MADISON — Teaching about the Holocaust to middle and high school students in Wisconsin would be required under a bill passed unanimously Feb. 18 by the state Assembly.
The measure now heads to the Senate.
The bill had broad support at a public hearing earlier this month from those who work to keep alive the memory of the organized mass murder of 6 million Jews and others by the Nazis under Adolf Hitler.
Proponents worry that as memory of the Holocaust fades, and the number of survivors who can tell their stories dwindle, younger generations will not learn about the systematic killing of the Jews and others.
Eleven states currently requiring teaching Holocaust history. The Wisconsin bill requiring it be taught as part of the social studies curriculum would have to pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.