Holocaust education scholar Dr. Melanie Carina Schmoll will be in Alberta next month

By Regan Lipes

(AJNews) – Twice a year, the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies hosts Jewish Studies Week in Edmonton, a series of special guest lectures and events to celebrate the tremendous historical, cultural, and ongoing contributions of Jews in European society.  The annual Toby and Saul Reichert Holocaust Lecture is the cornerstone of this Fall 2025 schedule, but organizers are also excited to be hosting a very special scholarly guest from Hamburg, Germany.  Dr. Melanie Carina Schmoll will be giving a talk on November 3 at 10:30 am in the auspicious Senate Chambers of the Arts and Convocation Hall at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.  Her talk “Teaching the Holocaust in Turbulent Times” is a topic of imminent relevance in classrooms across Canada and the world.

For the Calgary community, or those planning a trip to Calgary, Dr. Schmoll will be speaking in commemoration of Kristallnacht organized by the Centre for Military, Security, and Strategic, the Department of History, and the Language Research Centre at the University of Calgary at 4 pm on November 6. Her talk is titled “The Night of Broken Glass: A Reminder, a Warning, and a Lesson.”

On her blog, Dr. Scholl’s entry “What is Hate?” reads: “What is hate? Why do people hate? Why do people hate other people? And why is it so often Jews who are hated? […] Whenever people are stereotyped and simplified into a group, it is only a small step to hating that group. This is then a matter of lower human feelings and attitudes, not right-wing ones. Groups are therefore the key word. Groups are no longer individuals, because you don’t look groups in the eye when you denigrate them: you don’t have to confront an individual, a person, a human being. That makes everything easier. To hate is easier and to murder, too.”

In a recent virtual interview with Alberta Jewish News, the prolific historian reiterated these sentiments emphasizing that humanity is at a pivotal point where education is desperately needed to repair society. “First and foremost, hatred is human,” her blog states. The post concludes by saying: “The good thing about this is that if it is human, then we humans can also put an end to it. And with everything we are currently experiencing and having to endure, that seems quite comforting to me.”

Dr. Schmoll’s newest book, Hatred of Jews: A Failure of Holocaust Education, was featured earlier this year in the Alberta Jewish News in an article by Irena Karshenbaum.  Karshenbaum noted in her piece: “Not deterred, Schmoll has dedicated her life to fighting the ‘hatred of Jews,’ as she said it should be called, and not antisemitism, by researching and writing about Holocaust education.”

Last joining the Wirth Institute’s Jewish Studies Week line-up in 2022, Dr. Schmoll is returning to discuss key topics from her book, but as she stated in her most recent virtual interview: “I’m looking forward to hearing people’s questions and ideas.”

With the rise of antisemitism globally, and the dissemination of misinformation by groups that once lurked only in the darkest corners of the internet, responsible Holocaust education has become not only a need, but an imperative.  In her blog entry, “Why Realism Still Matters,” Schmoll voices that: “If we view history solely as the result of discursive constructions, we risk losing sight of the material conditions, power interests, and security imperatives that shape historical events. This is where my understanding of history begins. Political realism, particularly as developed by Hans J. Morgenthau (1948) and Kenneth Waltz (1979), posits that political actors operate in a system of international anarchy, where power, security, and national interest are the primary drivers of behavior. This logic is especially evident in German history.”

Her research focusses on approaches to Holocaust education in Germany, Israel, and Canada.  Dr. Schmoll is a research fellow at the Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research and associated fellow at CMSS, University of Calgary, which brings her to Alberta frequently and provides her with a nuanced understanding of the challenges and triumphs when facing responsible Holocaust education locally. When recalling her first experience as a Holocaust educator in Hamburg, Dr. Schmoll explained: “I was a German teaching in a Jewish school. My students knew what the Holocaust was already, they could talk about their own families’ losses; they were in a better position to teach me.” As a historian dates, events, and outcomes feature prominently in this scholar’s mind, but she is troubled by the antisemitism that she still sees around her, and in the communities she visits.  “I prefer to use the term ‘Jew hatred’ because many people don’t know what antisemitism really is,” emphasized Dr. Schmoll.

She acknowledges that teachers can feel overwhelmed when standing before a class to teach about the Holocaust.  Her approach is not to criticize the efforts for awareness already being pioneered, but to nurture dialogues to build upon this further. Young people who may feel detached from this history are most at risk for becoming apathetic over time if the educational approach for engaging their greater social awareness is not properly tapped into. This is precisely what Dr. Schmoll is pursuing.  For those wanting to study up before her lectures on November 3 in Edmonton, and November 6 in Calgary, her book, Hatred of Jews: A Failure of Holocaust Education, is available for online purchase. Do not miss out on these opportunities to learn more about the future of Holocaust education and join in this vital discussion.

Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter