Things overheard in the hairdressers. Couldn’t believe my ears this afternoon.

[ChocolateDoll]

Sat with dye on my hair listening to this conversation taking place next to me. Didn’t know whether to laugh or cry

HAIRDRESSER: What you going to do on your holidays, then?

CLIENT: Well, we’re planning to visit Auschwitz.

HAIRDRESSER: Oh, right. What you gonna do there then? Just chill out for a bit?

CLIENT: Umm...well uhhh....it’s a concentration camp, you know?

HAIRDRESSER: oh right....sorry.....thought it was like a resort or something.

I don't get the irony? I don't think the OP was vile. Your post certainly is.

I'm pretty sure she knew about Hitlar and the Nazis - she didn't recognise the name doesn't mean she doesn't care and doesn't find it abhorrent. I think your need to judge someone you don't know so quickly is pretty tragic considering you lost 3 family members to such horror.

Then you're not very bright.

she sat in a hairdresser judging someone she didn't know, malikg assumptions about who they were and what they believed. The Nazis did just that at a more extreme level. That's the irony.

The Nazis did just that at a more extreme level

Er no, I think you’re a little confused here. Being shocked by someone having not heard of a seminal moment in human history isn’t quite what the nazis did at a more extreme level.

When the film titanic came out (ages ago) my friend overheard two teenage girls at the end say 'so it sinks then??!!'

@OutPinked My parents and I watched life is beautiful years ago (I think I was about 13?!) And it broke me. I thought it was such a different way to tell the story and it affected me for a very long time.

Would probably be a better thing to show in schools as opposed to pyjamas. Although I do agree with a PP that it's about danger of ignorance of the holocaust and was meant to make the point that we are all equal and that the end is meant to hit you as that and challenge prejudice (the author obviously used artistic licence to make that point which I get)

there is so much history, we can't know everything!

winniestone37 uok hun?

I’ve know very clever, well educated people with no curiosity whatsoever. When they hear a fact they didn’t know they’d just shrug and let it pass them by.

I had a conversation with a colleague once where she asked me how I knew so much stuff. I don’t think I do by my standards, but I said I try and watch the news and read a newspaper every day, even if just the headline stories. When I was growing up, my parents would take us on days out to museums and interesting places. We were encouraged to look things up if we didn’t know something, before the internet when this meant the dictionary and Pears Cyclopedia. When friends and relatives visited, we were supposed to sit quietly while the adults talked, and I learned stuff listening to them and asking my mum questions later. And I read. Lots. Dad used to say I’d read the back of the sauce label on the table just to read something at teatime.

Some folk just either didn’t have the encouragement as kids to find out about the world about them, and others just don’t care about anything outside their lives and experience. They’re missing out on so much.

Slartybartfast

there is so much history, we can't know everything!

You’re right, we can’t, but the Second World War is one of the most significant events in recent times and everyone who lives in Europe needs to know about it. It was the reason I voted remain even though I have major issues with the EU. For all it’s bad points the EU has helped to keep the balance of peace in Europe for a considerable period of time. My children have already started to learn about the world wars. We took them to the Imperial War Museum last week. They are five and eight. When they are older we will show them the Holocaust section in the museum. It’s so important that we don’t forget about what happened. If we forget, it will happen again.

The Jewish museum in Camden is very good for kids.

My kids studied WWII in Year 6, mostly focusing on what life was like at home, rationing etc. We read Goodnight Mr Tom at home too, which helped them identify with things, (and made us all cry). They also learned about the Holocaust. They had a Holocaust survivor's daughter come to give a talk to everyone. The school wrote home and said if parents didn't feel their kids were ready or wanted to explain themselves, they could withdraw them from the assembly. The talk included life in Poland and living in the ghetto, and being interred in four concentration camps including Auschwitz. I don't know if my kids would remember the names of the camps, but they would be able to talk about them. I don't feel the need for them to read/watch Striped Pyjamas, might get them to read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit though... The school also took part in the Albert Huberman writing award, set up by the Lake District Holocaust Project where they demonstrate knowledge of the Holocaust through an essay, poem or short story. There's also an annual trip to Ann Franks House for Year Eights, I think. So some schools do teach it, I'm really glad our school is so proactive.

The best thing I heard in the hairdressers, from the hairdresser was; “Well I’m gay, but I definitely don’t like it up the arse. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.”

Tank you for bringing the thread back on track Aznal.

I tend to switch off at the hairdressers' because it is all so banal . . .

"But this is not just history, the repercussions are current affairs, the holocaust, anti semitism, Zionism, Palestine all in the news every day" exactly! This is why it annoys me when people try and claim it's not relevant!

As I said I was shocked with my ex being similar. When I first met him he had only a very vague idea of why he and his colleagues were being sent to places like turkey and Iraq. He knew about the first gulf war roughly but he had no idea about how far back the supposedly current issues in that region that are affecting us go. He mainly thought it was just about the oil (which is of course a major factor, but it's deeper than that)

A similarly ignorant colleague of his actually laughed at me once when I related it all back to colonialism - only to have one of the 'big bosses' overhear him doing so, call him an idiot and give him a quick education! (The guy was a dick in many ways it was satisfying to see him brought down a peg to be honest!) What shocked me with this colleague though was he was half Greek Cypriot! His mother had come to the uk in the first place as a result of the Turkish invasion!

Cluck71 - he's not entirely wrong. All wars advance medical knowledge (out of necessity) not only advances due to the (admittedly highly unethical & horrifying) experiments that were performed in the camps, but also the survivors ailments needing treated led to our own Drs and scientists developing their knowledge.

I've recently watched 2 period tv shows where this has come up. "The Bletchley circle" where a storyline (based on a true event by the way) was about our scientists developing biological weapons and testing them on British soldiers.

Don't forget the Brits are also guilty of appalling actions and not just overseas and more recent than people often realise! Ongoing in some areas. Do you really think we aren't developing more devastating weapons and methods of torture?

In addition 'useful' axis power Drs and scientists etc were given new identities and lives in America and the U.K. (Among other places) after the war with those govts full knowledge of their sometimes sickening actions during the war. There's a lot of hypocrisy around that. Did you see the repatriated nazi in the news recently? If he'd been seen as useful in any way he'd have needed to lie on his papers.

'Call the midwife' where a nurse recognised a particular type of concentration camp scars which led to the discovery that a patient's ailment was a tropical disease acquired as a result of being a pow.

"there really does seem to be a death of natural desire to learn going on" excellent way of putting it.

The idea that there's no "need" to learn after you leave education is gaining favour and is bloody depressing!

I'm 46 and still have SO much to learn (and look forward to it) my parents are in their 70's and I've had conversations and even had texts from them asking if I can help them find out about X. Usually prompted either by a book they've read or tv show they've seen, sometimes on medical issues (as they're getting older they're of course suffering more ailments and getting drugs prescribed they haven't heard of. I'm an ex geriatric nurse so kinda my area. Not practiced for years but I still am OK to find research and know if the source is ok.)

They're becoming less confident with tech especially my dad, plus eyesight is a problem too so if I can find a source more suitable for them that helps.

I remember my grandparents reading something in a paper or seeing something on the news that piqued their curiosity and the next time they went to the library they'd get books out on the subject and do some reading around.

My parents and grandparents all left school quite young, parents were 15 I think? They'd be/are appalled at the way younger generations are taking the easy access to information and education they have for granted.

"There are parents who actively discourage education "oh you don't want to be a swot!" " this is one aspect of American culture I WISH we WOULD import! A pride in learning, in being educated. I honestly think if we did as there in terms of sports professionals had to have a degree before becoming professional, we'd see a huge change in that attitude. Hell even if certain of our celebrities didn't play down the fact they have degrees or even masters/PhD's. If being dumb wasn't celebrated (eg Joey Essex - some of the stuff he came out with if he REALLY was as thick as he tries to make out I don't for one second believe he'd be as successful as he's managed to be. Loads of people would like to have his success and yes there's an ELEMENT of luck but he's doing pretty well), younger British generations would have a better attitude to education.

To be fair though, I know someone who was puzzled by the American attitude to Cuba, and indeed Russia generally, they didn't realise how close BOTH are to america.

Vietnam - genuine question, did you never watch any war films growing up? I'm assuming you're British, did your grandparents not serve? Did they never discuss it?

I remember reading a celeb interview years ago, it was someone who'd been in war films and was living and raising children in the USA (I think it was Michael Caine but I could be wrong) and they said they 'knew we needed to move back to the uk when my kids said WWII started in 1941'.

"The people who think it’s not important to know are ime far far worse than the ones who don’t know." Exactly

"I won’t accept having a degree in a different area as an excuse either. My degree is in English Literature, can I now claim that is why I haven’t heard of the chuffin’ Holocaust?" My degrees are in nursing and English (literature and language). If you are capable of a uni education then you are more than bright enough to know you don't know everything! And that most subjects crossover too.

Unfortunately options have moved forward a year. So they only do 2 years in high school studying a broader range of subjects rather than 3 as i did back in the day.
Better for GCSE grades, not so good for general knowledge and understanding of the world

Unfortunately options have moved forward a year.

That much is true. You're only 12 (depending on your birthday!) when you take your options now. Which I think is ridiculously early!

These kind of threads make me a bit [hmm.] It's easy to mock people for not knowing much history. I only studied it up until the age of 13 at school when I dropped history as an option as I found it boring.
As an adult though, and with the age of the internet, I'm making up for lost time and learning all the time as I find it interesting now.

I’m 23 and know about the Holocaust. I’ve read Anne Frank’s diary and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. I didn’t do History GCSE, mainly because I was crap at the subject in an academic sense. I’m interested in it though. I did French and German at university and most of my German cultural modules were history ones.

I think that the pp's offended by this or thinking its a snobby attitude are being unreasonable.

The holocaust was the single most horrific thing to have happened in the last god knows how many hundred years. Every child should be taught about what happened. My DD aged 9 has a vague idea as they have just covered WW2 in school. My DS aged 13 has chosen history for GCSE mainly for the trip to auschwitz next year.

I remember learning about it in history in year 9. My school brought a holocaust survivor who had been in auschwitz to our classroom to talk to us about his experiences. I imagine he is probably dead by now but meeting that man has stayed with me for the rest of my life.

There is no excuse IMO for not knowing about the holocaust!!

I only learnt about the Holocaust when I was studying A Level German. The history of the Second World War was a large chunk of the syllabus. Until then, I'd never been exposed to it at school or at home or via movies.This was 1995. 🙈

This is interesting. I’m in my early 40s. My primary school history was all vikings and Saxons and Romans - living on a coast with more castles than you can swing a cat at. I remember buying history magazines though as a kid - the ones that came with things to make - but that was mainly tudors and other kings and queens etc. I eventually started to learn about ww2 when I took gcse history and I was fascinated with it. I recall reading things like the Anne frank diary when I was younger but without the context. I also grew up watching programmes like dad’s army. I did have some dodgy basic knowledge which was improved with gcse. I think in my gcse History class some of the kids who had gone to different primary schools had done some ww2.

I am now a teacher and have since regularly taught ‘Britain since the 1930s’ and similar topics where we’ve looked at ww2 and also the decades following, all fairly briefly.

On the other hand. I was at the hairdresser this week and was trying to send an email and the trainee insisted on talking to me ‘have you been anywhere nice or going anywhere nice? What are you doing this afternoon?’ I was trying to concentrate whilst she applied the colour and ended up leaving my email for small talk. Hairdressers should be trained to make small talk if the client isn’t already doing something like reading/emailing etc. I chat away to my usual hairdresser who I know and who asks me about my work and kids etc and she also is happy to leave me in peace if that’s what I want.

My primary school history was all vikings and Saxons and Romans - living on a coast with more castles than you can swing a cat at.

Same - primary school history for me I remember there was a lot of learning about the Vikings but didn't really go into a lot of depth in regards to WW2 as far as I can recall! We did it, but not in much detail.

Bet most young people wouldn’t even know about the more recent atrocities in Rwanda, Bosnia and Burma etc. Thousands butchered. Everyone says ‘Lest we forget’ but these genocides keep happening.