JFR European Study Trip

Every summer I look to participate in some enrichment activity/course related to what I teach. This past July I had the opportunity to be part of a group of educators traveling to Germany and Poland for two weeks thanks to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR). Our arrival in Munich launched us into an almost non-stop tour of the Holocaust that took us to Nuremberg, Weimar, Berlin, Warsaw, Tykocin, Krakow, and Oswiecim. Along the way some of the stops we made included Dachau, Buchenwald, Grunewald Station (Berlin), the House of the Wannsee Conference, Treblinka, Majdanek, Auschwitz, and Birkenau. In addition we had the opportunity to meet some of the Righteous Gentiles living in Warsaw at a luncheon sponsored by the JFR.

There were several aspects of this trip, in no particular order, that make it one the best enrichment opportunities I have participated in. First, Robert Jan Van Pelt traveled with us. Having an expert, not just a tour guide (no offense to tour guides of the world), meant we got a more thorough and thought-provoking insight into the history of the various places we visited. Second, meeting the Righteous Gentiles at the luncheon was a humbling and inspiring experience. These are people who risked everything, including their lives, to help Jews under the most difficult of circumstances. It made me wonder about how I would have reacted and what can/should I do today for those facing persecution throughout the world.

The first two aspects alone make this trip incredible but there are two others that contributed most to making this trip extraordinary. While I have taught the Holocaust in some form for 18 years there is always more I want to know. This trip afforded me the opportunity to expand on what I know. Most importantly I got to see some of the places themselves. Visiting the various camps and other locations helped provide an understanding that cannot be found in a book. For example, spending 8-9 hours walking the grounds at Birkenau enabled me to better comprehend the layout of the camp. Now when I teach about Birkenau I can provide a better sense of the space it occupies within the camp itself and externally within the surrounding area.

Finally, traveling with other dedicated Holocaust educators proved invaluable in many ways. Practically speaking we had two weeks to share ideas on lessons we teach as well as to offer recommendations on books and other resources. I came back with extensive lists of recommended resources that will keep me busy learning about the Holocaust for quite sometime. I also found it useful while visiting the various locations to have a group of people with whom I could discuss what we just saw. While other people may not understand why I spend so much time and effort on studying the Holocaust it was nice to be part of a group that understood.

The power of a picture...or two

During the summer of 2006, I traveled to Warsaw, Poland. I was there to study the Holocaust with the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teacher's Program. On our first day there, when I was trying to overcome jetlag, we hit the ground running visiting many Holocaust related sites. In a stupor, I was going through the motions; not really taking it all in. I was standing in from of the Umschlagplatz [the deportation area in the Warsaw Ghetto] and found myself staring down the main street in a daze.

Our tour guide pulled out a book and asked if I wanted to see a picture. It was a picture of the very street I was standing on dating back to WWII. In this photo I could see what appeared to be Jews sitting along the sides of the street and Nazis preparing them for deportation.

In that moment my senses kicked in. A couple of the buildings were still dotting the thoroughfare. Knowing what had happened in the very place I was standing started to hit me. I walked down the street listening, observing, and breathing.

The cheesy historian in me believes that place holds memory. For me these two photos hold memory also. Comparing time and place opens up a door and brings meaning and understanding with it.

Using one story to reach your students

A few years ago I had the privilege to travel to Poland and Israel with a group of teachers to study the Holocaust. I have a daughter in elementary school and she knew I was going to be gone and that I was going to study history but she never really asked any more than that. While I was in Israel I picked up a book titled I Wanted to Fly Like a Butterfly written by Naomi Morgenstern. It was child’s recollection of the Holocaust. A few months after I returned my daughter finally asked what I learned about while on my trip. How do you talk about a topic like this with young children? How do you educate them without giving them too much information?

I sat down with my daughter and read her the book I had picked up on my travels. We are not Jewish so I had to explain a few things as we read like synagogues and Yom Kippur, but she was curious about the life of this little girl not much younger than herself. My daughter listened to the story and then came all of the questions. Some I answered and some I didn’t.

This book is written at a level a young person can understand. We learn about Hannah and what her life was like in Poland before the war. We learn about Jews wearing the Star of David, being banished from schools, and living in hiding. While Hannah and her mother survive the war, there is a brief discussion of the loss of her father and other family members. This book is only 36 pages long and has lots of real life family photos and child-like illustrations.

What I loved about this book is its ability to be used at many grade levels. Younger students (grades 7-8) can focus on the individual and what she goes through. Younger students can also focus on the story of the family unit. Older students (grades 9-12) can focus on the Jewish community in the book and the impact the Holocaust had on them. High school students can even read this book and see how it fits into the larger framework of the Holocaust.

This book can easily be read aloud to a class in a standard class period. Depending on the grade level, however, some prior vocabulary work might be needed. Students could easily complete a sequence ladder or story frame while reading this book in order to visualize the steps that Hannah is going through. Older students could complete a history frame in order to understand Hannah’s experience in the grand scheme of the Holocaust. Hannah also includes her current address at the end of the book. She invites young people to write to her so she can hear their thoughts on the book or she will answer questions if students have them.

Click here for a lesson plan to go along with this book, chapter by chapter at the Yad Vashem website.

Teachers as life long learners

Note: Auschwitz is a complex of camps covering many square miles. It is composed of:

1. Auschwitz I: concentration camp to house political prisoners (often Poles and usually non-Jews)
2. Auschwitz II-Birkenau: death camp built to murder European Jews
3. Auschwitz III (aka Buna/Monowitz: slave labor facility that drew much of it's work force from Birkenau
4. 50+ slave labor satellite facilities
   

My recent travels to Poland have left me pondering the impact that travel has on my teaching and my own education as a life-long learner. Before the excitement that always follows a trip wears off, I’d like to document my thoughts on how this trip will enhance my teaching of the Holocaust and history, in general.

On October 17^th, I departed for Poland, along with nine other American Holocaust educators. We were chosen by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to represent American teachers at a Holocaust Educators Summit, hosted by the Polish Embassy. While in Warsaw, we exchanged pedagogical ideas and learned history by exploring historical sites such as the Warsaw Ghetto (or what is left of it since 80% of Warsaw was destroyed during the war), the Jewish cemetery, and the Jewish Historical Institute. We then said goodbye to our gracious hosts and departed for Krakow where we stayed in Kazimierz - the old Jewish quarter, learned how teachers at a Fine Arts School educate their students on the Holocaust, and visited Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

The Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw

Interacting with Polish teachers allowed me to understand the different perspectives that must be taken into consideration when teaching the Holocaust and when teaching any historical event. Our Polish counterparts approach the topic from a different vantage point. They are teaching about the Holocaust, primarily as an historical event, which happened in the land that they live their daily life. It is important to Polish educators that the world acknowledge that these events took place in Nazi-occupied Poland and were not a "Polish Holocaust." Overall, I was humbled by the knowledge and professionalism with which these Polish teachers are educating their youth.

Because these events occurred in what seems to be a world away and a life time away from the lives we live, I found this trip incredibly impactful in my understanding of Holocaust history. I am a firm believer that it is important for educators to travel. This will only enrich the teaching of our subject matter, but also allow us to understand the various backgrounds and life experiences that are brought to our classrooms.

This trip was certainly no exception. There are certain experiences at Auschwitz that will always resonate with me. Travel enhances our sensory knowledge like no book can. The day we visited, it was dreary and in the lower 40s. It had been foggy and rainy for several days prior to our visit. The weather conditions and the pervasive mud helped set the tone and create a picture of conditions those imprisoned on those very grounds experienced.

Also, through my studies I have heard many survivors and perpetrators write and speak of the indescribable smell at the camp. This was not in my thoughts when stepping off the bus at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. I was taken aback when my first observation was how different Auschwitz I (the camp for Polish political prisoner) smelled compared with Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the Jewish death camp), just roughly 1 mile from one another. This certainly cannot be the same smell as sixty-five years ago, but the difference between locations was staggering. Walking on the grounds left me truly humbled by the vastness. Ruins of barracks stretch on for what seems like eternity, only separated by railroad tracks, fences and guard towers.

While in Auschwitz I, we were able to tour the museum that is housed in the barracks. I was reminded of the horrors that were experienced by not only Jews, but homosexuals, Poles, Jehovah’s Witnesses and prisoners of war. Walking through buildings that house various artifacts, recovered after liberation, I learned just how personal the events of the Holocaust are and how they impact us each differently, depending on our personal experiences. Having a five-year-old daughter, I found it extremely hard to view the suitcases, dolls, spoons, and shoes from children. Other exhibits in the museum impacted my colleagues differently.

Because I will not teach the Holocaust until May, I am unsure how my experiences in Poland will enhance my teaching. At this point, I can only guess that I will approach the history differently. The purpose of this trip was to allow teachers to share their teaching methods and learn more about the Holocaust. This was certainly achieved but I learned so much more. I learned about Polish culture and Polish history. I teach a course called Modern Global Issues which covers Polish independence from Soviet rule. This experience taught me more about the anti-communist movement than I would ever be able to truly comprehend from reading.

Most teachers strive to create life-long learners in their classrooms. Nothing helps me do that more than being a role-model to my students. Attending conferences to enhance my repertoire and learning from various cultures keeps me moving forward. I will be continually grateful for this opportunity and cannot wait for my next experience …Greece.

Resources:

360 degree tour of Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau
The Auschwitz Album
Auschwitz: Through the Lens of the SS
Liberation of Auschwitz