The Holocaust and Human Rights
Here are the Forms you will need for this class:
-Syllabus syllabus_holocaust_19-20.doc
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2020 Shutdown Materials and Assignments:
May 4-8 Assignments:
- Resistance, Rescue, & Liberation
- Here is a link to my final video lecture – less than 30 minutes, if you can believe it!!!
- One Survivor Remembers Video:
- This video is a documentary made from the book “All But My Life,” by Gerta Weissmann Klein. It’s the fascinating story of a young woman’s experiences in the Holocaust. The part of the video we’re focusing on comes at 20 minutes into the video (until the end) which details a death march Gerta experienced, what happened to her friends, and her eventual liberation.
- You need to watch from 20:00 to the end, but I really would like you to watch the whole thing – it’s incredible. It even won an Oscar for best documentary!
- Here is the link to the video, but there is no associated assignment.
- You need to watch from 20:00 to the end, but I really would like you to watch the whole thing – it’s incredible. It even won an Oscar for best documentary!
- Also, Gerta Weissmann Klein is still alive and living in Arizona. There was a recent news article about her and her thoughts about the pandemic. I thought you might find it interesting.
- This video is a documentary made from the book “All But My Life,” by Gerta Weissmann Klein. It’s the fascinating story of a young woman’s experiences in the Holocaust. The part of the video we’re focusing on comes at 20 minutes into the video (until the end) which details a death march Gerta experienced, what happened to her friends, and her eventual liberation.
- “Band of Brothers” Liberation Episode
- A famous American historian, Stephen Ambrose, wrote a book entitled “Band of Brothers” about a group of American soldiers fighting in Europe in World War II. It was later made into an HBO miniseries (it’s rated R, it’s terrible, don’t watch it – get an edited version, it’s amazing!!). We will be watching an edited version of an episode of that miniseries which depicts the actual events where these men stumble upon a sub-camp of the Dachau Concentration Camp – Kaufering IV.
- This video is to help you understand the horrible conditions the liberating troops witnessed when liberating camps.
- Link to the video
- Link to an assignment to complete while watching.
- Email me the assignment when finished.
- Due Sunday, May 10, 11:59pm
- “Night Will Fall” video (optional)
- Band of Brothers is a Hollywood recreation of the liberation of a camp. This video is the real thing. It is footage collected from Soviet, British, and American combat-cameramen who went into the newly liberated camps and filmed what they saw.
- I have edited this, but it is still quite unsettling. . .
- Link to the video – no assignment
- Band of Brothers is a Hollywood recreation of the liberation of a camp. This video is the real thing. It is footage collected from Soviet, British, and American combat-cameramen who went into the newly liberated camps and filmed what they saw.
- Denial movie (optional)
- For our final film of the class, we’ll be watching “Denial.” It’s the story of an exceptional Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt who was sued by English historian (and Holocaust Denier) David Irving. She wrote a book about the experience and it was recently made into a movie. It’s really quite good!!
- I met Deborah Lipstadt about 3 years ago at a conference at the Holocaust Museum in DC – she’s a formidable person and it was fascinating to listen to her speak about these experiences and Holocaust Denial in general.
- Link to the film – no assignment
- For our final film of the class, we’ll be watching “Denial.” It’s the story of an exceptional Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt who was sued by English historian (and Holocaust Denier) David Irving. She wrote a book about the experience and it was recently made into a movie. It’s really quite good!!
- Portfolio Check
- Since I have collected (electronically) all your assignments and already graded them, we will only check your notes during the shutdown. Here’s what you need to do:
- Give yourself 5 points for all the notes you’ve taken by hand, printed off, or saved on your computer during the shutdown:
- Nazi Ideology – 5 points
- Antisemitism – 5 points
- Intro. WWII & Ghettos – 5 points
- Einsatzgruppen – 5 points
- Concentration Camps – 5 points
- Resistance, Rescue & Liberation (this week) – 5 points
- Email me your total score out of 30 points
- Give yourself 5 points for all the notes you’ve taken by hand, printed off, or saved on your computer during the shutdown:
- Due Tuesday, May 12, 11:59pm
- Since I have collected (electronically) all your assignments and already graded them, we will only check your notes during the shutdown. Here’s what you need to do:
- Furthering Your Education
- I've provided a link to a document with many suggestions of books, documentaries, and movies on the Holocaust. I've read or watched the vast majority of them. If you'd like to continue to learn about the Holocaust, these are my suggestions:
- I've provided a link to a document with many suggestions of books, documentaries, and movies on the Holocaust. I've read or watched the vast majority of them. If you'd like to continue to learn about the Holocaust, these are my suggestions:
April 27-May 1 Assignments:
- A Day In Auschwitz video
- In this video we will be going along with Holocaust Survivor Kitty Hart-Moxon as she takes her granddaughter and her granddaughter’s friend into Auschwitz to describe her experiences there. It will give you more specific information about “life” in the camp, but more importantly, I want to humanize the victims of the Holocaust by showing you the experiences of someone your own age who was targeted, arrested, imprisoned, and who suffered greatly – for no good reason at all.
- Due Sunday, May 3, 11:59pm.
- Schindler’s List Zoom Meeting – Wednesday, April 29, 2:30pm (Extra Credit)
- I want to take a few minutes discussing the film, what really happened (the film gets it wrong in a couple of spots), and show you the real Oskar and Emily Schindler in a few pictures and discuss their lives after the events of the movie
- I will email you the link and password to the zoom meeting by noon on Wednesday.
- There are 10 extra credit points for full attendance (or for most of the meeting) to anyone who attends.
- Due: Wednesday, April 29, 2:30-3:30pm (I don’t know how long you guys want to talk, but it could be as short as 30 minutes).
- For those of you who missed our meeting but still want to learn more about the story of Oskar and Emilie Schindler - here's a link to the recording of our meeting
- I want to take a few minutes discussing the film, what really happened (the film gets it wrong in a couple of spots), and show you the real Oskar and Emily Schindler in a few pictures and discuss their lives after the events of the movie
- “Night” by Elie Wiesel (it breaks my heart to write this – but, it’s “optional”)
- This is the most famous book written about the Holocaust. It is not fiction – these are the experiences of a boy (a Jew from Romania) slightly younger than you who was rounded up with his family, deported to Auschwitz, forced on a “Death March” to Buchenwald, and there liberated by American troops in the Spring of 1945. Elie Wiesel passed away in 2016 after a life of campaigning for Holocaust Education and Remembrance and fighting for Human Rights for all.
- The book is short, but very powerful. He was an incredible thinker and writer. There is no assignment to go along with the book and it is not required because of the shutdown, but any student of the Holocaust needs to read this book. I first read it on a 4-hour flight to Washington DC to attend my first conference at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - it’s a pretty quick read.
- .pdf version of the book that you could print (but, you’d probably be in a lot of trouble using that much paper & ink!) or read on a computer, tablet, or phone.
- “Europa Europa” Movie - link to film
- Since we’re a little “light” on content this week, I thought I’d provide a link to another Holocaust film if you’re interested. This is the film where I grabbed the scenes “How to Tell a Jew” video clip that you watched at the beginning of the shut-down
- I met Solomon Perel (the book/movie is his autobiography during the Holocaust) in Israel in 2011 while traveling and studying the Holocaust with 26 other teachers from the US. We were privileged to sit with him and watch the film as he stopped it periodically and explained what was fact and what was added or changed by the screenwriter and director. It was fascinating!!
- It’s rated “R” (it’s terrible, don’t watch it) but I spent hours painstakingly editing it for you so I believe it is now appropriate for class.
- There is no assignment, but if you want to know what it was like for one Jewish boy in the Holocaust who actually found himself enrolled in a Hitler Youth school under an assumed name – this is that film.
April 20-24 Assignments:
- Lecture/notes
- Like the last couple of weeks, here is the video for you to watch of me going through the notes on the Camps. All you need to know is in that lecture.
- You need to take notes yourself, or print out the linked PowerPoint slides (I also have a pdf if you can’t open the slides). Place those notes in the “notes” section of your portfolio. They will be checked at the end of the trimester in your final portfolio check.
- Concentration Camps pt. 1 PowerPoint
- Concentration Camps pt. 1 pdf
- Auschwitz Video (17 min.)
- This video has no assignment required, but it is filmed at Auschwitz and using CGI, they recreate buildings, gas chambers, etc. to show you how the camp was built and how it functioned. It will help you better understand what you will be seeing in this week’s movie.
- Auschwitz I & Auschwitz II-Birkenau Panorama Views (optional)
- Since Auschwitz is closed because of the pandemic, they have placed some 360 degree panorama photos of important places within the camp online. Take a look if you'd like:
- Use http://panorama.auschwitz.org to see some unique places:
- Disinfection gas chamber in Block 3: http://panorama.auschwitz.org/tour1,6784,en.html
- Starvation cell: http://panorama.auschwitz.org/tour1,3122,en.html
- A watchtower: http://panorama.auschwitz.org/tour1,3127,en.html
- Dissection room: http://panorama.auschwitz.org/tour1,2917,en.html
- Use http://panorama.auschwitz.org to see some unique places:
- Since Auschwitz is closed because of the pandemic, they have placed some 360 degree panorama photos of important places within the camp online. Take a look if you'd like:
- “Schindler’s List” video
- Here is the link to the most famous film created on the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg (a Jewish American) directed this film based on a book also entitled “Schindler’s List” by Thomas Kenneally. Unfortunately, though it's an exceptional film, both the book and the film contain a few “myths” about the man Oscar Schindler. I’ll correct those historical inaccuracies next week – I promise. :)
- The film is about a German industrialist who is completely insecure, obsessed with money, a horrible husband (many affairs), and more than willing to use the slave labor of Jews to get rich. But maybe, just maybe, he can come around and become a decent human being once he realizes what’s really going on around him. We’ll see. . . . . .
- The film is shot in black and white (except a couple of things - keep an eye out for that) and really feels authentically old. While I love the aesthetic effect this provides, it worries me that it gives us the impression that this is "ancient history." In reality, this is less than one person's lifetime away. . . .
- The film is about a German industrialist who is completely insecure, obsessed with money, a horrible husband (many affairs), and more than willing to use the slave labor of Jews to get rich. But maybe, just maybe, he can come around and become a decent human being once he realizes what’s really going on around him. We’ll see. . . . . .
- Here is an assignment to complete as you watch the video.
- Take a picture of your answers and email them to me. Put the finished assignment in the “assignments” section of your portfolio.
- Let me know your overall assessment of the film in your email as well. What did you like about it? Anything you didn't like? Any questions? etc.
- Due Sunday, April 26, 11:59pm.
- Here is the link to the most famous film created on the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg (a Jewish American) directed this film based on a book also entitled “Schindler’s List” by Thomas Kenneally. Unfortunately, though it's an exceptional film, both the book and the film contain a few “myths” about the man Oscar Schindler. I’ll correct those historical inaccuracies next week – I promise. :)
Previous Work
- Last thing for this week – I need you to send me pics of the assignments you completed right after we shut down the school.
- The “Eye of the Storm” reflection assignment
- The “Nuremberg Laws” assignment.
- Since we won’t be coming back to class, I need to get those assignments in the gradebook.
- Last thing for this week – I need you to send me pics of the assignments you completed right after we shut down the school.
April 13-17 Assignments:
- Lecture/notes
- Like last week, I have a 30 minute video for you to watch of me going through the notes on the Einsatzgruppen Actions and the Wannsee Conference. All you need to know is in that lecture. Click on the following link to access the video.
- You need to take notes yourself, or print out the linked PowerPoint slides (I also have a pdf if you can’t open the slides). Place those notes in the “notes” section of your portfolio.
- Einsatzgruppen PowerPoint or pdf
- Wannsee Conference Powerpoint or pdf
- Your notes will be checked at the end of the trimester in the final portfolio check.
- Einsatzgruppen Readings
- I have links to 3 readings from books about the Holocaust that deal specifically with the Einsatzgruppen.
- Massacre at Riga
- Ordinary Men - selections from a book written by Christopher Browning. He interviewed surviving members of the Einsatzgruppen from Reserve Police Batallion 101. Wow. . . .
- The Holocaust by Bullets - selection from a book written by Father Patrick Desbois. Father Desbois is a Roman Catholic Priest who researches and finds massacre sites that have not been discovered. His research is invaluable to our understanding of how/what happened. If you watch "Hitler's Hidden Holocaust" below, you will see Father Desbois and see him and his team in action.
- Read each, and write a one paragraph reflection on the information from each reading (place all 3 reflections on the same page).
- What did you learn? What surprised you? What questions did the reading raise in your mind? etc.
- Take a picture of your reflections and email them to me (or send me a link to the document). Put those reflections in the “reflections” section of your portfolio.
- Due Sunday, April 19, 11:59pm.
- I have links to 3 readings from books about the Holocaust that deal specifically with the Einsatzgruppen.
- 3.Conspiracy video
- Here is a link to a few clips from a video entitled, “Conspiracy” (21 min.). It’s a historically accurate depiction of the Wannsee Conference where the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was implemented.
- Here is a document who shows who was at the meeting (and pics of the actual individual) and their role in the Nazi government.
- There is a short assignment to complete as you watch the video.
- Take a picture of your answers and email them to me, or email me a link to the document. Put the finished assignment in the “assignments” section of your portfolio.
- Due Sunday, April 19, 11:59pm.
- Here is a link to a few clips from a video entitled, “Conspiracy” (21 min.). It’s a historically accurate depiction of the Wannsee Conference where the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was implemented.
4.Optional – Hitler’s Hidden Holocaust
- This video is an excellent documentary explaining in great detail the Einsatzgruppen actions across Eastern Europe. There is even video footage of one of those killings. There is also the testimony of a survivor of one of those mass killings – how this small boy (now an elderly man) survived. Wow . . . . .
That’s it for the week. Stay safe out there, wear a mask if you’re going to be around people, and continue social distancing!! We want to keep everyone healthy!!
April 7-10 Assignments:
- 4th Hour only – Friedrich Test
- Rather than wait until (if??) we return to school on April 21, I’ve decided to give you your Friedrich test online. I’ve built a link to the test here. Download the test and answer each question in complete sentences. I’d use a separate sheet(s) of paper so you have plenty of room for your answers. The test shows the number of points each question is worth so you know about how much information/detail I’m looking for.
- The test is open-book, but to be timed at exactly 45 minutes. Set yourself a timer, grab a couple of sheets of paper, open your book and get started. At the end of 45 minutes exactly, take a picture of your finished test and email it to me at [email protected].
- You will need to complete the test by Sunday, April 12, by 11:59pm.
- IF we don't return to school, I'll have to figure out a way for you to drop off my book! More on that later, once the decision has been made one way or the other. . . . .
- Rather than wait until (if??) we return to school on April 21, I’ve decided to give you your Friedrich test online. I’ve built a link to the test here. Download the test and answer each question in complete sentences. I’d use a separate sheet(s) of paper so you have plenty of room for your answers. The test shows the number of points each question is worth so you know about how much information/detail I’m looking for.
- Intro. World War II & the Establishment of the Ghettos Lecture (30 minutes)
- This week we will be focusing on the start of World War II and the establishment of the Ghettos in German-occupied territory. Click on the video link to hear me go through the powerpoint (pdf copy here) covering this information. I’ll take you through the beginning the war and how it changed the Nazi policies toward the Jews from one of expulsion from Germany to one of confinement in ghettos.
- Print off or copy the notes down by hand and place in the “notes” section of your portfolio.
- You don’t need to send me anything, but you will need to complete this by Sunday, April 12, 11:59pm.
- This week we will be focusing on the start of World War II and the establishment of the Ghettos in German-occupied territory. Click on the video link to hear me go through the powerpoint (pdf copy here) covering this information. I’ll take you through the beginning the war and how it changed the Nazi policies toward the Jews from one of expulsion from Germany to one of confinement in ghettos.
- Movie - The Pianist (2 hours, 28 minutes)
- Click on the following link to watch what (in my opinion) is one of the finest Holocaust films ever released. The film is the true story of the experiences of Władysław Szpilman a world-famous pianist living in Warsaw, Poland when it was invaded by Germany in 1939. Szpilman and his family were Jewish so they were immediately targeted by the Nazis and some of their neighbors who were collaborating with the Germans.
- One of the reasons this film is so amazing is that the director, Roman Polanski, is a Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor. He was a young boy when he was imprisoned with his father in the Krakow ghetto. He was able to utilize this experience to make a very historically accurate film in The Pianist. Unfortunately, he isn’t that great of a human being (I always have to give this disclaimer in case anyone researches him). He has won numerous awards, including Oscars, for his directing, but he can’t come to the US to collect any as he would be promptly arrested for something that happened with a 13 year old actress in the 1970’s. . . . . enough said about that!
- Print off the assignment and complete it as you watch the film.
- Enjoy! (you know what I mean – it is a Holocaust film after all – but it’s a great one!)
- You will need to complete this assignment by Sunday, April 12, 11:59pm. Take a picture of your finished assignment and email it to me at [email protected].
- Salvaged Pages
- Print off (or just read online – I imagine you’re going through a lot of ink and paper with this switch to online learning!!) the following pdf file of selections of a book entitled “Salvaged Pages.” The book is a collection of diary entries of children aged 12-20 who were imprisoned in Ghettos during the Holocaust. I met the author Alexandra Zapruder at a conference at the Holocaust Museum in DC where she used to work as an archivist. She described how she had access to over 50 diaries of young people and wanted the world to know their stories along with that of Anne Frank. I’ve copied a few selections from those diaries to give you a wider view of conditions in the different ghettos scattered throughout Nazi occupied Poland. Some of the diarists wrote their names in the diaries, others were just a handful of papers found in the ghettos after they were liquidated so we have no idea who the authors were.
- Read the diary entries (you can tell who the author is at the bottom of the page by the page number) and complete the following worksheet.
- Oh, the selection by "anonymous Girl" destroys me every time. I know exactly why her father wept after she cursed him. . . . .and it wasn't because his teenage daughter swore at him. You'll understand when you read the selection. . . . .
- You will need to complete this assignment by Sunday, April 12, 11:59pm. Take a picture of your finished assignment and email it to me at [email protected].
- Read the diary entries (you can tell who the author is at the bottom of the page by the page number) and complete the following worksheet.
- Print off (or just read online – I imagine you’re going through a lot of ink and paper with this switch to online learning!!) the following pdf file of selections of a book entitled “Salvaged Pages.” The book is a collection of diary entries of children aged 12-20 who were imprisoned in Ghettos during the Holocaust. I met the author Alexandra Zapruder at a conference at the Holocaust Museum in DC where she used to work as an archivist. She described how she had access to over 50 diaries of young people and wanted the world to know their stories along with that of Anne Frank. I’ve copied a few selections from those diaries to give you a wider view of conditions in the different ghettos scattered throughout Nazi occupied Poland. Some of the diarists wrote their names in the diaries, others were just a handful of papers found in the ghettos after they were liquidated so we have no idea who the authors were.
- Optional Activities
- I’m Still Here - Video (43 minutes):
- Mtv (back in the olden days when they still played music videos occasionally) created a companion video to Salvaged Pages called “I’m Still Here.” They asked famous actors/actresses to voice some of the diarist’s words while the video shows pictures and other images of life in any particular ghetto. It’s a great video that I would show you in class – if we were still having class, anyway. I’m not requiring it, so there is no assignment, but click on the link above and watch it if you have time and are interested. It’s quite good.
- I’m Still Here - Video (43 minutes):
- Warsaw Ghetto – actual footage - Video (18 minutes, 40 seconds):
- This video is of actual footage from the Warsaw Ghetto. Those imprisoned in the Ghetto didn’t take with them video equipment, but the Nazis wanted to create a propaganda film so they came into the Ghetto to film. (There is even a quick shot in “The Pianist” where you see a German video crew filming a scene in the Ghetto).
- This actual footage comes from that propaganda film so we need to understand when we watch this that the scenes were staged and the subjects were unwilling participants. The goal of the Nazi propaganda film was to show Germans how “filthy” the Jews were. How they “choose” to live in such conditions. The Nazi’s “gave” them a section of the city to live in and here is how they “choose” to live. It is extremely dishonest and manipulative, but those images do show with some accuracy the horrible conditions that Jews were forced to live in by the occupying Nazi forces.
- Again, this is not required, but if you have the time, it’s quite interesting.
I miss you guys – it’s difficult not to be able to go through this information with you, but hopefully we’ll be able to get back together to finish the school year properly. We’ll see. . . .
In the meantime – stay safe, stay healthy, and stop hoarding toilet paper! :)
March 18-27 Assignments:
PowerPoint Presentations: Review material in the presentations and print them for your portfolios. 6 slides per page is just fine.
1-Nazi Ideology & Eugenics pdf
-And, watch this video clip from a movie based on the life of Solomon Perel - a German Jew hiding "in plain sight" - pretending to be an "Aryan" and going to a Hitler Youth boarding school. Living at the heart of the lion's den. I met Solomon Perel in Israel in 2011. We viewed this movie with him and he explained what was true and what was "Hollywood." These scenes are very accurate according to the boy/man who lived it. . . . .
2-Antisemitism pdf
3-Important Events pdf in Germany before WWII
Videos: After watching each video, write a 1/2 page "Reflection" in the "Reflections" area of your portfolio for each video. What did you learn? What was surprising, moving, etc.?
1-North Carolina Eugenics
-Watch this video to understand a little better the Eugenics programs in the United States, particularly in North Carolina and their effects on real people. Reflect on the video in the "Reflections" area of your portfolio. What did you learn? What was surprising, moving, etc.?
2-Watch the linked video on YouTube: It's the story of a former Neo-Nazi and how he got out of the movement. Reflect on the video in the "Reflections" area of your portfolio. What did you learn? What was surprising, moving, etc.?
3-Watch the following video entitled "A Class Divided - Eye of the Storm." It is another classroom experiment. Complete the accompanying Reflection Assignment after viewing both the classroom experiment and the experiment conducted with adults in the prison system. Keep assignment in the "Reflections" section of your portfolio.
Assignments:
1-Print this image. This is the Pyramid of Hate. As you can see, it doesn't have a lot of room between thoughts and genocide. In your interactions (safe interactions - social distancing!!!) with others during the shutdown, write down 2 events/comments/actions you witness that would go somewhere on the Pyramid of Hate. Reflect on each event you witnessed in the "Reflections" section of your portfolio.
2-Download/print and complete the following worksheet using the information listed here. These are a few examples of the restrictions to Jewish life enacted by the Nazi government after Hitler's rise to power in the 1930's in Germany. Keep worksheet and information packet until we meet in class.
That's all you need to do during the shutdown. You're an amazing group of students. Keep safe, keep healthy and let me know if you have any questions! [email protected]
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Here are some helpful websites for this class:
-Idaho Human Rights Education Center
-United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
-Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
-World Flag Project
-Kiva.org - Loans that Change Lives
-Youth for Human Rights International
-Teaching Tolerance
-UNICEF
-Enough To Spare
Europe Trip - July-August, 2019
I was fortunate to participate in a trip for Teacher Fellows from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in July-August, 2019. We traveled to several countries to study the Holocaust, see authentic sites related to the Holocaust and collaborate with each other as educators. Here are some photos from the nations and sites I visited:
American Gathering's Holocaust Teacher Tour - July, 2011
Our group at the memorial to the Jewish Ghetto Uprising - Warsaw, Poland
I was accepted as a participant in the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teachers Program this past summer. As part of this program I traveled with 26 other teachers from around the United States and we had two Holocaust experts from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Gathering organization with us as well.
We traveled to Israel, Germany, and Poland and visited many museums, memorials, and authentic sites such as: Bergen-Belsen, Sachenhausen, Ravensbruck, Belzec, Majdanek, Auschwitz-Berkinau, and Treblinka.
It was an amazing experience and I look forward to incorporating this experience into my Holocaust and Human Rights class this year.
We traveled to Israel, Germany, and Poland and visited many museums, memorials, and authentic sites such as: Bergen-Belsen, Sachenhausen, Ravensbruck, Belzec, Majdanek, Auschwitz-Berkinau, and Treblinka.
It was an amazing experience and I look forward to incorporating this experience into my Holocaust and Human Rights class this year.