I can feel where you are coming from. These are such difficult and yet crucial parts of history to talk about and teach. The first things I talk about with my history students is “why” we study history and “historical significance”. They quickly get to the idea of not repeating the mistakes of the past.
Interestingly enough, during our human geography mybstidents get to learn a little bit about genocide and human atrocities. They have to research the UN’s lowest ranked countries according to GDP. The goal is to learn about natural growth rate, employment, health care and education rates. Through this investigation they see big dips in the population rates in countries like Rawanda and Cambodia. This leads to great discussions about the genocides that caused these fluctuations. It is an eye opening experience to say the least. I love that you let your kids see the real you. It build so much trust.
Btw, Schindler’s list was an amazing film!!! Everyone should watch it once.