Children’s Holocaust diaries as a tool for shaping historical memory in Polish schools

Abstract

This article examines how children’s diaries from the Holocaust period are used in Polish school education. The author shows that such texts help teachers speak about the Holocaust not only through facts, dates, and numbers, but also through the personal experience of a child. Unlike a textbook, a diary makes it possible to see the emotions, fears, thoughts, and everyday life of a particular child. For this reason, it is an important tool for shaping historical memory and developing empathy in students.

The aim of the article is to explain how children’s diaries written by Holocaust victims are used in Polish education. To do this, the author analyzes school lesson plans, teaching guidelines, interactive educational materials, and museum activities. The main focus is on Anne Frank’s diary, materials about Dawid Rubinowicz, and examples connected with Rutka Laskier and Rywka Lipszyc.

The study shows that these diaries are used in different ways: in Polish language lessons, in interactive activities, in museum education, and in teaching manuals. In all of these cases, they help present the Holocaust through the life of a particular child. This makes the topic closer and easier for students to understand. At the same time, the author points to some risks. Too much emotional identification with the authors of the diaries may simplify the understanding of the tragedy. If attention is focused only on one personal story, the broader historical context may be lost.