We
must never forget 
The road to Auschwitz was built by hate,
but paved with indifference.
IAN KERSHAW
Holocaust Remembrance Day
(This lesson has movies in order to view them please Download RealPlayer 8 Basic. You can still use the lesson without downloading the program.)
Click here for Timeline of the Holocaust: 1933-1945
The Holocaust is the systematic killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. The Germans called this “the final solution to the Jewish question.” The word Holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word 'olah, meaning a burnt sacrifice offered whole to God. This word was chosen because in the ultimate manifestation of the Nazi killing program - the extermination camps - the bodies of the victims were consumed whole in crematoria and open fires.
Click here to learn moreANTISEMITISM
1. Pair work: read about antisemitism in the following link. What does the term mean?
What is antisemitism? more on antisemitism
The Nazis used Laws, Propaganda and Violence to fight their “domestic enemies”.
LAWS
2. At the 1935 party rally, the Nuremberg Laws were announced. Jews no longer were German citizens; they were subjects. Jews were separated politically, socially, and legally from the Germans.
The following is a list of laws against Jews as presented at the Nuremberg Trials. These laws say that Jews cannot vote, cannot work in the civil service and also cannot work in many other professions.
Find 5 professions that Jews were not allowed to work in- Click here
3. Listen to a testimony by Marion P. and read the transcript:
Marion P. A Dutch rescuer explains her decision to help hide Jews.
Click here to listen READ TRANSCRIPT: "When I was on my way to classes at the school of social work, and I saw a truck being loaded with Jewish children from a Jewish home. I mentioned earlier about these two Dutch women, and there were others who brought Jewish children to Holland. This was one of the small group homes. These children ranged in age from about two to ten. And the way those Germans treated those children, again, on a sunny day like today--at nine o'clock in the morning, you're on your way to work and you see, on the sidewalk, adult males laughing and joking around while they're picking up small children by their arms, their legs, their hair, and throwing them in a truck--it helps you believe that they could do anything at all. There were two women who attacked the Germans, tried to stop them, and they were thrown on the truck too. And that was when I decided to become, more active, shall we say."
Marion P. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-754). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
What did Marion see one sunny morning that made her become more active and help Jews?
More Testimonials
Voices of the Holocause - hear Testimonials and read the transcripts
Click here to hear more testimonials.
Sign excluding Jews from public places
Signs excluding Jews, such as the sign shown here, were posted in public places (including parks, theaters, movie houses, and restaurants) throughout Nazi Germany. This sign states in German: "Jews are not wanted here." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Collections
4. From everything you know, describe how in your opinion a Jewish person felt in those days when he saw this and other similar signs.Send to the
PROPAGANDA
Illustration from an anti-Semitic children's primer.
The sign reads "Jews are not wanted here."
Germany, 1936.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Photo Archives
5. The Nazis did not only use laws against the Jews, they also used propaganda. Propaganda relies on emotion rather than on logic. It concentrates on a few points and then repeats those points over and over again.
The following are anti-Semitic cartoons. Choose 2 and explain how the Jew is shown.
Cartoon 1 Cartoon 2 Cartoon 3
Violence-terror and death
6. The Nazi party military and police agencies destroyed synagogues, smashed windows of Jewish businesses and homes, physically beat Jews, and arrested thousands of Jews who were then sent to concentration camps.
On November 9 and 10, 1938, Kristallnacht, or "The Night of Broken Glass," was a turning point in the escalation of terror against Jews.
In the following link you will see photographs of the destruction of Kristallnacht. Click on the picture to see it bigger.
Choose 2 pictures and describe them.
7. Approximately 11 million people were killed because of the Nazis. Those believed by Hitler and the Nazis to be enemies of the state were sent to camps. Inside the concentration camps, prisoners were forced to wear various colored triangles. Each color represented a different group. The letters on the triangular badges tell about the prisoners' countries of origin.
In the following link you will see different badges. Write why in your opinion the Nazis wanted their prisoners to wear these symbols. Click here.
CHILDREN IN THE HOLOCAUST
Over one million children under the age of sixteen died in the Holocaust.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Photo Archives
Children eating in the ghetto streets. Warsaw, Poland, between 1940 and 1943. Anne Frank
Over one million children under the age of sixteen died in the Holocaust. Anne Frank was one of them.
Some Jewish children had to hide with their families in concealed closets, holes, or even sewers. The children had to stay quiet and still for weeks or months. Some of these families received small amounts of food from people who knew where they were hiding. 
Anne Frank and her family had to hide from the Nazis.
8. Read about Anne Frank's Life and answer:
A. How long did Anne Frank and her family hide?
B. How did the Nazis find Anne Frank and her family?
Someone betrayed the family.
Anne Frank opened the window.
Someone heard the family.
C. What happened to Anne Frank and her family after they were discovered?
They were sent free.
They were sent to Holland.
They were arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps.
D. How long after her arrest did Anne Frank die?
E. How old was Anne Frank when she died?
9. In the following link you will read about Anne Frank’s time line.
Answer the following questions:
A) Where were Anne’s mother and father born?
B) What did Anne receive for her thirteenth birthday?
C) Where were Anne and Margot sent in Oct 30, 1944?
Read excerpts from Anne Frank's diary.
In pairs:
choose one excerpt that moved you and write about it.To learn more Anne Frank-scholastic.com Anne Frank's Life Anne Frank House Yarden.ac.il Annefrank.com The friends of Anne Frank in Utah
Anne Frank's webquest Another webquest Another webquest
In the following link you will see photos and biographies of many children, most of whom did not survive the Holocaust.
10. Choose one child and prepare for an oral presentation. Click on the name to read about the child. Click here.
Prepare for a short oral presentation about the child you chose.
Write your draft here:
11. In the following link you will watch a movie about Liberation of Auschwitz.
To watch the movie you need to Download RealPlayer 8 Basic.
Click on the last picture of the following link. Watch, listen and read.
How did these children survive the Holocaust?
Rachel G. was also a child during the Holocaust
 |
Rachel G. was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1934, and
enjoyed a happy childhood prior to the German invasion.
She describes the Gestapo's search for her when she was a child.
|
| Click here to see the video | |
| "One day the Gestapo came in and the Carmelite - they were Carmelite nuns, and as you know the men cannot go there. It's one of their rules; they cannot see men. They knocked on the door and we want her - with the guns and all - we want that Jewish child. We know you have a Jewish child there. And the nuns said absolutely not. We don't have anybody. And they broke the door. And what I will never forget is that the six nuns, they had a big basket of laundry that they carried three on the side, because there was a lot of laundry for all of these priests. And they pushed me in that laundry to hide me and they put all the linen on top. That happened like in one second. And that's how I was saved." | |
Rachel G. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-139). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
12. How did Rachel G. survive ?
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS
13. During the time of the holocaust there were very brave people who helped others. These people are called rescuers.
In the following link you will find the stories of seven rescuers. By clicking on the person’s name you can get much more information and see pictures.
Choose one rescuer and write in your own words how the person you chose helped Jews. Click here.
Display your work in your English room.
Holocaust Deniers say:"The Holocaust Did Not Occur".
14. Holocaust Deniers say that the Holocaust did not happen.
To read about more organizations that say that the Holocaust was a lie Click here to read what they say. Holocaust Denial and the big lie The Nizkor Project
A. Write three facts that the Holocaust Deniers claim.
B. What can we do to fight the Holocaust Deniers?
Send your suggestions to the
15. Do you think Nazi and hate web sites should be shut down?
Click on the following link to read what other people think
http://www.hwrc.org/webpoll.html
Write your opinion in the
To learn more about Holocaust deniers click here
Interview a survivor
16. Unfortunately, there are not many Holocaust survivors who are still alive today.
Interview a Holocaust survivor or a son/daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Display your work in your English Room and share with us in
the
17. Perptrators are Nazis who took part in the war against the Jews. These names are only a few of the people who killed Jews:
| Adolf Hitler | Hans Frank | Joseph Goebbels | Hermann Göring | Rudolf Hess |
| Adolf Eichmann | Joseph Mengele | Heinrich Himmler | Reinhard Heydrich | Jürgen Stroop |
Click to see photos of Nazi leaders
** Choose one Nazi leader. Search the Internet to find out what he did. Write a factsheet and display in your class.
Write your draft here:
Poems on the Holocaust
Children's poems on the Holocaust
Online Quizzes
online quizzes on many subjects
Pictures of the Holocaust
| britannica.com | Holocaust Pictures Exhibition | Lest We Forget |
| Lest We Forget 2 | In the Camps |
Ecards
| 1001postcards.org | dgreetings.com the pain |
| dgreetings.com Holocaust Don't forget | Yom Hashoah |
| greetsomeone.com |
Links
Your comments and feedback will be much appreciated
25/03/02
