Senate Research Center S.B. 1828
86R10446 JES-F
By: Menendez
4/18/2019
As Filed
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
This year marked the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest German Nazi concentration camp and extermination center. As more time passes, the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling, making it imperative to continue to educate younger generations on the tragic events of the Holocaust to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
According to a study conducted by Claims Conference, nearly one-third of all Americans and more than 41 percent of millennials believe that substantially less than six million Jews were killed (two million or fewer) during the Holocaust. While there were over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos in Europe during the Holocaust, 45 percent cannot name a single one. Seven out of ten Americans say fewer people seem to care about the Holocaust than they used to. According to a Forbes article from January this year, nearly one-quarter or 22 percent of generation Z and millennials in the United States and Canada were unaware or not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust.
The best way to counter these shocking findings is with comprehensive, fact-based Holocaust education. It is only through education that we can fix this problem of detachment. In America, 93 percent of adults believe all students should learn about the Holocaust in school and 80 percent believe it is important to keep teaching about the Holocaust so it does not happen again.
S.B. 1828 will ask the governor to designate a Holocaust Remembrance Week where schools will use this time for Holocaust instruction developed or approved by the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission. This legislation does not mandate the implementation of Holocaust curriculum in public schools.
As proposed, S.B. 1828 amends current law relating to Holocaust Remembrance Week in public schools.
To review the text of the bill and to learn more about the resources available for Holocaust Remembrance visit the following links:
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=86R&Bill=SB1828
http://thgc.texas.gov/holocaust-remembrance-week