Poetry in Holocaust Education: 'Testimony' by Dan Pagis

Dan Pagis was a Romanian-born Holocaust survivor who wrote about the Holocaust some 25 years after the events. The poem "Testimony" deals with complex ethical, philosophical and theological issues that troubled Pagis, such as man's inhumanity to man, the question of God during the Holocaust, the essence and role of testimony, and other issues pertaining to guilt and to forgiveness. The poem "Testimony" allows a glympse into these complex questions and is fertile ground for classroom discussion.

Jackie Metzger is a staff member at the International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem.

Further pedagogical considerations

The multidisciplinary connection within the video, between art and poetry allows for further discussion of issues that go beyond the historical facts alone.
Poetry conveys universal aspects of the Holocaust.
This particular poem artisitically raises moral, philosophical and theological questions and dilemmas that engage us after the Holocaust, allowing for a fertile educational discussion.