprehensive and unbiased history curriculum . Without knowing our past, warts and all, we cannot understand it, and if we cannot understand our past, we cannot understand and hopefully improve our present culture.

Of course we should teach modern history that includes the Holocaust. It might have been the first time detailed film could be made of such atrocities and I remember so well the newsreels at the time showing bulldozers sweeping up bodies in the camps and showing the world. We were all shocked and I hope that we never forget man's inhumanity to man.

I think that History should be a compulsory standalone subject at all levels of schooling, and it certainly shouldn't be confined to the 'milestone' approach - Boazy's list is a good example of why.

Let's get some perspective here. As Vanilla (I think) said, the Holocaust was one of the most significant events in world history in the 20th century, and should certainly be included in all high school history curricula.

I had a quick squizz at the revised UK high school history curriculum, and here's where the Holocaust fits in:

"European and world history

9. the impact of significant political, social, cultural, religious, technological and/or economic developments and events on past European and world societies

10. the changing nature of conflict and cooperation between countries and peoples and its lasting impact on national, ethnic, racial, cultural or religious issues, including the nature and impact of the two world wars and the Holocaust, and the role of European and international institutions in resolving conflicts"

[ http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/subjects/history/index.aspx ]

Sounds pretty good to me - I reckon Boazy, Jack the Dolt and a few others would benefit from such a course of study.

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Interestingly, there's apparently been a bit of a kerfuffle recently in the UK about teaching about the Holocaust and other potentially controversial topics. From the UK History teachers' association website:

"The Department for Education and Skills has funded the Historical Association to produce a report called “Teaching emotive and controversial History 3 – 19” (TEACH 3-19).

The National Curriculum for History and GCSE and A-level History qualifications often include areas of study that touch on social, cultural, religious and ethnic fault lines within and beyond Britain. Such areas of study include the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Holocaust and aspects of Islamic history. These areas are sometimes avoided by teachers to steer away from controversy in the classroom.

The way such past events are perceived and understood in the present can stir emotions and controversy within and across communities. The Historical Association’s report will gather examples of effective teaching that deals with emotive and controversial history in schools across all key stages from the ages of 3 to 19."

Apparently "one history department in a northern UK city stopped teaching about the Holocaust because it wished to avoid confronting anti-Semitic sentiment and Holocaust denial among some Muslim pupils". This led to the above study being commissioned, the misreprting of which spawned a spam email being circulated saying that "all schools in the UK have stopped teaching about the Holocaust in their history classes".

[ http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/holocaust.asp ]

So, schools in the UK don't teach a subject called "Holocaust Studies" per se, but they do teach about the Holocaust in their latest History curriculum - in the context of European 20th century history. That sounds about right to me.