Through various workshops, 3rd grade classes at Victor-Hugo College discuss discrimination of all kinds. With the Shoah Memorial Foundation, they tried to answer the question: what is the Jewish world in its diversity?
Deconstructing anti-Semitic myths is the mission, among others, of the Shoah Memorial Foundation, a French institution recognized as being of public utility. This Tuesday, December 17, the class of 3e VI of the Victor-Hugo college was able to start from these myths (demonization, conspiracy, the relationship between Jews and money, etc.) to understand how these representations were born, how they were disseminated and what their consequences are. “both in terms of words and dates. In a second part of the workshops, we will talk about the representations promoted by the anti-Semite who does not say what the Jews really are”explains Hubert Strouk, trainer and regional coordinator.
“Awaken their critical thinking”
Through actions carried out throughout France and abroad in schools from CM2 onwards, the foundation attempts to answer a question: what is the Jewish world in its diversity? Students of 3e VI have, in class with their history and geography teacher, project leader, Eve Guilhot-Curbilié, expressed their interest and raised other relevant questions.
Fanny Levin, for the teaching service, extends: “Tomorrow, we will also talk about racist prejudices, we will address discrimination through the prism of sport and the 1936 Olympics. Homophobia, sexism… I believe that we are here to provide them with knowledge, but above all to awaken their critical thinking We don’t have a magic wand and we can’t deconstruct everything, but we get them to think and become aware.”
If it happens that trainers are faced with young people who have comments whose significance they do not always understand, fortunately they have not come across anti-Semites in the making.
In any case, awareness is always necessary. Perhaps to, in turn, also ask ourselves what world we live in? Are we Barbarians from the gang who kidnapped and tortured Ilan Halimi to death almost 19 years ago? Are we slayers of Agnès Buzyn, former Minister of Health, victim of anti-Semitism during the Covid crisis? Are we Hitler worshipers who accept genocides because we believe in a racial ideology? Are we not all ultimately inhabitants of this world populated by humanity without distinction? In any case, the younger generation, like at Victor-Hugo college, seems to rather agree with that.
