Holocaust on syllabus at German college

The atrocities of the Holocaust will be taught for the first time in Germany as a compulsory part of the undergraduate syllabus at a private university in Berlin.

The Jewish-American Touro College opened its doors in the capital last year. Although the university is primarily a business school offering degrees in business, management and administration, founding director Sara Nachama said it was important to promote the college's heritage.

"A handful of Jewish schools have opened up in Germany over the past decade, but until we opened in October last year there was no Jewish university.

"By offering a scholarly framework in which to study Judaism and the events that have shaped its path, we hope to revive the tradition of Jewish higher education in Germany while at the same time educating the next generation of managers," Ms Nachama said. She added that the Holocaust "could not be avoided in Germany any longer".

Courses will look at how a fascist regime took control of a democratic society and to what extent its political programmes were anti-Semitic, as well as discussing extracts from Mein Kampf .