A school district in Columbia, South Carolina, has announced it will no longer include a graphic novel about local Holocaust survivors in its middle school curriculum, citing new state guidelines on educational materials.
The Lexington One school district has decided to remove “We Survived the Holocaust” from its fifth- and sixth-grade classes, following the implementation of restrictive guidelines by the State Board of Education this summer.
Megan Moore, a spokesperson for the district, explained that the decision was made after a review to ensure the book met age-appropriateness standards outlined in State Board of Education Regulation (SBE) 43-170. However, the book will still be available for eighth graders and in school libraries.
This move echoes recent national trends of restricting Jewish literature in schools. In South Carolina, another district briefly removed Bernard Malamud’s “The Fixer,” a novel about antisemitism, before reinstating it after review. Similar restrictions have affected works like Anne Frank’s diary and “Maus” in districts across Florida, Texas, and elsewhere.
Frank Baker, author of “We Survived the Holocaust,” expressed his disappointment, stating that his book had been used without issue prior to the new regulations. On social media, Baker urged readers to “Read the book they tried to ban.”
* The Jewish Telegraphic Agency contributed to this article.