But if it weren’t for them being there.........
That was my first thought!
When my daughter was in 5th grade she found the book “Diary of Anne Frank”. Then she went on a big studying binge about the Holocaust. Maybe a bit graphic for such a young kid, but she was very interested in it.
She gave a presentation at school. All of the kids thought she was lying. “How could one guy kill 6 million people?” The teacher obviously backed her up. It was another few years before the rest of the kids learned about it in Junior High.
I did tell our kids that while the idea of how we need to remember the past so it never happens again is a wonderful thought (and we do) - but it DOES keep happening again and again. Soviet Union, Cambodia, Serbia, Iraq, China, etc.