The Museum of Jewish Heritage has an interesting website
with a very good resource for teachers.
From 2007-2008 they sponsored an exhibit called "Jewish Defiance in
the Holocaust." While the exhibit
has long since closed, the website is still open and a teacher's guide is still
available.
Asking students to think about what resistance
entails when teaching about the Holocaust is an important topic. While people might think of armed rebellion
as the only form of true resistance, resistance goes much deeper than that.
Smuggling bread, teaching in secret, or rescuing a Torah
scroll were all examples of resistance too.
This teacher's guide provides background information, developed lessons,
and lots of primary sources.
I find one of the most interesting parts of the guide to be
a lesson on ethical wills. We might
think of a will as a way of dividing up our personal belongings after we pass
away, but an ethical will is about putting your values and beliefs on
paper. It challenges students to think
about what is really important in life and how even attempting to pass along
your values is a form of resistance.
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