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Created by Jessica Rockhold. Revised by Laura Patton, January 2024.Midwest Center for Holocaust Education Grade Level8th-12th grade SubjectSocial StudiesLanguage Arts/Reading Time Needed2-3 class period(s) IntroductionJewish responses to the Holocaust are best described as “choiceless choices.” They were put in positions to make judgments and decisions without there being real, viable alternatives to their situation. Despite this, many decisions were made. Students often have a difficult time understanding why Jews did not “just leave" or "just shoot a Nazi.” This critical thinking exercise is designed to help them understand the dilemmas and decisions faced by Jews during the Holocaust and to…

MCHE recommends that students and teachers use this comprehensive, interactive Holocaust timeline available on the Echoes & Reflections website. Echoes & Reflections is a join project of ADL, the USC Shoah Foundation, and Yad Vashem. This timeline features historical photos, imbedded documentary films, imbedded videos that explain critical concepts, survivor testimonies, photos of artifacts, maps, definitions and pronunciations of vocabulary words, links to related primary source documents, and links to instructional handouts. Notice the documents icon in the right-hand sidebar of the timeline. Clicking on this icon will connect teachers and students to additional resources such as an audio glossary,…

Rather than offering one lesson plan about propaganda, this page offers links to several great plans. You will also find resources for instruction, such as: primary sources that provide plentiful examples of propaganda an online exhibit about propaganda examples of U.S. propaganda during WWII Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need help. Echoes & Reflections. Unit II: Antisemitism. Lesson 2: Nazi Antisemitic Ideology and Propaganda.Note: Echoes & Reflections imbeds learning objectives concerning propaganda into its unit on antisemitism.This student handout on Nazi propaganda and its companion worksheet are components of the lesson. Museum of Tolerance:…

Created by Jessica Rockhold. Updated January 2024. Midwest Center for Holocaust Education Grade Level7th-12th grade SubjectSocial StudiesLanguage Arts/Reading Time Needed1-2 class periods IntroductionJewish responses to the Holocaust are best described as “choiceless choices.” Jews had to form judgements and make decisions without there being real, viable alternatives to their situation. This activity allows students to analyze the types of decisions four different individuals or groups made during the Holocaust. It is intended to provide an overall snap-shot of the Holocaust experience. A similar exercise could be constructed with the primary source testimony of any victim of the Holocaust. The lesson…

Grade Level7th-12th grade SubjectSocial StudiesLanguage Arts/Reading Time Needed1-2 class period(s) This exercise helps students identify the priorities and perspectives of individuals struggling to live in the Warsaw Ghetto at the time of the Great Aktion - 22 July to 12 September 1942. Diary excerpts used in this lesson: Abraham Lewin extract from Art from the Ashes by Lawrence Langer (pages 161-163). The Warsaw Diary of Adam Czerniakow edited by Raul Hilberg (pages 378-385). Janina Bauman excerpt from Voices and Views by Deborah Dwork (324-326). The Diary of Mary Berg edited by Susan Pentlin (pages 156-167). Scroll of Agony by Chaim…

The goal of the lesson is to help students understand--by reading excerpts from memoirs, biographies, and diaries--the resistance efforts of Jews during the Holocaust. Learners will be challenged to analyze the excerpts and identify examples of resistance within them. Grade Level: 7-12. Difficulty may be adjusted by changing the number and reading level of the excerpts selected for instruction. Eight excerpts are provided. Lexile levels of the texts are provided when available. Lesson Plan

Grade Level7th-12th grade SubjectLanguage Arts/ReadingSocial Studies Time Needed2 class periods. Preparation for this lesson could be completed as homework. IntroductionSome Holocaust survivors shared memories of their experiences to help educate future generations. They are not historians, but rather important eye-witnesses to what happened to them at a given place, in a given time, in a given set of circumstances. By reading excerpts of several memoirs or biographies on a particular topic, the reader is able to form a broader view of what was happening across a spectrum of experiences during the Holocaust. This particular lesson focuses on conditions in the…

Created by Jessica Rockhold. Revised by Laura Patton 12-2023.Midwest Center for Holocaust Education Grade Level7th-12th grade SubjectSocial StudiesLanguage Arts/Reading Time Needed1-2 class period(s) IntroductionMany students understand and internalize information more efficiently when they are able to visualize the history they are studying. The Nazis used very precise methods for processing people through or into their death camps. This exercise utilizes primary sources and maps to orient students to the process of arrival and selection at Auschwitz-Birkenau, adding location, direction and movement to the written testimony. MaterialsTeacher InstructionsMap of Auschwitz-BirkenauAuschwitz Album Photographs for StudentsAuschwitz Album Photographs - Notes for TeachersAuschwitz Album…