Educator event at Deadly Medicine

SPECIAL EVENT FOR EDUCATORS:
The Complicity of Educators in Nazi Germany
May 12, 2010 ~ 4:30-5:30 ~ National Archives at Kansas City
This presentation by Dr. William Meinecke, historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will explore the complicity of professional educators in Nazi Germany, specifically the indoctrination of children. Participants are welcome to stay for Dr. Meinecke's 7:00 public presentation on Medical Ethics and Nazi Ideology. Please RSVP to Jessica Rockhold at schools@mchekc.org or 913-327-8195 with your name and school contact information by May 7, 2010.

SCHOOL TOUR INFORMATION :
Free tours are available for groups in grades 9 and up. Groups of up to 60 students are recommended, but larger groups can be arranged. One adult per 15 students is required. Please allow 1 hour to tour the exhibition. Contact Lori Cox-Paul, Education Specialist at NARA, at 816-268-8017 or lori.cox-paul@nara.gov to schedule at tour.

Resources and lesson plans appropriate for use in high school classrooms are available by clicking here.

Assigning survivor memoirs

For many teachers finding the time in class to spend on the Holocaust is difficult. In order to engage your students in learning the Holocaust consider using survivor memoirs. The memoirs provide an opportunity for students to further deepen their understanding of the Holocaust outside of class. I chose to have my senior International Baccalaureate History students read memoirs by survivors from Auschwitz. I acquired copies of three different memoirs, Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi, Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel, and Eyewitness Auschwitz by Filip Muller. These three memoirs provide a variety of experiences from Auschwitz including those from a man (Levi) and woman (Lengyel) along with someone forced to work in the crematoria (Muller).

The class was divided into three large groups with each group reading a different memoir. Students had approximately one month to read their assigned memoir and were required to take notes for the questions listed below. The notes had to be typed and include the page number(s), a brief description, and include as many examples as they could find.

• What country were they from?
• What was their family background (brothers & sisters, etc.) & what happened to them?
• When did they arrive in Auschwitz?
• Approximately how old were they when they entered Auschwitz?
• What kind of work did they do in Auschwitz?
• Based on their experience, what role did religion play in Auschwitz either personally or that they witnessed?
• What types of resistance did they practice or witness in Auschwitz?
• What were some of the major/significant events in Auschwitz during their imprisonment that they participated in or witnessed?
• What helped them to survive?

The day before we began discussion of the memoirs I did a lesson on mapping Auschwitz-Birkenau created by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. The purpose of this lesson was two-fold, one it modeled photographic analysis for students, and two it allowed students to actually see the camp they had been reading about during the past few weeks. Another possibility I have considered for providing background is showing a video on Auschwitz. In particular I recommend the MCHE video Witnesses to the Holocaust: Auschwitz.

The discussion over the memoirs encompassed two days.

Day 1:

• Class began with students writing a personal reflection on the memoir they read (5 minutes). I didn’t have a specific question or parameters. I just wanted them to write whatever they thought about the memoir.
• Next, for each memoir, students were divided into groups of 2 or 3. That meant I had about three or four groups per book. The purpose of the groups was to provide a framework for discussion amongst those who read the same memoir.
• To facilitate the discussion students participated in a “pass the folder” activity. The groups with the same memoir worked together on this activity. It works best with at least 3 groups per book. Depending on how many groups you have this activity may require completion the next day.

1. Each group was given one folder.
2. They had 5 minutes to choose an issue from the memoir to discuss and write it on the front of the folder.
3. Then 5-10 minutes to discuss it and write their ideas on the issue inside the folder.
4. Once finished they passed the folder to the next group.
5. The next group got 5-10 minutes to discuss the issue on the front of the folder and write their thoughts inside the folder.
   
6. This was repeated until each group for a memoir had a chance to discuss and write their ideas for each folder.
7. The folders were then returned to the groups of origin. These groups had 5-10 minutes to read and discuss the ideas that had been written in response to their original issue.

Day 2:

• The groups from the first day meet for 5-10 minutes to compare their notes to the questions students were required to answer as they read the memoir.
• Then two (in some cases three) students from each memoir were put together into groups.
• Each pair had 5-10 minutes to share information from their memoir. The information to share could be the answers to some of the questions or a general summary of the experiences of the author.

Overall, this proved to be one the best Holocaust assignments/activities I have done. The students found the memoirs engaging and thus read them thoroughly. The discussions that ensued were lively and always on topic. Some of the student comments from the reflections indicated that, while the memoirs could be emotionally difficult to read, the students found it hard to put them down. Others commented on the benefit of reading firsthand experiences which they thought gave them a better understanding of what happened. Many had to remind themselves that what they were reading was not fiction. Finally, one student wrote, “I found myself sharing all the shocking things I read with the people around me because I could not believe some of the things she [Olga Lengyel] had to go through.”

Using Nazi and Genocide Propaganda to Teach Persuasive Fallacies

With the help of my awesome library media specialist, Abby Cornelius, I created a PowerPoint Presentation to demonstrate to students how the Nazi regime used different persuasive fallacies to promote their ideas between 1933 and 1945. The librarian was able to find a visual example of each type of persuasion and fallacy that English teachers are supposed to teach to students before they take the Kansas State Reading Assessment (standard and benchmark listed below).

Students were able to see each persuasive technique used in a visual after we had studied both the Holocaust and I after had introduced the different types of persuasive appeals. The PowerPoint presentation was a great visual to enhance how these persuasive methods have been used in history, not just in advertising and editorials, as we had also spent time discussing prior to the Holocaust unit.

I used this at the end of my Holocaust memoir unit and after introducing persuasion throughout Holt Elements of Language, Third Course, text book, but you could easily use it while reading the Holocaust unit and while discussing persuasion. I begin the persuasive unit with ReadWriteThink’s persuasive tools that may be found on their website. The web site says that the lesson was created for elementary students, but I think the resources also work for high school (I use them with freshmen). They have an assignment titled “Persuasion Is All Around You,” a PowerPoint presentation, and worksheets that I utilize and then have students read editorials that I find in the local newspaper as well as look at advertising that uses the different types of persuasion.

Students have demonstrated a good grasp of the types of persuasion at the end of the unit and have expressed a positive attitude about the unit.

State Assessment Benchmark/Indicator

Standard/Benchmark/Indicator

R.HS.1.4.14

▲identifies the author's position in a persuasive text, describes techniques the author uses to support that position (e.g., bandwagon approach, glittering generalities, testimonials, citing authority, statistics, other techniques that appeal to reason or emotion), and evaluates the effectiveness of these techniques and the credibility of the

information provided.

Using Maus to reach the reluctant reader

Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus is so much more than a comic book. This piece of literature by a prize winning artist is another incredible entry into Holocaust memoirs. The author recreates his relationship with his father in a graphic format to share the story of a survivor in a truly unique fashion. Elie Wiesel’s Night is a powerful and deeply moving book, and yet students shy away from the imagery at times, simply too lazy to read. Primo Levi’s works haven’t been on a “To Read List” for a while. To reach those students that we lose with words, Spiegelman offers an incredibly powerful tool, from a very personal perspective. One can only imagine that this piece was created as much as an elegy to his parents.

Spiegelman grew up in the United States, as the child of Holocaust survivors. There are two books in the series. The first is subtitled “My Father Bleeds History,” beginning with a contemporary scene of a grown Art visiting his father and stepmother (his mother has committed suicide, and so his father remarries another survivor). The author asks his father why he remarried if all he does is argues with the new wife. This opens the door to a conversation about the shared experiences and the time father spent with mother. Book one ends with the protagonists entering Auschwitz.

Book two, “And Here My Troubles Began” picks up where book one left off. The different groups involved in Auschwitz camp life are shown not by the color of theiruniforms, but in the artist’s interpretation: the Germans are portrayed as cats, the Poles at are dogs, and the Jews are portrayed as mice, which gives meaning to the title. Book two is the exploration of the experience of Spiegelman’s parents in the camps and through the early post war period as told through his father’s eyes.

What makes this book so powerful is that the author does not pull punches. The story begins with a discussion of the relationship between father and son, and the son’s attempt to understand his father’s behavior. By the end of the second book, the reader is left with a sense of catharsis, the story has been brought full circle. The soul bearing by both the author and the father are incredible. The piece works on many levels. For reluctant readers, the pictures fill in what one might miss in the words of another story. But the power is not lost in the drawings. The drawings carry the story along, carrying such power in an innocuous drawing.

Given the time constraints, the growing curricular demands, and the topical current events, Spiegelman’s work proves even more important. A quick read, the story carries the psychological weight of typical novels. I have used the story to look at Post Traumatic Stress Disorder exhibited in different pieces of literature (see Tim O’Brien and Kurt Vonnegut’s work for beginners). The story can be used as a launching pad in sociology as an opening for cultural norms, genocide studies, familial relations, or interpersonal relations. American/World History teachers can use the piece to teach the Holocaust, or to get a discussion going on the lesser discussed sides of war and its effects on survivors and their children. Literature teachers could easily find many uses. The book is available from Scholastic, and is recommended for middle school and above.

Resources:
Maus Teaching Resources
Art and Vladek Speigelman on NPR
Introduction to the Graphic Novel Maus Lesson Plan by USHMM Teacher Fellow
Reading Questions and Resources for Maus
Using The Complete Maus Lesson Plan by USHMM Teacher Fellow
Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Different Kind of Holocaust Literature

No "buts" about it...

I heard a wonderful talk at church last month given by a colleague from my school district. I have always admired her gentle spirit and concern for others. Her message centered around the skepticism that she had encountered about a missions trip to Costa Rica. She heard various “But” comments about her trip and she had formulated a great message in response. Comments such as “BUT why don’t you just send that money to Costa Rica” or “BUT why don’t you use that money for local food pantries?”. She went on to eloquently explain that she likes to look at the benefit she gained from experiencing the hands on work of actually helping AND she made incredible relationships. AND she has helped at local food pantries AND will continue to help verses focusing on the “buts”. This really hit home with me in regards to several situations that I have encountered throughout my life, namely with my passion for Holocaust education. I have often encountered questions such as “BUT why do you study that depressing subject?” or “BUT what about learning more about our own domestic atrocities?” or, as far as expanding the Holocaust to its own semester course, “BUT is that relevant for today’s students? Is it practical? You should include other genocides as well.” These are just a few of the “BUTS” that I have responded to in various manners. After hearing my friend’s message, I feel I have an even better response to share. I hope that this will help those of you who have encountered “BUTS” or who have fought hard to justify time for Holocaust education in your classroom, school or simply your passion to learn more about the Holocaust.

Teaching the lessons of the Holocaust benefits young (actually all ages but since this is to support Holocaust education at the secondary level, I’ll leave it as is) adults in a multitude of ways. The Holocaust is an important history with lessons that extend far beyond the actual events that occurred. The actual events themselves are frightening. The Holocaust occurred in a cultured, modern society. Educated businessmen, bureaucrats, politicians and physicians knowingly placed themselves in positions to contribute to state sanctioned murder and as a result millions perished. This is not worthy of our time? Are you kidding me? The real danger is if we do not find or make the time to share this with our young adults. Share with them the truth. Honor those who perished by paying tribute to their memory. Personalize it with the amazing stories of Holocaust survivors….what a great way to add to their lessons of forgiveness.

Regardless if it is examining the impact of post World War I recovery (great for an economics lesson), Hitler’s rise to power (great for World history, Psychology, and Sociology), or debating how legislation such as the Nuremberg Laws were enacted (great for Government classes), the Holocaust effortlessly fits most current day Social Studies curriculums. Beyond easily tying the Holocaust to local, state and even NCSS standards, it more importantly provides a vast venue to explore moral and ethical issues. Universal lessons of valuing human life, tolerance and justice (or in this case the lack there of) are the best cases to teach the need for character education than any curriculum I have been presented with thus far. Teaching our young adults to treasure and act on the freedoms guaranteed by our democratic society are only strengthened when reading about the dangers of the Nazi totalitarian regime with its lack of personal liberties.

Teaching the history of the Holocaust illustrates to students the danger of apathy, the need to stay abreast of current events as well as making your voice heard - that one person can make a difference. The Holocaust exemplifies the gamut of human character, from the most heroic and selfless acts of resistance and rescue to the inhumanity of how leaders, educated politicians and bureaucrats, doctors, etc, were able to create a system of mass murder. No other subject can broaden a student’s perspective and horizons like the study of the Holocaust.

 

There are ‘no buts about it’. The Holocaust is an excellent history to teach the importance of tolerance AND combating prejudice as well as discrimination which applies to modern day domestic and foreign issues. AND it is an excellent study to establish a framework to examine modern day genocides such as Rwanda and Darfur. AND there exist numerous Holocaust related memoirs, novels, poems, artwork and other documents that trump any coverage a textbook could provide. AND it provides a great framework for examining other genocides. AND the list goes on…..

Echoes and Reflections

I am currently teaching the Holocaust in my 8^th grade Literature class. I am using the Echoes and Reflections curriculum with my students. This program is divided into ten lessons. Each lesson provides a historical context for the topic as well as survivor testimony and primary source material.

My students have finished the lessons on studying the Holocaust and antisemitism. They are now learning about Nazi Germany. This program offers them an opportunity to analyze photographs and propaganda material. I conclude each unit with a test over the material and an ending project.

In addition to Echoes and Reflections, my students also read a variety of Holocaust literature. Within their literature circle groups, they are reading The Diary of Anne Frank, A Coming Evil, the Boy Who Dared, Behind the Bedroom Wall, Torn Thread, Play to the Angels, Someone Named Eva, Yellow Star, I Have Lived a Thousand Years and All But My Life.

As a class they will be reading Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren. This memoir chronicles the experiences of local Holocaust survivor Jack Mandelbaum during his adolescent years in World War II Europe. There is an excellent teaching guide for this book on the MCHE website.

Since my class has not yet finished the unit on the Holocaust, I will be updating you as they work through the remaining lessons and the concluding activities and projects.

Note: The Echoes and Reflections curriculum was jointly produced by Yad Vashem, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and the Anti-Defamation League. It is a comprehensive curriculum based on primary source material and survivor testimony. Copies of the curriculum are available for free loan from the MCHE Resource Center. Online components of the curriculum can be accessed by clicking the link below.

Resources:
Echoes and Reflections online
Jack Mandelbaum's recorded testimony is available at the MCHE Resource Center

How to teach a quality Holocaust unit in a high school AP course

Six years ago I began teaching AP European History in my high school instead of the regular World History class. I was excited about the challenge but also concerned about how much material I was expected to teach in such a short period of time. As a World History teacher I had the luxury of spending two to three weeks each year on my Holocaust unit. Shortly after the school year started it became clear to me that I would be lucky to have five class periods for my Holocaust unit in AP European History. Having studied the Holocaust for many years it was impossible to imagine cutting out certain lessons or topics because they all seemed very important to me. So how did I tackle this challenge? Below is the process I followed in creating my new Holocaust unit.

1. Create an overview lesson. (1-2 days) - I wanted to be sure that my students had a general overview of the Holocaust before beginning my unit. I put together a power point presentation that included lots of visuals to use as we talked about different topics on the Holocaust.
   
   Topics I included in my overview:
   

   A. Antisemitism

   B. Problems in Germany Post WWI

   C. Rise of Nazism/Hitler

   D. Nuremberg Laws

   E. Kristallnacht

   F. Isolation of the Jews

   G. The Ghettos

   H. The Camps

   I. The Final Solution

   J. Jewish Resistance

   K. US/World Response

   L. Liberation

   
   
2. Have your students submit questions/topics that they would like to spend additional time on. Once my students had submitted their lists, I pulled lessons from my previous Holocaust units that matched these lists. It gave me an opportunity to still use some of my best lessons, but also a chance to work with students on topics they felt they should learn more about.
   
   
3. Using the MCHE resources http://www.mchekc.org and USHMM website http://www.ushmm.org, create 1 day lessons that fit with some of these topics the students have an interest in studying in more depth. (3 days)

Post AP Exam:

After my students take the AP Exam in early May we typically have several weeks left of school that are much more flexible for me when it comes to content/lessons. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss current issues facing the world today. During this time I incorporate lessons on recent genocides (Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur) which allows me to bring in some additional information about the Holocaust. We have discussed the events of these genocides, analyzed documents related to each, and done photo analysis.

One of the things I have come to realize over the past six years is that I can still provide my students with a valuable learning experience even though I only have a short period of time to work with. Ultimately, it is my hope that my students will be curious enough from our discussions to seek out additional information about the Holocaust.