LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson GRADE LEVEL: Adaptable for grades 7–12
SUBJECT: Multidisciplinary
TIME REQUIRED: Approximately 60 minutes
Thisisa foundational lessonthat introduceskeyconceptsand informationtostudents.
RATIONALE TheHolocaustwasawatershedeventinhumanhistorythat involvedmillionsofpeopleacrosstheglobe.
ThislessonprovidesanintroductiontotheHolocaustbydefining thetermandhighlightingthestoryofoneHolocaustsurvivor, GerdaWeissmann.
NOTE: This lesson is designed as a one-class period introduction to the Holocaust for educators with limited time. Lessons that expand on themes presented are noted in extensions.
ThislessonplanandaccompanyingmaterialsareavailableinSpanishontheMuseum’swebsite
OVERVIEW
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
● WhatwastheHolocaust?
● WhatwastheexperienceofoneyounggirlintheHolocaust?
● WhatquestionscanhelpstudentsbegintounderstandtheHolocaust?
● Howdoesannotationhelpyoumakeapersonalandcriticalconnectiontotext?
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, students understand:
● Thepurposesandtechniquesofannotationbyexaminingtextcloselyandcritically
● ThedefinitionofthewordHolocaust
● SomeofthedifferentexperiencespeoplehadduringtheHolocaust
● Answerstofrequentlyaskedquestions
● WheretolearnmoreattheU.S.HolocaustMemorialMuseum'swebsite
TEACHER PREPARATION
● PreviewfilmclipofHolocaustsurvivorGerdaWeissmann Kleinandherhusband,Kurt Klein,sharingtheirexperiencesofliberationandmeetingforthefirsttime.
● Holocaust Encyclopedia article“IntroductiontotheHolocaust”
● PreviewFrequentlyAskedQuestions abouttheHolocaust
● Survivorstory:IDCardofGerdaWeissmann (online)orPDFtoprint(Gerda’scardis#40)
● Print/sharecopiesoftheStudentInteractive
○ SampleAnnotatedDefinition forteachers
○ AccessforstudentstoadditionalonlineIDcardsorPDFstoprintofindividualprofiles
LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson ● IfnewtoteachingtheHolocaust,reviewtheUSHMM’sGuidelinesforTeachingabout theHolocaustorwatchateachertrainingvideo
LEARNER VARIABILITY MODIFICATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS Thelessonisintentionallyflexibletoallowforindividualteachermodificationstoachieveeducational outcomes.Technologyandteachingstrategiesaresuggestedintheinstructionalsequence;pleaseuseotheroptionsif theysupportthelearningneedsofyourstudents.Considerutilizinggraphicorganizers,note-takingstrategies,reading choices,andonlineengagementtools.
Educatorsmaychoosetouselearnervariabilitymodificationsspecifictothislesson:
● Teacherscanprovidestudentswithchoicesastohowtheyaccessinformationthroughoutlessons, i.e.readprintalone,readprintwithapartner,readalongwhiletheteacherreadsaloud,etc.
● Definetermsthatwouldclarifyunderstandingforstudents
● Useonlinediscussionorengagementtoolsthatworkbestinyourclassroom,suchasPadlet
● Holocaust Encyclopedia articlesareavailableinvariouslanguages;refertotheword“Language” andselecttheGlobeiconavailableonthelefthandsideofthearticle
● ThePathtoNaziGenocideissubtitledin12languages Scrollbelowthevideotoseetheoptions
● Closedcaptionsareprovidedforvideos
● Transcriptsareprovidedforvideoandaudiofiles
● ReferencetheGlossaryinthe Holocaust Encyclopedia fordefinitionalsupport
● Incorporatestrategiessuchasthink-pair-shareandjigsawtoenhancestudentengagement.
Thislessonisavailableasanonline,asynchronousexperienceforstudents,whichcanbeaccessedthroughaweb browserorLMSfiles.Theonlinelessonsareaccessibletoallstudentsforin-personandvirtuallearning,andthey providespecificsupportforstudentsusingscreenreaders.
INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE DEFINING THE HOLOCAUST
1 Showthisfilmclipandsharethestudentinteractive
NOTE: Theclipisclosedcaptioned,andthetranscriptcanbefoundbeloworinthestudent interactive
Transcript for Gerda Weissmann Klein and Kurt Klein clip
Gerda:MyveryclearviewoffreedomandliberationcamethatmorningwhenIstoodinthis doorwayofthatabandonedfactoryandIsawacarcomingdownthehill.Andtherealityofthat
LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson camewhenIsawthewhitestaronitshoodandnottheswastika Thereweretwomeninthatcar Onejumpedout
Kurt:Isawsomeskeletalfigurestryingtogetsomewaterfromahandpump Butoverontheother side,leaningagainstthewallnexttotheentranceofthebuilding,IsawagirlstandingandIdecided towalkuptoher
Gerda:Irememberthatauraofhim,ofthatawe,ofthatdisbeliefindaylight,toreallyseesomeone whofoughtforourfreedom,formyideals Andhelookedlikegodtome
Kurt:AndIaskedherinGermanandinEnglishwhethershespokeeitherlanguage,andshe answeredmeinGerman
Gerda:AndIknewwhatIhadtosay AndIsaidto him,“WeareJewish,youknow”Foravery longtime--atleasttomeitseemedverylong--hedidn’tanswer me Andthenhisownvoice betrayedhisemotion Hewaswearingdarkglasses Icouldn’tseehiseyes Hesaid,“SoamI”
Kurt:Iaskedabouthercompanions
Gerda:Hesaid,“MayIseetheotherladies?”Aformofaddresswehadn’theardforsixyears Itold himmostoftheothergirlswereinside Theyweretooilltowalk Andhesaidtome,“Won’tyou comewithme?”Ididn’tknowwhathemeant Soheheldthedooropenformeandletmeprecede him Andthatwasthemomentofrestorationofhumanity,ofhumaneness,ofdignity,offreedom
Kurt:Wewentinsidethefactory Itwasanindescribablescene Therewerewomenscatteredover theflooronscrapsofstraw,someofthemquiteobviouslywiththemarkofdeathontheirfaces
Gerda:Itookhimtoseemyfriends
Kurt:Thegirlwhowasmyguidemadesortofasweepinggestureoverthissceneofdevastation andsaidthefollowingwords,“Noblebeman,mercifulandgood”AndIcouldhardlybelieveshe wasabletosummonapoembytheGermanpoetGoethe,whichwascalled,iscalled“TheDivine,” atsuchamoment.Andtherewasnothingthatshecouldhavesaidthatwouldhaveunderscoredthe grimironyofthesituationbetterthanwhatshedid.
Gerda:AndthisfirstyoungAmericanofliberation dayisnowmyhusband.Heopenednotonly thedoorforme,butthedoortomylifeandmyfuture.
Interview with Gerda Weissmann Klein and Kurt Klein, March 13, 1992
ASK THE STUDENTS ● Whoarethetwopeoplespeakinginthevideo?
○ GerdaWeissmannKleinandherhusbandKurtKlein
● Whatdoyouthinksheisdescribing?
○ SheisdescribingseeingtheUSArmyandmeetingKurtforthefirsttime
● Whatdoyounoticeabouttheirexchange?
○ Itmeansalottobothofthem,andtheybothrememberalotaboutit
LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson ● WhatroleisKurtplayinghere?
○ HeisintheUSArmyandtheyhaveencounteredvictimsofNaziconcentrationcamps
● WhyisthisexchangesoimportanttoGerda?
● WhyisitsoimportanttoKurt?
2. ExplainthatGerdaandKurtweredescribingexperiencestheyhadduringtheHolocaust.The definitionoftheHolocaustisinthechartbelow.
Modification:Ifnecessary,askstudentstoreadthedefinitionoftheHolocaustonthe studentinteractiveasyoureaditaloud.Then,givestudentstimetoreadandunderline wordstheyneedtounderstandbetter.
THE HOLOCAUST was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators
The Nazis came to power in Germany in January 1933 They believed that the Germans belonged to a race that was "superior" to all others They claimed that the Jews belonged to a race that was "inferior" and a threat to the so-called German racial community.
By 1945, the Germans and their allies and collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of the "Final Solution." The "Final Solution" was the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe.
3 Clarifywordsortermsyourstudentsflag This chartprovidesdefinitionsofkeyterms
4. Next,distributeeitherphysicalcopiesofGerdaWeissmann’s profilecardorsharethe onlinelinkwithstudents.Readthecardaloud.Then, workinginpairs,groups,or individually ask students to compare Gerda’s story to the definition of the Holocaust by highlightingpartsthatcorrelatetothedefinitionontheIDcardandthefilmclip transcript UsethisSampleAnnotatedDefinition forteachers,orrefertoyourprefered annotationstrategies.
ASK THE STUDENTS
LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson ● WheredoesthedefinitionoftheHolocaustintersectwithGerda’sstory?
○ GerdawasbornintoaJewishfamilyandthismadeheratargetofNazipersecutionbecauseof falseNazi“racial”ideas
○ WhentheGermansinvadedPoland,GerdawassubjecttoNazicontrol
○ Gerdawassenttoghettosandcamps,partoftheNaziplantosystematicallypersecuteand murderJews
○ Gerdasurvivedunimaginablecircumstances
● Whatwordsneedclarification?Whatwordswouldyoulikemetoexplainoraboutwhichyouwould liketolearnmore?Refertothisvocabularysheetforassistance.
● WhatquestionsdoGerda’sstoryandthedefinitionoftheHolocaustraise?
○ Potentialstudentquestionsmightinclude:
■ HowdidtheyknowwhowasJewish?
■ HowdidJewsfightback?
■ WhoweretheNazis?
■ WhydidtheytargetJews?
Havestudentsshareandrecordstudentquestionsontheboardorpadlet
5. Next,toseekanswerstothequestionsraised, studentsreadthecomplete“Introductiontothe Holocaust”articlefromthe Holocaust Encyclopedia. Explainthatthisonlineencyclopedia providesaccuratehistoricalinformationabouttheHolocaustandthat it is important to use reliable sources when searching for information about the Holocaust.
ASK THE STUDENTS ● Whatquestionsdidthe Introduction to the Holocaust articleanswer?
● Whatquestionsdoyoustillhave?
6. RefertothisFAQforassistanceinansweringstudentquestions.Referasagroupbackto the Holocaust Encyclopedia toanswerquestions.Modelhowtousetheencyclopedia.
7. Studentsselectorareprovidedwithanonlineprofilecardoraprintedprofilecardofan additionalindividualandrepeattheexerciseabovethatwascompletedwithGerda’scard: determininghowtheperson’sstoryintersectswiththedefinitionoftheHolocaust.Students recordtheirworkonthestudentinteractiveandsharetheirfindingswiththeclass.This activitycanbecompletedindependentlyorinpairs,basedonclassroomneeds.
8 Dependingontime,studentscancompletetheworkintheassessment(below)inclassor forhomework
LESSON: Introduction to the Holocaust: One Day Lesson ASSESSMENT OPTIONS 1. StudentsconstructanannotateddefinitionoftheHolocaustusingthedefinitionprovided bytheUSHMMasabaseandaddinginformationfromGerda’sstoryandtheadditional individual’sstory.Thisannotateddefinitioncanbethebasisforaparagraphsummarizing whattheylearnedfromthetwoindividuals’stories.Here’sa SampleAnnotated Definitionforteachers.
2. AssignstudentstowatchoneorallofthefouradditionalvideosaboutGerdatogather informationfortheirannotateddefinitionorthe39minutefilm, One Survivor Remembers,aboutherlife.
3. StudentschooseeitheraFAQ,anaspectofGerda’sstory,oranotherindividual’sstoryto researchfurtherusingthe Holocaust Encyclopedia.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ● AllButMyLife(memoir written by Gerda Weissmann Klein)
● OneSurvivorRemembers(39 min. film about Gerda Weissmann Klein's experiences)
● Pre-War Jewish Life Lesson
● Overview of the Holocaust 2-Day Lesson
● ThePathtoNaziGenocide, foundational 38 minute film
● Timeline Activity Lesson
● HolocaustEncyclopedia
