ABSTRACT
For members of the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz-Birkenau, a work unit tasked with the terrible job of working in the crematoria there, it was also important to record their circumstances. Unlike most inmates of concentration camps, Sonderkommando had some privileges, and some were able to access writing materials. After the Holocaust, several caches of writings by members of the Sonderkommando were discovered buried in the grounds of the crematoria. More than 70 years after the Holocaust, genocide prevention is an issue that people are only just beginning to address. The United Nations has established outreach programmes on the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, which include a focus on prevention. Many universities in Western countries and beyond offer courses on the Holocaust and/or genocide, and sometimes specifically on genocide prevention. Importantly, this education is beginning to infiltrate the professional sector. Education for adults should not be overlooked either.
