Model Curriculum

for Human Rights
and Genocide

Published for the
California State Board of Education

Francis Laufenberg, President

By the
California State Department of Education

Bill Honig
Superintendent of Public Instruction

Publishing Information

When the Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide was adopted by the California State Board of Education on October 2,1987, the members of the Board were:
Perry Dyke, President
Francis Laufenberg, Vice-President
Joseph D. Carrabino
Agnes L Chan
Gloria Sun Horn
Susan Owens (Student Member)
Angie Papadakis
Kenneth L. Peters
Jim C Robinson
David T. Romero
Armen Sarafian
Bill Honig, Secretary and Executive Officer

The document was developed pursuant to Assembly Bill 1273 (1985) and was published for the California Stale Board of Education by the California State Department of Education, 721 Capitol Mali, Sacramento, California (mailing address: P.O. Box 944272, Sacramento, CA 94244-2720). It was printed by the Office of State Printing and distributed under the provisions of the Library Distribution Act and Government Code Section 11096.

Copyright 1987 by the California Stale Department of Education ISBN 0-8011-0725-3

Ordering Information

Copies of the Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide are available for $3.25 each, plus sales tax for California residents, from the Bureau of Publications Sales, California State department of Education, P.O. Box 271, Sacramento, CA 95802-0271. Other publications that are available from the Department may be found on page 66, or a complete list may be secured by writing to the address above or by calling the sales unit in the Bureau of Publications: (916) 445-1260.

Acknowledgment

The California State Board of Education acknowledges especially the Connecticut State department of Education for permission to reprint several sections of Human Rights: The Struggle for Freedom, Dignity and Equality, which was published in 1987. The material appears in Appendix B of this
document.

Contents

Foreword…………………………………………………………………………………………v

Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………..vil

Human Rights and Genocide in the

History-Social Science Framework, A Model Curriculum………………………….1

Curriculum Resources……………………………………………………………………….6

Appendix A: Summary of Human Rights

and Genocide in the Curriculum……………………………………………………….13

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..13

Goals and Curriculum Strands…………………………………………………….14

Course Descriptions…………………………………………………………………..15

Criteria for Evaluating Instructional Materials………………………………..24

Appendix B: Examples of Violations of Human Rights……………………………25

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..26

Chapter 3, “Inhumanity: An Historical Overview”……………………………27

The Armenian Genocide………………………………………………………………31

The Ukrainian Genocide……………………………………………………………..39

Chapter 5, “Surplus People: The Final Solution”
(Retitled for California: “The Holocaust: Genocide Against

the Jews”)…………………………………………………………………………………45

Mass Murder and Genocide of Poles During World War II………………….53

Chapter 6, “Surplus People: The Pattern Continues”

(Retitled for California: “Totalitarian Violations

in Argentina, Kampuchea (Cambodia), and South Africa”)…………………55

Foreword

It is of deep importance in our increasingly multicultural society and our interdependent world that our students recognize the sanctity of life and the dignity of the individual. We want to instill in our students a respect for each person as a unique individual. We want our students to understand that concern for ethics and human rights is universal and represents the aspirations of men and women in every time and place.

To this extent the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve includes a knowledge strand of ethical literacy to be covered in the history-social science curriculum at every grade. As a result of these continuous studies, students should appreciate the value of human life, recognize governmental policies that practice or condone inhuman practices, and be prepared to exercise their responsibilities as citizen in a democracy toward the preservation of human rights.

This Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide, which serves as a guide for classroom teachers, supports the curriculum and instruction described in the framework. Pages 1-5 of this document contain a model that can be used by developers of curriculum. This section provides the philosophical bases for including studies on human rights and genocide in the curriculum, identifies places in the history-social science courses where learnings can be included, and
poses questions that will engage students in critical thinking on this topic. Through the thoughtful interweaving of ideas, events, historical documents, and literature within the planned history lessons, we should help prepare students to be rational, humane decision makers and participating citizens in our democracy, citizens who understand what can go wrong if democratic principles are missing, and citizens who are dedicated to the protection of human rights now and into the twenty-first century.

Perry Dyke, President
State Board of Education

Bill Honig
Superintendent of Public Instruction

October, 1987

Preface

The Model Curriculum Human Rights and Genocide has been developed
pursuant to Assembly Bill 1273 (1985), which states that:

… the State Department of Education shall develop a model curriculum for use by school districts maintaining grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to be incorporated into existing history or social studies courses offered by these districts relating to the issue of genocide. The model curriculum shall prescribe a separate course of study for grades 7 to 9, inclusive, and grades 10 to 12, inclusive. The model curriculum shall be offered by school districts to meet the mandatory course requirements of sections 51210 and 51225.3 of the Education Code— Prior to dissemination of the model curriculum to school districts, the model curriculum shall be approved by the State Board of Education.

The model curriculum shall be incorporated into existing history and social studies courses without an increased level of services or lengthened school day.

The Model Curriculum/or Human Rights and Genocide has been prepared in alignment with the new History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Historical and current-day issues related to human rights and genocide, the struggles of individuals and groups to maintain freedom and liberty, and the responsibilities of democratic governments toward the preservation of human rights have been included.

The contributions of historians, educators, and interested groups in both the writing and review phases of development of the model curriculum are appreciated. The California State Board of Education approved the document on October 2, 1987, and submits it to the educational community for use and incorporation in the instructional program.

California State Board of Education

Perry Dyke, President

Francis Laufenberg, Vice-President

Joseph D. Carrabino

Agnes I. Chan

Gloria Sun Horn

Susan Owens (Student Member)

Angle Papadakis

Kenneth L. Peters

Jim C. Robinson

David T. Romero

Armen Sarafian

Bill Honig, Secretary and Executive Officer

Human Rights

A Model Curriculum

There is no more urgent task for educators in the field of history and social science than to teach students about the importance of human rights and to analyze with them the actual instances in which genocide— the ultimate violation of human rights— has been committed. We study the atrocities of the past not only to preserve their significance as historical events but also to help dents about identify ways to prevent the atrocities from ever happening again.

Concern for human rights is a major element in the History-Social Science human rights Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. This concern is an important ingredient in several different learning strands and recurs in a variety of forms. The ethical literacy strand is based on the “recognition of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the individual.” In the constitutional heritage strand, students learn about the evolution of democratic lights and of guarantees for the individual against government tyranny or against oppression by the majority. In the civic literacy strand (“civic values, committed. rights, and responsibilities”), students learn why being an informed citizen is important in a democratic society. In the national identity strand, students learn to appreciate the pluralistic nature of American society. In the socio political strand, students examine the role of law in our society as a safeguard for individual rights and freedoms and compare democratic and nondemocratic
political systems.

Because these learning strands appear across the curriculum, attention is directed to issues of human rights in every history course, including United States history and world history. The study of human rights and genocide requires intellectual honesty and moral courage, for no nation or society in human history has been totally innocent of human rights abuses. It is
necessary to acknowledge unflinchingly the instances in United States history when our own best ideals were betrayed by the systematic mistreatment of group members because of their race, religion, culture, language, gender, or political views. When studying other societies, we must be equally candid. Whether historical or contemporary, human rights abuses must be acknowledged, and students must learn that individuals and groups have been tortured, murdered, confined to psychiatric hospitals, or subjected to discriminatory treatment because of their race, religion, culture, gender, political views, or other personal characteristics that make them “different.”

Genocide is the denial to groups of the right to live and the deliberate destruction of racial, ethnic, national, or religious groups. Although genocide has inflicted great suffering on humanity throughout history, its existence as a general crime was not evident until the twentieth century. The wholesale massacre of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to
1923 was denounced as a “crime against civilization” by the world community.

which had begun to recognize genocide as an offense against humanity as well as against the target group. It was more precisely defined in 1948, when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This document defines genocide as follows:

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial, or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Because genocide by this definition involves the question of intent as well as the act of destruction, its applicability in given situations is sometimes subject to controversy; however, acts that may lack the deliberate attempt to destroy a group as such may still constitute gross human rights violations that are no less horrible in their consequences.

Instances of human rights violations, from torture to terrorism, from slavery to genocide, should be studied at appropriate historical points in the curriculum. Examples of genocide are the:

• Annihilation of the Armenians by the government of the Ottoman
Empire

• Famine in the Ukraine caused by the Soviet government

• Nazi extermination of European Jews (the Holocaust)

• Mass murders of the Poles

• Mass killings of Cambodians by the Pol Pot regime

Examples of extreme human rights violations include:

• Slavery of black people in the U.S.

• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 in California

• Forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II on the West Coast of the U.S.

• Discrimination against blacks, Asians, Hispanics, American Indians, women, the handicapped, and homosexuals in the U.S.

• Apartheid in South Africa

• Political repression, torture, and terrorism such as that in Argentina

• Totalitarian policies, such as those that brought suffering to the Chinese people and those that were imposed in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia against Gypsies, disabled people, homosexuals, Slavs, and other groups in Eastern Europe

Students must understand the centuries-long struggle for human rights and democratic government. The curriculum requires the study of critical points in the evaluation of democratic ideas and practices, the landmark documents, and the struggles to safeguard human rights, including the:

• Magna Carta, which established limits on the power of the sovereign

• English Bill of Rights of 1689 and common law

• American Declaration of Independence and the Revolution

Genocide is the denial to groups of the right to live and the deliberate destruction of racial, ethnic, national, or religious groups.

• United States Constitution (including the Bill of Rights)

• French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the
Citizen

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech to Congress declaring the Four Freedoms and their incorporation in the Atlantic Charter

• United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights

By studying the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, students should learn that concern for human rights is not confined to Western nations; it is an international issue.

Students should also learn that people as well as ideas and institutions have played a role in the defense of human rights. They should be introduced to individuals from many societies and time periods who have risked their own lives to preserve the rights and lives of others, because there have been heroes as well as villains in this issue.

Whenever violations of human rights are studied, they should be examined within their historical context, so that students understand the events, the participants, the causes, and the consequences. Students should consider these events as they are described by historians, the kinds of controversies that continue to rage about the events, and whether or not reputable historians agree about them. The treatment of these historical controversies should
reflect the History-Social Science Framework’s determination “to present controversial issues honestly and accurately within their historical or contemporary context.” In the same vein, classroom treatment of these issues should “recognize that historians often disagree about the interpretation of historical events and that today’s textbooks may be altered by future research.” In line with efforts to teach critical thinking, students should be encouraged to rely
on reasonable evidence when studying these historical controversies, rather than on biased accounts or emotional arguments. They should also learn to recognize the use of propaganda to justify or deny violations of human rights.

Within this curriculum the study of human rights has three objectives: first, study of the record of oppression of individuals and groups; second, study of the governmental means to prohibit abuses of human rights; and third, encouragement of democratic values and attitudes to foster respect for differences among people and for the rights of all people. These three objectives are found throughout the History-Social Science Framework, both in the content of the material studied and in the learning strands that form the content.

In the early grades, before children begin the formal study of history, they are taught democratic values and good citizenship. In kindergarten, children learn to work in groups, “to share, to take turns, to respect the rights of others,” and to cooperate in solving problems. Emphasis is placed on learning “behaviors and values that are consistent with the democratic ethic.” Children in grade two learn “basic civic values,” with attention to “the values of fair play, good sportsmanship, and respect for the opinions of others.” Special attention in grade two is placed on understanding cultural diversity. Children in grade three are introduced to men and women of achievement from different cultures, and they learn about heroic individuals who have worked to improve living conditions for others. In the early grades the content and methods of the curriculum converge to teach children to respect the rights of others, to appreciate the ways that they

are like other people or different from them, to work harmoniously with those from other cultures, and to cultivate values that promote cooperation and good citizenship. The goal of both study and activity in these years is not only to promote cognitive appreciation for different cultures but also to work actively to combat feelings of prejudice and discrimination among children as they work and play together.

In grades four through eight and ten through twelve, children study the history of the state, the nation, and the world, and they encounter many examples of the abuse of human rights. The history of human rights, however, does not end with the recounting of stories of the suffering that one group of people has inflicted on others; it also includes the story of the evolution of
means to control human aggression and injustice. The latter story is no less important than the examples of people’s inhumanity to one another, for it contains within it the understandings that must be developed in order to prevent future abuses of human rights.

As the abuses of human rights are examined, students must learn to note the presence or absence of governmental processes that protect human rights. They must pay close attention to the relationship between a state and its citizens and learn to ask critical questions, such as the following:

• Who controls the government? How did the rulers get power? Who is entitled to vote? Who is allowed to compete for office? Is there an opposition political party? How often are elections held?

• Is there a free press? Is the press allowed to criticize the government? Does the government have the power to censor the press and individual authors? Are people put in jail for expressing unpopular views? What happens to political or religious dissenters? Who controls radio
and television broadcasts?

• Do the people have the right to practice religion? Do they have the right to travel? Are they free to hold meetings and to express their views without censorship by the government? Are they allowed to Join free trade unions not controlled by the government? How are minorities
treated by the government? Does the government permit racial or religious minorities to be persecuted by others?

• Are there laws protecting individual rights? Are these laws followed? Are all people treated equally by the law regardless of their race, religion, sex, or language? Is there an independent judiciary? Do the people have the right to trial by a jury? Are these trials fair and open?
Do the people have the right to be represented by their own counsel? Are people arrested for criticizing the government?

• Does the government permit people to be tortured or subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment?

• Are organizations that monitor the condition of human rights allowed to function and publish their findings without interference by the government?

• Is the exercise of these rights controlled by the government at its discretion, to be offered and withdrawn at will? Or are they guaranteed and enforced in law and in fact regardless of the party in power?

Such practices are basic to the protection of human rights and individual liberties. They are fundamental to a democratic society. When these rights are present, we know that the society is democratic. When they are absent or when they are suspended or breached, we know that the society is undemocratic or that a democratic society is becoming less so.