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The Nazi persecution of the Jews in the Twentieth Century is a powerful example of the propensity for states to enlist the power of the law for perverse and disastrous ends. Studying this period challenges the student of law to examine:

• The potential for evil in totalitarian regimes, and by extension, the need to cherish the individual freedoms of each citizen
• The potential for good and evil within each individual human being and the power of the individual to make a difference

These aims resonate with the rationale, themes and expected outcomes of the Preliminary and HSC courses in the Legal Studies Syllabus. In particular:

• The interrelationship between the concepts of justice, law and society
• The effects of social, political, economic and ideological factors and of community attitudes; the means and processes by which the law changes
• The effectiveness of the Legal System, including, the extent to which an issue can be dealt with by the law and the capacity of the law to stop or change human behaviour

A student visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum, supplemented by interaction with Museum Guides (Holocaust Survivors) and prior and post investigation and reflection of the Twentieth Century Jewish experience would support student understanding of syllabus content in a number of areas including:

Preliminary Course
Part I: The Legal System, Topic 1- Basic Legal Notions
Part II: The Individual and the State, Topic 5 – Power and Authority, Topic 6 – Legal Controls on State Power

HSC Course
Part I: Law and Society, Topic 1 – Law and Justice, Topic 2 – Human Rights

Museum Guides
Many of the Museum Guides are Survivors of the Holocaust. School groups are taught a model lesson in citizenship by Survivors who pay tribute to the individual rights and liberties we enjoy in democratic Australia. The interactions with eyewitnesses challenge students to ask themselves what they would have done in similar situations.