Challenges

One of the struggles I face centers around how to best incorporate the Holocaust into the units I teach. My focus is not to provide an overview but to highlight certain aspects. The dilemma is should I clump these aspects together in a Holocaust mini-unit within the larger unit framework or spread them out across the unit. Clumping a few aspects while studying the rise and rule of Hitler has not been an issue. But recently students have commented that taking up to 8 days to cover the remaining aspects during the World II unit has made the teaching of the war disjointed. Generally I have taught the causes of the war, the war itself, then the Holocaust, and finally finish by teaching the effects of the war.

This year my plan is to spread the Holocaust across the World War II unit. The other benefit to not clumping might be that the Holocaust will be put into context better. I’m still working out the specifics of where to teach the different aspects because I don’t spend a lot of time teaching the war itself. Some aspects I cover, such as the Einsatzgruppen, naturally fit while teaching Operation Barbarossa and the aftermath fits with teaching the effects of the war. But others such as bystanders, resistance, and Auschwitz (done through a mapping activity and a discussion of memoirs students read) don’t seem to have as natural a fit.

Teaching antisemitism

The topic of antisemitism is always a tricky one in the classroom. When approaching the topic, I always wrestle with what is the best way to approach this subject matter and how much emphasis to put on the topic. We teach to different demographics which might need different approaches. My students are suburban and there are very few Jewish students in our high school. Because of this, I struggle with the fact that I might be introducing prejudices and stereotypes to them in which they weren’t previously exposed. At the same time, intolerance seems to breed in areas that lack diversity. But after teaching Holocaust history to my students for fifteen years, it is apparent that they need the historical context. Many students come to my class thinking that Hitler introduced antisemitism to Germany. In studying the history, they quickly realize that antisemitism existed WELL before his time and was only manipulated for the Nazi agenda.

My Holocaust unit (2 weeks total for a World History class) always starts off with the topic of antisemitism. The goal or objective is that using the information and resources provided, students analyze the progression of antisemitism and how it was manipulated for Nazi policy. I lecture over European antisemitism, covering the three stages- religious, secular, and racial. This allows students to see that there is a long legacy of antisemitism in Europe.

After the background knowledge is established, I show a video clip from the movie “Europa, Europa” which illustrates the racial antisemitism that had developed by the Nazi era and was seen as “scientific”. (Chapter 13 - time code 1 hour, 5 minutes, 48 seconds) This scene takes place in a Hitler Youth boarding school class and the teacher is “educating” the students about how to spot a Jew. The main character is a Jewish teen hiding out in this Hitler Youth boarding school. This is a powerful clip and takes no more than five minutes and proves the bogus nature of the Nazi pseudoscience.

Once the history of antisemitism is learned, it is important for student so see how the Nazis took these ideals and developed an increasingly persecutory society while implementing their policies. Students first read through a packet of events, with a small group. Without the dates provided, they try to determine the progression of events using their critical thinking skills- how one event might lead to the next. After they have this complete, we go through the correct timeline and discuss as a class the correct timeline and how one event led to the next.

Addressing this complex history allows me to address one of the important USHMM guidelines for teaching Holocaust history- “Avoid simple answers to complex questions”. If given more time to teach this extensive history, I would provide more examples but with a tight schedule these activities and topics engage the students and provide a context for the events of the Holocaust.

CLICK HERE for complete notes, student worksheets and answer keys!

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.

Justifying Holocaust lessons in US History class

Here is my situation. I am very passionate about Holocaust education and believe that all students need to study it in order to understand the complexity of human behavior and its consequences in history and today. But here is the catch. I teach U.S. History. And no where in our state standards for U.S. History does it mention teaching the Holocaust.

Understandably, the focus is on the US and its role in World War II, but this leaves a teacher like me in a bit of a pinch. I really feel the Holocaust is an important subject for students to engage in but technically I shouldn’t cover it in any detail because it will not be tested on our end of course exam. So what is a teacher to do? The last thing I want to do is a quick one-hour overview of the Holocaust because, to me, the significance of Holocaust education is helping students understand the complexity of it and in simplifying it and turning it into a neatly packaged presentation my students don’t engage in the material they just “learn it” for a unit test.

So for the last few years I’ve been trying hard to find ways to integrate Holocaust education into a class that does not have it as a standard, and to integrate it in ways that make students engage in the material but at the same time do not become so time-consuming that I get too far behind the “instructional alignment guide" (basically that is our calendar for what we should be teaching and when.) Well the best solution I’ve found are some great lesson plans/resources that connect American history with 20^th century German history and Holocaust education.

The first resource that I’ve found that is very useful in connecting things happening in America with those in Germany is Race and Membership in US History: The Eugenics Movement. It is a book published by Facing History and Ourselves and it deals with the US eugenics movement and its connection to Germany. The book has excellent readings that will engage students in the bigger issue of what constitutes “progress.” This book actually ties in nicely as well with the Deadly Medicine exhibit created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I had the luxury of taking my students last year to the actual exhibit because it traveled through our city, but there is an on-line version that has great resources! It also examines both the U.S. eugenics movement and its importance in 20^th century Germany as well.

Anther resource can both be found on the MCHE website. It is a lesson plan that compares and contrasts Jim Crow laws with early Nazi laws including the Nuremberg Laws. My students find this lesson especially engaging as it is really looking at the bigger issue of law. For example, as a class we will discuss the purposes of law and then examine these laws in context of those purposes.

The other lesson I use was created by USHMM. It examines the plight of Jewish refugees attempting to flee Germany and enter the United States on the St. Louis. This lesson is great because it helps address one of those frequently asked questions by students which is, “Why didn’t the Jews just leave?” This lesson is also great because it addresses the United States and its response to immigration during the Great Depression.

So there you have it---if you are like me and stuck in a bit of a bind in terms of how to teach the Holocaust in a class where it is not emphasized as a state standard---try these lessons and let me know how they work!

Kristallnacht Commemoration

November 9, 2010
7:30 p.m.

Lewis and Shirley White Theatre
Jewish Community Campus
5801 West 115th Street
Overland Park, Kansas

The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, in partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City conservatory of Music presents Different Trains, a multi-media concert to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Different Trains is a Grammy award winning musical composition created by noted minimalist composer Steve Reich and performed by an ensemble from the conservatory. It is a deeply personal work, evoking the contrast between the trains of the composer’s childhood in 1940s America and the very “different trains” that carried European Jews to the death camps during the same period.

A "conductor's talk" about the genesis and creation of the musical piece as well as readings from first-person accounts focusing on the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in Germany (1933-1939) will precede the performance.

The event is free and open to the public.Contact Fran Sternberg at 913-327-8194 or program@mchekc.org for your complimentary tickets.

The White Rose and introducing the contest

Several years ago, when I first presented the White Rose Student Essay Contest to my 8^th grade language arts class, the students began their research with different motivations. Some began earnestly devoted to the topic, while others focused on the competition aspect or grade. The next year, I decided to change my approach. I offered the White Rose Essay Contest as an option for a research project, as opposed to a requirement. This way, I hoped that the students choosing to work on the project did so because they were interested in the topic. Honestly, I was still not satisfied with this approach.

Suddenly, I decided that perhaps students needed to understand more about the people this contest commemorates. The next year, I presented students with the following quote, "An end in terror is preferable to terror without end." – Sophie Scholl.

We discussed the quote and I took the time introducing information about The White Rose, who they were and what they represented, as well as their fate. Obviously, the students were shocked by the extreme response to freedom of speech. Many of the students expressed a more genuine interest in the purpose of this essay contest.

I no longer teach language arts, however, at one time I had thought about having a parent-student evening. I considered showing the movie, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. (It is important to note that this is not a documentary, but rather a haunting dramatization of the final six days of Scholl’s life, from arrest to trial and sentence. This video is available from the MCHE Resource Center.) I felt this might be a good opportunity for students to have dialogue with their parents, as well as recruit parent support for their project.

Overall, I think the White Rose Essay contest provides a wonderful opportunity for students and I feel it gives them the opportunity to reflect on their own responsibilities as young people.

Resources:
http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/faq/languages/en/04/02/verdict.php
http://www.sophieschollmovie.com/

Join MCHE at Teacher Appreciation Day

The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education is pleased to take part in the first annual Museum Educators Roundtable Teacher Appreciation Day.

Sunday, August 8, 2010
12:00-4:00 p.m.


National World War I Museum
100 W. 26th Street  Kansas City, Missouri

• Pick up information about the 2010-2011 White Rose Student Essay Contest
• Learn about the Witnesses to the Holocaust Archive featuring local survivor testimonies
• Learn about 10 Misconceptions about the Holocaust
• Learn about MCHE's free lending library
• Meet representatives from other area educational centers and museums
• FREE WWI museum admission for teachers with ID!