Holocaust Lesson - Language Arts

There are three 'big ideas' to be learned by studying the Holocaust. Read over these ideas and then choose an activity from each area.

A. "Democratic" institutions and values are not automatically sustained, but need to be appreciated, nurtured, and protected.

  1. Look at this photograph of two Jewish boys being teased and humiliated by their classmates. Imagine that you are one of these boys, and write a paragraph telling how you would feel standing in front of your classmates.

  2. View these pictures: #1, #2. Imagine that you can jump into these pictures and talk to the German soldiers. Write what you would say to them.

  3. Research the types of medical experiments performed by the Nazis. Describe in a paragraph the technological changes made by the Nazis in an effort to make killing more efficient.

  4. Visit the Simon Wiesenthal Center ,named after the world's most famous Nazi war criminal hunter. The Center not only concerns itself with documenting the Holocaust and fighting the Holocaust deniers, it also focuses on racial hatred and all types of bigotry no matter at whom it is directed. To what extent, if at all, should hate groups be controlled or censored. Would the denial of First Amendment rights to such groups be more harmful than the damage done by their lies? Why or why not? Write a paragrpah or two expressing your opinion.

  5. Read some of the writings of Holocaust victims. How do their stories and poems make you feel? Write a short poem that describes your feelings about what happened during the Holocaust.

  6. Take a virtual tour of the concentration camps Dachau, Birkenau or Auschwitz. On the iron gate entrances to each camp was a sign that said "Work will make you free". Was there really any truth to that sign? Also visit Courage Under Siege, a site about the Warsaw Ghetto and Abe's Journey, a site documenting Abe's movement during the Holocaust. Discuss what life was like for people living in the concentration camps and ghettos. In the Camps--Stumme Zeugen Photographs

B. Silence and indifference to the suffering of others, or to the infringement of civil rights in any society, can -- however, unintentionally -- serve to perpetuate the problems.

  1. Compare the roles of bystanders, rescuers, and perpetrators during the Holocaust. Give reasons why you think the bystanders, rescuers and perpetrators acted as they did. Write a paragraph stating your views.

  2. In the Holocaust, the Nazis condemned people to death for no other reason than their religion, their beliefs, or their family history. Read the stories of survivors of the Holocaust. Keepin in mind these stories, write a paragraph on prejudice you see in America today and how it affects people's lives.

  3. Read some of the stories in Rescuers from the Holocaust, Excerpts from Holocaust Testimonies or The Heroic Rescuers. What would you have done had you been a non-Jew in Nazi occupied Europe? Write a reflective paragraph explaining your reasons and motivation. Try to draw on examples from your own life to support your claims.

  4. Read about the famous Schlindler's List. Read his wife's viewpoint in Schindler, the Man and the Symbol. Why do you suppose some people view Schlindler as a kind of hero while others see him as a greedy, opportunistic man? Discuss your ideas.

C. The Holocaust ocurred because individuals, organizations, and governments made choices which not only legalized discrimination, but which allowed prejudice, hatred, and ultimately, mass murder to occur.

  1. Compile a list of words specific to the Holocaust. Analyze the corruption of language cultivated by the Nazis, particularly in the use of euphemisms (e.g., their use of the terms "emigration" for expulsion, "evacuation" for deportation, "deportation" for transportation to concentration camps and killing centers, "police actions" for round-ups that typically led to mass murder, and "Final Solution" for the planned annihilation of every Jew in Europe). Determine the relationship between similar words (labor camp, ghetto, killing center). Design a flyer using some of these words that may be have been used as propaganda against Jews and other victims.

    Two sites that might be helpful:
    Holocaust Glossary
    Auschwitz Alphabet

  2. There were many groups that the Nazis targeted during the Holocaust. Who were they and what explanation can you give for the discrimination they faced? Why were the Jews killed?

  3. Why has the Holocaust often been called a "war within the war"? How did the Holocaust affect Nazi military decisions? Why might it be "easier" to commit genocidal acts during wartime then during a period of relative peace?

  4. What factors led to the rise of a dictatorship? A historical summary might be of help. Who where some of the main perpetrators? What was the role of the SS?

Other Resources:

Other Links Of Interest
The Anne Frank Story
Abe's Story