What do German students learn about the occupation and the Holocaust in Greece (that we don’t learn in Greek schools)

The “Learning about the future from the past” educational program is in full swing in Germany, with which the country’s students are informed about some of the darkest pages in its history.

According to a report by the Tageszeitung, relayed by the Greek service of Deutsche Welle, “this year, approximately thirty students from the 3rd Gymnasium and 1st High School of the Georg-von-Giesche-Schule in Berlin are participating in the program, […] in the context of which they will deal with the Holocaust not only in Germany, but also in Greece – an aspect that is virtually not considered at all in their school curriculum.

Last January, according to the report, the children also participated in a student exchange with a Greek-German class from Athens. During their stay in Greece, they visited together the few museums and monuments that exist in the country for the period of occupation.

Only… superficially in Greek schools the period of the German occupation

As the German newspaper points out, “in Greece, what the Nazis did is not examined in depth either in the public discourse or in the classroom.

“I find it incredible that World War II is only superficially mentioned in Greek schools, we spend almost an entire year on this topic,” 15-year-old student Pedro Specker told the German newspaper.

Student exchange in Athens – Berlin

This week the class from Athens is in turn in Berlin, where they are going to visit important monuments about the Nazi era and the Holocaust.

With the goal of raising awareness and educating students about World War II, the Holocaust, and the Nazis, many are questioning whether such programs should be made mandatory.

“Pedro believes that “this would definitely not be beneficial”. Because, if these programs were made compulsory, students might no longer deal with these issues ‘warmly’. What is certain, however, is that, if this program were to be repeated at some point, Pedro and his classmates would attend it at all costs.”