DCPS investigates after elementary students say they were forced to reenact Holocaust

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Officials with D.C. Public Schools are investigating after third graders reported they had to reenact the Holocaust during a library lesson Friday.

In a letter sent to parents at Watkins Elementary School in Southeast, the principal says according reports he received, the re-enactment included "students being asked to portray participants from the Holocaust like Adolf Hitler, digging ditches to serve as mass graves, and simulated shootings. It was also alleged that the staff member leading the lesson also made anti-Semitic statements."

FOX 5 spoke to the mother of a student in the class, who requested anonymity to protect her child. 

"My husband picked up our child after school and there was a lot of sobbing and crying and distress," the mother said.

She said her child was still struggling emotionally after being told to pretend to choke and die in a gas chamber and watching students simulate digging their own graves. 

She said she’s also had conversations with other parents about how their kids are doing.

"They are traumatized. One parent said that their child was worried the teacher in question was hiding at their house. Children are having nightmares and generally having a very hard time," she said.

She said the child who was told to play Hitler is "not doing well at all."

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The mother said the librarian who gave the lesson instructed the students not to tell their parents. She said the kids told their homeroom teacher who reported the incident and helped them through the rest of the school day. 

DCPS provided the following statement Sunday: "DC Public Schools is committed to creating a welcoming environment for all students. Last week,  we received a report of a classroom of students receiving a lesson that included portraying different perspectives of the Holocaust. Students should never be tasked with acting out any atrocity, especially genocide and war. Additionally, there were allegations of a staff member using hate speech during the lesson, which is unacceptable and not tolerated at any of our schools. This was not an approved lesson plan, and we sincerely apologize to our students and families who were subjected to this incident. We have launched an investigation, and students are being supported by our DCPS Comprehensive Alternative Resolution & Equity Team."

The school district says the staff member involved in the incident is on leave. 

FOX 5 spoke by phone to the librarian at the school, who we are not naming before the investigation concludes.

"I think somebody’s misquoting what happened in the library that day," she said.

She maintained there was no Holocaust re-enactment or hate speech, but would not answer when asked repeatedly whether there was any discussion about the Holocaust. 

"I’m going to wait for the the investigation. I was shocked to see it myself," she said, referring to the letter sent home to parents.

The school is providing counseling to impacted students.

The mother we spoke to says parents have more questions than answers at this point, and want to know if this employee has done this before. 

"We just want accountability for this," she said. "Sorry is not enough. And we’re going to lay out what that looks like as parents."