Facing History and Ourselves

Facing History and Ourselves is a non-profit organization in the United States, founded in 1976. The group develops educational material on prejudices and injustice in American and European society, with a focus on Nazi Germany and The Holocaust. The organization is based in Brookline, Massachusetts with 180 staff members in the main office and in other U.S. states.

Since the late 1970s, the group claims to have trained over 10,000 teachers, who have taught over half a million students in the U.S. and Canada. The curriculum is now also used in Israel, Northern Ireland, South Africa and China. Most of their revenue comes from grants and contributions. The teaching workshops, seminars, guest speakers, and resource materials are funded by the contributions and gifts. Corporations and foundations have donated contributions of up to $99,000. Contributors that donate 100,000 or more are placed into FHAO’s Sustaining Gift Program, which currently includes over 86 families and foundations. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated over $200,000 for the implementation of common-core standards in July 2013.

The course is aimed at middle school and high school students. In the classroom, students take part in group discussions and use primary source material to learn about different historical events. The curriculum aims to create a history course with a reflective component, allowing students to think about modern day prejudices. The semester-long class starts with learning about the impact of the individual in society and how one is affected by his or her environment and culture. Students then learn about governments and the roles citizens play in their nation, and talk about the effects of bystanders in society. Classes gradually move into talking about dehumanization and how different societal groups can turn against each other, threatening a democracy. The course is taught by looking into racial segregation in the United States. Students also learn about the Armenian Genocide, Cambodian Genocide, and the history of Native Americans and Japanese Americans in the USA. The final subject focused on is anti-semitism and Nazi Germany. The course aims to connect the events with the students’ lives by calling for reflection. Students are asked to think about familiar subjects such as peer pressure, conformity, and belongingness. The course's goal is to help students realize their role in society, and to promote global citizenship so that future events like the ones discussed can be prevented.

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