Teaching about and teaching through the Holocaust: insights from (social) psychology

In teaching about the Holocaust the author draws on a passage from Anne Frank's journal about the spread of antisemitism. When a group begins to suffer, that suffering does not necessarily lead to increased empathy and support from others: often the opposite happens. A circular logic can ensue in which outsiders, adopt a 'blame the victim' stance and attribute the group's suffering to its own conduct or character.