A teacher at Washington DC's Watkins Elementary School allegedly had third-grade students enact terrifying scenes from the Holocaust, "directing them to dig their classmates' mass graves and simulate shooting the victims," according to the Washington Post. One Jewish student was fortunate enough to land the role of Hitler and instructed to pretend to commit suicide. The teacher is on leave pending an investigation.
From the Washington Post:
A different parent of a student who was a part of the reenactment said her son had to pretend to be on a train to a concentration camp, then act as if he were dying in a gas chamber. He also had to act as if he were shooting his peers, the parent said. The parent spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to name the child.
The instructor allegedly made antisemitic comments during the reenactment. The parent said that when the children asked why the Germans did this, the staff member said it was "because the Jews ruined Christmas."
The instructor asked students after the reenactment not to tell anyone about it, but they told their homeroom teacher, the parent said.
image: US Holocaust Memorial Museum
