From the Margins to the Centre: The Emergence of Holocaust Education in Scandinavia (1990–2023)

Authors

  • Fredrik Stenhjem Hagen Høgskulen på Vestlandet (HVL)
  • Anders Granås Kjøstvedt Oslo Metropolitan University
  • Karin Kvist Geverts Uppsala University
  • Solvej Berlau Slagelse Gymnasium
  • Stine Thuge ActionAid Denmark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v13i1.1183

Keywords:

Holocaust education, memory work, educational policy, cultural politics, moral education

Abstract

In Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the Holocaust has a special place in history education today. In the national curricula of all Scandinavian countries, it is treated differently from other historical events. In particular, the Holocaust is framed as an event that students should not only learn about but also take moral lessons from. This article aims to discuss how the Holocaust emerged as a significant event with immense importance in history education across Scandinavia, and how Scandinavian Holocaust education has gained such a striking moral framing. While this process was part of a transnational development, it has certain local variations that are important for the nature of Holocaust education in Scandinavia. Our key finding is that the idea of students gaining added moral virtues from Holocaust education only partially originates in historical and education research, instead, it is the result of various political interventions and cultural shifts affecting Holocaust education.

Author Biographies

Anders Granås Kjøstvedt, Oslo Metropolitan University

Associate Professor of History and History Didactics at the Department for Primary and Secondary Teacher Education

Karin Kvist Geverts, Uppsala University

Director of the Institute for Holocaust Research in Sweden (IHRS) and Associate Professor of History at the Department of History

Solvej Berlau, Slagelse Gymnasium

Teacher of history and social science

Stine Thuge, ActionAid Denmark

Head of National Youth Programme

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Published

2026-02-24

How to Cite

Hagen, Fredrik Stenhjem, Anders Granås Kjøstvedt, Karin Kvist Geverts, Solvej Berlau, and Stine Thuge. 2026. “From the Margins to the Centre: The Emergence of Holocaust Education in Scandinavia (1990–2023)”. Nordic Journal of Educational History 13 (1):95-121. https://doi.org/10.36368/njedh.v13i1.1183.

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Fredrik Stenhjem Hagen, Anders Granås Kjøstvedt, Karin Kvist Geverts, Solvej Berlau, Stine Thuge

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