Teaching the HolocaustA unit for grades 5+

Trinette Atri, Secondary Specialist

Pre-Assessment

• Word Splash: Adolf Hitler, Nazis, concentration camps, Anti-Semitism, Star of David, ghettos, dehumanization, propaganda, swastika, prejudice, stereotype, Jews, Judaism, Third Reich, rations, racism, Aryan

• Bubble Map: When you hear the term, “Holocaust,” what does it make you think of?

Background Info.

• Students should have a basic understanding of the events leading up to the Holocaust to understand in historical context.

• It is important to not over-simplify the causes – it was not only racism that lead to the Holocaust. That, “combined with centuries-old bigotry, renewed by a nationalistic fervor which emerged in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century, fueled by Germany's defeat in World War I and its national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles, exacerbated by worldwide economic hard times, the ineffectiveness of the Weimar Republic, and international indifference, and catalyzed by the political charisma, militaristic inclusiveness, and manipulative propaganda of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, contributed to the eventuality of the Holocaust.”

http://www.holocaust-trc.org/uhmmmguides.htm

Novel Resources

• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry • Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli• Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy • The Diary of a Young Girl by

Anne Frank

Non-fiction Resources

• Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

• Kindertransport by Olga Levy Drucker• No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel• Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the

Rescue of the Jews by Ellen Levine• I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children’s Drawings and

Poems from Terezin Concentration Camp 1942-1944 by Hana Volavkova

Pledges/Oaths Comparison

Jungvolk Oath

In the presence of this blood banner which represents our Führer, I swear to devote all my energies and my strength to the savior of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God.

Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

Example Activities

• Read and analyze the speech by Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski (tie in with Milkweed)

• Photographic evidence comparison – Jewish life • Explore themes of power, compassion, hope, survival,

resistance and perseverance in each of the novels and nonfiction resources

• Relate this event to other events in the world (segregation in the U.S., Rwandan genocide, terrorism, etc.) – how are they similar? Different?

Paperclips

Documentary Film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP15cY3f7UA

Get Involved!!

• The Butterfly Project (Zikaron V’tikvah)• Dana Kapustin – contact• Paint butterflies, talk about bullying and prejudice, hear

survivor speak• www.charlottejcc.org

Online Resources

• N.C. Holocaust Council: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust_council/

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/

• A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust: http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/resource.htm

• USC Shoah Foundation: http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi/education/

• My Jewish Legacy: http://www.myjewishlegacy.com

Elyse@myjewishlegacy.com