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Narrative structure and point of view
All texts relating to the Holocaust have been written by the textbook authors, while the
proportion of authors’ texts in the books as a whole is 50 to 80 percent. All adhere to
chronological narratives except T5, which arranges information thematically. The texts are
all descriptive and written in the third person singular, and four use the passive voice,
whereas T5 also uses the active voice. T4 is the only book to provide multiple perspectives
of victims, perpetrators and Allies. T1 and T2 contain progressive narratives by ending with
the topic of post-war peace agreements and the role of the United Nations. ‘Germany’
and ‘Germans’ are named as collective subjects of history in T1, T2, T3 and T4. T3 quotes
the ‘Jewish problem’ without using inverted commas, and therefore reproduces Nazi
terminology uncritically.
Didactic approach
Pupils are offered few opportunities to interpret the event because texts are almost entirely
confined to those written by textbook authors. These texts are conceptualized largely in
terms of war crimes (T1, T2 and T3), human rights and human morality (T3, T4 and T5), and
crimes against humanity (T4). Only T4 contains exercises geared specifically towards the
Holocaust, in a rubric entitled ‘Holocaust, Banality of Evil’, in the form of multiple choice
questions and text analysis.
National idiosyncrasies
Brazil is mentioned twice. T3 mentions the interdependence of Brazilian and European
history during the Second World War, and T4 mentions, in passing, German and Jewish
refugees from the war period in Brazil.
Bibliography
T1: Campos Azevedo, G. and Seriacopi, R. 2011. História. São Paulo, Ática. (history, age 14-17 years, in Portuguese)
T2: Vicentino, C. and Dorigo, G. 2005. História para o Ensino Médio [history for the Secondary School Level]. São
Paulo, Scipione. (history, age 14-18 years, in Portuguese)
T3: de Campos, F. and Garcia Miranda, R. 2005. A escrita da história: ensino médio [The Writing of History, Secondary
School Level]. São Paulo, Escala Educacional. (history, age 14-18 years, in Portuguese)
T4: Vainfas, R., de Castro-Faria, S., Ferreira, J. and dos Santos, G. 2010. História. São Paulo, Saraiva. (history,
age 16-17 years, in Portuguese)
T5: Schmidt, M. 2000. Nova história crítica. São Paulo, Nova Geração. (history, age 14-17 years, in Portuguese)
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