Museums of martyrdom and the pedagogy of remembrance in the context of shaping students’ attitudes and future competences

Abstract

Museums of martyrdom operate on the sites of former Nazi concentration camps in Poland as memorials to the events of the Second World War. These institutions are part of the pedagogy of remembrance, which is an educational discipline connected with the theories of the German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno. The pedagogy of remembrance assumes that as part of the didactic process, it is important not only to learn about atrocities, but above all to analyse their causes. The discussion and debate surrounding the pedagogy of remembrance have allowed this article to identity the correlation between its assumptions and the shaping of students’ attitudes as well as the development of skills included in the key competences. These competences are also referred to in a broader sense as competences of the future, as they are necessary for an individual to function properly in society. The aim of this article is therefore to clarify whether and how museums of martyrdom and the pedagogy of remembrance can foster the development of the skills defined as competences of the future. This article also attempts to indicate the museum activities and didactic methods that can be used by educators at places of remembrance in order to shape attitudes and develop key competencies.