Daniel Goldhagen on the Challenges of Confronting Antisemitism: A Facing History and Ourselves Podcast

In this Facing History and Ourselves podcast, we hear from genocide scholar and author Daniel Jonah Goldhagen as he discusses the history of antisemitism and its relevance today. Facing History's Senior Associate for Staff Development, Doc Miller, concludes the podcast. A middle school teacher for over thirty years, Miller discusses the importance of bringing conversations about this history into the classroom.

Genocide scholar Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has written extensively about genocide and the roots of antisemitism. The author of Hitler’s Willing Executioners, as well as his more recent book, Worse than War, Goldhagen focuses us on important questions when considering and teaching about antisemitism. Questions such as: What is unique and what is universal about the history of antisemitism?  Why is it important to know this history?  And, how does understanding this history have relevance today?

Click on the audio controls at the bottom of this page to hear the 20-minute podcast.

Related Facing History and Ourselves Resources:

• Antisemitism: The Power of Myth. This set of lessons explores the relationship between hate speech and violence.
• A Boy of Old Prague. This fictional novel tells the story of Tomas, a young boy living in the 1500's, who has been taught to be suspicious and even hateful of Jews. His beliefs are challenged when he must confront them in the ghetto.

Other Related Videos Available for Facing History and Ourselves Educators from our Lending Library:

• The Longest Hatred. This documentary traces antisemitism from its earliest manifestations in antiquity to ominous outbreaks in Germany, Russia, and elsewhere in the early 1990s.
• The Jewish Americans. Using archival materials and interviews, this documentary traces the history of Jewish Americans from their first settlement in 1654 to the present.
• Worse than War. Based on the book by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Worse Than War documents Goldhagen’s travels, teachings, and interviews in nine countries around the world, including Rwanda, Guatemala, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Ukraine.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• Voices on Antisemitism. This podcast series from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum features a broad range of perspectives about antisemitism and hatred today.

This podcast was narrated by Jeremy Nesoff. Facing History and Ourselves Podcast theme music by John Englander. Background music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0."