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Lawmaker Proposes Required Holocaust Lessons in Pennsylvania Schools

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, advocates gathered today at the state capitol to push for legislation that would require that all Pennsylvania school students be taught about the Holocaust.

State representative Brendan Boyle (D-Phila.) says a mandatory Holocaust curriculum is needed because of the growing notion that the Holocaust was a hoax.

"Right here in Pennsylvania, in the last year and a half, two Pennsylvania publicly funded colleges actually played host to Holocaust deniers," Boyle said.

Legislation that would require a Holocaust curriculum in Pennsylvania schools has been introduced in both chambers of the state legislature, and a measure could get a vote in the state senate as soon as this week.

"This is not a partisan issue," said Holocaust survivor Trudy Klein-Gompers today. "This is a human issue -- one that will affect our world to come."

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