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  1. #1
    mommylamb's Avatar
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    Default What age is appropriate for the Holocaust Museum?

    Sorry that this is so long.

    DS1 (age 6) has recently become fascinated with military history issues, and in particular seems very interested in World War II. I don't know how this started exactly. It's not something we talk about at home really. His interest is pretty focused on the military aspect, more so than the cultural/political issues. We don't allow guns or gun toys in the house, but he is interested in books about guns and tanks, etc, and why countries fight. Pretty normal boy stuff, IME.

    Some background on us: I am culturally Jewish, but consider myself to be agnostic from a religious perspective. My father was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the war and came to the U.S. with his parents when he was 1. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. My grandmother was German and my grandfather was Polish, but "escaped" to Russia and spent much of the war in a slave camp in Siberia. It's not a pretty story. The Holocaust loomed large over my childhood, and to a large extent, I still identify as being Jewish because of it. I was very close to my grandmother growing up and all of my grandparents friends were survivors. DH is not Jewish. He has his masters degree in the history of international relations, and probably knows a lot more about the war than I do to be honest.

    This all started with DS1 about a month ago when he brought home a book from the library that was a children's history of WWII. The audience for the book was probably middle school age, but DS1 insisted that I read it to him. Clearly the library is not censoring what books the kids pick out. But I think I've come to terms with that and I'm ok with it. I was reluctant at first to read it to him, but I also felt like it was an opportunity to start a discussion with him, so I did it. I was amazed how interested he was. He's a typical 6 year old, with a 6 year old's attention span, but was fascinated by this. Maybe he'll take after DH with an interest in history.

    The book was organized in chapters based on the year (so chapter 1 was 1939, etc), and basically outlined the military maneuverings of the war, but was light on the genocide and political reasons for war. So, he learned stuff about when different countries were invaded, etc. Fun times, let me tell you. I got to answer all sorts of questions-- everything from "Why did World War I start?" (good lord... I found myself saying "Well Germany was friends with Austria, and Russia was friends with Serbia" that was a real struggle to explain because DS1 doesn't really even understand the geography) to "Was Hitler evil even when he was a baby?" I brought out the globe, we talked about it multiple times for the next several days. Since then, he has asked me on multiple occasions if he can watch "war movies" by which he means PBS documentaries about WWII. He is pretty tough, and I've allowed him to see some of the images that are disturbing, and he has been ok with it. Please don't flame me for allowing him to watch these. It has been a real struggle for me, and we're taking it day by day.

    So, I've been thinking about maybe taking him to the Holocaust museum. It has been a very long time since I've gone, even though we live here in DC. To be honestly, I've done a crap job educating him about our family's history up until now. And he seems to be showing me that he's got at least a basic level of maturity and an interest. I know when I was 6 I knew a lot more about what had happened than he does because I spent time with my grandparents and their friends. It's just such a hard topic to talk about and it's easy to just not do it.

    DS1 is off from school for 2 weeks over the Christmas period, and DS2 will be in daycare for part of that time. Should I take him? Am I going to totally freak out doing so?
    DS1 6/07

    DS2 2/12

  2. #2
    lizzywednesday is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Personally, I wouldn't do the full exhibit at 6 yrs old, but I might do the child's POV exhibit:

    http://www.ushmm.org/information/exh...daniels-story/

    HOWEVER ... the museum's website recommends it for children aged 8 and up. I would poke around there for ideas of what to expect and whether the presentation would be disturbing to your DS.

    If you think he will be OK, I would plan on that and only that. It's very well-done and still sticks in my memory - I was 16 when I visited, though, and purposefully remembered a lot of the bits & pieces because I had no frame of reference and needed it for a stage show I'd been cast in because my character just wasn't gelling for me. In college, I met a guy who was a descendant of the family portrayed in the exhibition, which I found to be quite interesting.

    You might also be interested in the art/poetry collection I Never Saw Another Butterfly ... (available here: http://www.amazon.com/Never-Saw-Anot.../dp/0805210156) which is a collection of artwork & poetry written by children & adolescents who passed through the Terezeinstadt detention camp. Terezin was a kind of "model camp" way-station on the way to Auschwitz and Buchenwald death camps; it was what the Nazis would show the Red Cross and League of Nations inspectors when they asked questions about the deportations. It was instrumental in the propaganda machine.
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    Liz
    DD (3/2010)

    "Make mistakes! Get messy!" - Miss Frizzle

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    rachelh's Avatar
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    It has been years since I was at the one in DC. More recently I was at Yad Vashem in Israel. I would not feel comfortable taking DD who is 7 there. I don't think DD is old enough to grasp the enormity of it. She will not understand how there can be so much hatred in the world and will ask why G-d let it happen. I am also not ready for her to see those graphic pictures.
    DD1 6/9/06
    DD2 3/19/10

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    Well, my kids are both very sensitive and anxious, so no I would not. Also, I remember being haunted by images I saw when I was in high school during a unit on the Holocaust.

    The link lizzywednesday gave above has a virtual tour of the Children's tour, which is recommended for ages 8+. That may help you decide.

    FWIW, I have not taken either of my kids to the Holocaust Museum yet, although we have talked to older DD about it and she has read some books.
    Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)

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    JBaxter's Avatar
    JBaxter is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    I agree. Nathan is 10 and with his personality Im not sure he's ready for the pictures. He reads a lot of history stories ( he just read Killing Lincoln) But I would have to do alot of prep before he could go
    Quote Originally Posted by rachelh View Post
    It has been years since I was at the one in DC. More recently I was at Yad Vashem in Israel. I would not feel comfortable taking DD who is 7 there. I don't think DD is old enough to grasp the enormity of it. She will not understand how there can be so much hatred in the world and will ask why G-d let it happen. I am also not ready for her to see those graphic pictures.
    Jeana, Momma to 4 fantastic sons

    Everything happens for a reason, sometimes the reason is you're stupid and make bad decisions

  6. #6
    AnnieW625's Avatar
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    My cousin went with her parents when she was 14 or 15 and she said it was hard then and she is not an overly sensitive child.
    Annie
    WOHM to two wonderful little girls born in April
    DD E, 17
    DD L, 13,
    baby 2, 4-2009 (our Tri-18 baby)

  7. #7
    lizzywednesday is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by rachelh View Post
    It has been years since I was at the one in DC. More recently I was at Yad Vashem in Israel. I would not feel comfortable taking DD who is 7 there. I don't think DD is old enough to grasp the enormity of it. She will not understand how there can be so much hatred in the world and will ask why G-d let it happen. I am also not ready for her to see those graphic pictures.
    If I am remembering it correctly, the children's exhibit in DC does not have graphic images (no skeletal concentration camp prisoners, etc.) but they do go through the ghettoization of cities to Kristallnacht to the camps in simple displays. It is all very well done and while it's very emotional, I don't recall anything visually graphic, but, again, it's been nearly 20 years since my visit.

    The longer, full, multi-floor, exhibition, however, there is NO WAY that I would take a child under the age of 12 or 13 with whom I could have a more thorough discussion. It's amazing ... and I am told by friends who have been to both that the one at Yad Vashem is more impressive for the sheer scale. It is both horrific and hopeful in some points ... those spots of hope are what kept my friend & I moving through the full exhibit when we visited about 12 or so years ago.

    In addition to the history of the Nazi propaganda machine, there are death camp photos, memorabilia, and, in one of the last corridors before the eternal flame memorial & guestbook, an entire display of shoes in a plexiglass box while you're standing in a corridor filled with family portraits on walls that go all the way up to the ceiling.

    It's a very moving display all the same and brings you into a quiet contemplative state (IMO) fitting for what I can only describe as a "chapel' area where the eternal flame burns.
    Last edited by lizzywednesday; 11-21-2013 at 01:54 PM.
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    Liz
    DD (3/2010)

    "Make mistakes! Get messy!" - Miss Frizzle

  8. #8
    rachelh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AnnieW625 View Post
    My cousin went with her parents when she was 14 or 15 and she said it was hard then and she is not an overly sensitive child.
    It's hard for me! I cannot imagine how hard it can be on kids...
    DD1 6/9/06
    DD2 3/19/10

  9. #9
    mommylamb's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone. I'll definitely do some more research into the children's exhibit. I am just at a loss as to how to talk to him about this stuff, and yet I feel like I'm really short changing by not talking to him about it, especially as he keeps asking about history, and seems to have an interest in WWII. We've talked in very general terms so far. I know that I was very well versed on what had happened at a very young age.
    DS1 6/07

    DS2 2/12

  10. #10
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    Maybe do the WW2 memorial and air & space to see some of the ww2 planes? I haven't gone to the holocaust museum yet because I don't think I could take it
    Mommy to my little bear cubs DD1 and DD2- 4/2010 and 4/2012

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