Texas lieutenant governor supports studying Holocaust books — Jerusalem Post
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said that his call to remove more than 2,000 books from school libraries, which he described as vulgar, was not meant to apply to Holocaust literature. As the Jerusalem Post reports, the official stressed that Texas students should study the Holocaust and read, among other works, Elie Wiesel’s “Night” and “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
Patrick said his initiative was aimed at books with sexual content that, in his view, are not age-appropriate for schoolchildren. At the same time, during an August press conference, he advised people to consult the website of the conservative Christian organization Recover America, which compiled a list of more than 2,100 publications it described as harmful. The list includes works about the Holocaust and Jewish identity.
Dispute over “Night”
Recover America’s list included both parts of Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus,” a graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary, Bernard Malamud’s novel “The Fixer,” and Elie Wiesel’s memoir “Night” about his time in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Patrick had previously said that “Night,” due to scenes of violence, should not remain available to sixth graders in middle school libraries, and that higher grades would be a more appropriate level for the book.
This position contradicted the mandatory reading list for Texas schools approved in the summer: it provides for the study of “Night” in eighth grade starting in 2030. The lieutenant governor now said that the Texas State Board of Education should decide which grade is appropriate for teaching the book.
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The Texas education agency, which prepared the mandatory reading list, noted that students studying the Holocaust will learn about its horrors. That is why the Board of Education selected eighth grade for studying “Night,” in order to take into account the age-appropriateness of the material.
Reaction from librarians and activists
Patrick also said that he does not have his own list of books and referred to a 2025 state law regulating literature in schools. According to him, local communities have the right to make their own decisions regarding public school libraries. At the same time, former Texas librarian Carolyn Foote said that some districts removed all books from Recover America’s list out of fear of losing funding.
Elisha Wiesel, the son of writer Elie Wiesel and head of the Elie Wiesel Foundation, said Texas deserves recognition for including Holocaust education in the eighth-grade curriculum. He stressed that the violence in “Night” is part of the history of the Holocaust and that students should not be shielded from it, but taught to understand it with appropriate guidance.
