Explaining the Holocaust to Children

Children hear more than we think they do. They're playing with their toys or watching cartoons, but part of their brain is always tuned to the world around them. The things you say to others and the things being said on the TV register in their minds. They may not ask what something means, but once they hear it, they seldom forget it. Holocaust id one of those things that would stick in their minds, one, it's an unusual word that's seldom used, and two, it only has a negative attribute in usage.

If a child under ten asks you what it means, you'd answer differently than if an older child asks, which is less likely, since somewhere they heard enough details so as to at least have a good, general knowledge of what happened. It's the smaller child where it needs some reasonable approach to discussing the events of one of history's uglier times.

You might want to start with the fact that not all people have good lives and can feel alone and afraid. Being afraid can lead to distrust and eventually to not liking other people. So, when there is something bad happening to a group of people a sad person doesn't like, they don't feel anything inside. They don't care what happens to those people, and angry men do things that no one wants to hear about. They do it where no one sees them. They do it because they have anger in their hearts. When the world finds out what they have been doing, they run and hide. They're scared they will be punished for what they have done. What they did was bad and needs to be punished.

The lesson we all need to learn from The Holocaust is that when angry men are doing bad things. All people are at risk. It was European Jews, and Germans with handicaps back then, but wherever hatred and anger gets going, we all need to fear for our safety. That is why good men and women of the world need to stand up for what is right when they see bad things happen. Most people are good and standing up will help them and you make the world a better place. Now go outside where I can see you and enjoy your childhood while it lasts.