The BC Government announced yesterday that it will make Holocaust education mandatory for all high school students in the Province.
The new curriculum changes will take effect in the 2025-26 school year and are being developed with the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and the Jewish community.
“For our friends and neighbours in the Jewish community, this has been an incredibly frightening time. We have seen a rise in antisemitism in B.C. following the terrorist attacks in Israel, which evokes the history of persecution of Jews,” says Premier David Eby.
According to a study commissioned by charity group Liberation75, a third of North American students surveyed believe the Holocaust was either exaggerated or fabricated.
The Province is also looking at adding more materials to the Grade 10 curriculum that reflects BC’s diverse history. This would include learning topics like the destruction of Hogans Alley, Japanese Internment and discrimination against Muslim, East-Asian, Black and South-Asian communities.
