- Kazerne Dossin
- 2014
- Belgium
Catherine De Bolle, General Commissioner of the Belgian federal police states: “More than other people, policemen face human rights dilemmas on a daily basis. The way ordinary Belgian police officers were supposed to round up Jews during Nazi Occupation is a very confronting example. The strategies used by those police officers to avoid ethical dilemmas are similar to the strategies being used today. Insight in this historical case of collective violence and in the scope of resistance is crucial for police training.”
The aim of the course is to provide the trainees with a profound understanding of the phenomenon of discrimination and exclusion. It focuses on human rights and racism, noting how group pressure can affect members of an organization and how police officers can deal with dilemmas they are confronted with. Special emphasis is placed on the dynamic of the power of mass and group aggression next to the free choice of individual persons to say no to group pressure and group dynamics. This one day training consists in a guided tour in the museum focused on the role of police during World War II and a dilemma training on cases from the field.
These goals are achieved through ‘education through remembrance’. In this concept, the present isn’t compared to the past, neither is there a judgment on the past with today’s criteria. Instead timeless mechanisms such as tyranny, violence, prejudice, propaganda, xenophobia, exclusion, bureaucracy and dehumanization are analyzed.
| Approach | Holocaust as major framework to analyze Human Rights. |
| Target Audience | Law enforcement officers |
| Outputs | 5 day training program for trainers HPH 1 day training for police officers Trainee – manual Framework document for trainees Case studies |
| Geographical scope | Belgium |
| Start of practice | 2014 |
| Country of origin | Belgium |
