My boss is a Polish expatriate who grew up under Soviet rule, and despite our obvious differences, we usually get along well. We have similar views on the Western world, which we feel has entered a state of decline that may be irreversible. Here’s an account of a brief exchange with far-reaching implications.

Last Thursday one of the younger staff members asked my boss what “Auschwitz” was. My boss politely explained that it was a concentration camp, but apparently my co-worker didn’t know what they were either. Another girl then described them as death camps, which took a good deal more explaining. By the end of it all, the questioner looked a little traumatised. I got the feeling she secretly wished she hadn’t opened her mouth at all.

My boss later told me she was shocked by my co-worker’s ignorance. After all, the Holocaust has been thoroughly documented, and is frequently mentioned in novels and films. How could an apparently well-informed girl in her early twenties know nothing of it?

Though I had also been surprised, I offered my boss an explanation. History is barely taught in Australian schools these days. Students still learn some local history, so they know about genocide - apparently this country was a beautiful utopia, populated by Aboriginies who respected the environment, until a bunch of white men with guns came along and ruined it. We also learn about the gold rush, bushrangers, Anzacs and Gallipoli. Late 20th century history tends to focus on gender and race relations - but developments outside our borders rarely get a mention at all.

Students can choose elective history, in which case they are taught a lot more. I took up this subject at school, and got a more detailed overview of ancient and twentieth century history - but it was still paltry compared to the knowledge I’d gained through reading on my own. My younger brother (now a famous musician) didn’t follow my example, and by the time he entered high school, history wasn’t compulsory - he only got it for one term as part of a broader “humanities” subject. The results can be summed up in one sentence. At the age of eighteen, after finishing school, my brother asked me what “fascism” was. He genuinely didn’t know.

If students aren’t being taught these things, can we hold them responsible for their state of ignorance? Ideally they’d pick up books and do some research of their own, but naturally a lot of them would rather be playing Counter Strike (or for that matter, rock music). This doesn’t excuse our educators. As George Santayana said, those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes. Like my boss, I’m appalled that the system has sunk to such abysmal depths.

How was it allowed to happen? Many students find history boring, and admittedly, Australian history isn’t very stimulating. Some people might also question the value of teaching European history when our classrooms are filled with non-Europeans. This is a perfectly valid point - and why shouldn’t our kids get to learn about the teachings of Mohammed, the conquests of Genghis Khan, the civil wars of feudal Japan, the rise and fall of the Mayan Empire, and the journeys of the Polynesians? Conversely, why shouldn’t non-Western students be informed of Western history? I can’t see any harm in people learning about other cultures, so long as they’re shown in a rational light. It might even encourage such values as acceptance and tolerance - not through state-imposed coercion, but through a deeper understanding.

Wait a sec - I just remembered. When my brother and co-worker were in high school, John Howard was running Australia - and his aide Brendan Nelson was the Minister for Education. He’s the man who tried to introduce “intelligent design” after receiving a package from an American Christian group. Howard’s since been voted out, but Nelson’s gone on to become the current Opposition Leader. Suddenly it all makes sense. New Zealand just keeps looking better…

In declining optimism,

JF.