• Case Study: Arie van Mansum
• Case Study: Renee Scott
• Case Study: Roddie Edmonds

1. In small groups, students identify a central theme in the speech and encapsulate it in a word (e.g., heroism, empathy, indifference, othering, risk, remorse).
2. Groups generate one question related to their theme to pose to others. The question should have a direct connection to the reading. (E.g., Miep says she was not a hero, just a very common person. What do you think?)
3. Students write their question at the top of a sheet of paper. They circulate around the room and find a partner (not from their small group). Partners interview one another by posing their question and recording a summary of the response. Students repeat this process until they have interviewed at least three peers.
4. Students return to their small groups and discuss the responses they received to their questions. At the bottom of the page on which they took notes, students write a brief reflection on the conclusions they can draw from their interviews.

1. IWitness – Oskar Schindler: A Flawed Hero: In this web-based activity, students investigate the ethical complexity of Schindler by analyzing testimony, engaging in written reflection, and developing a word cloud representing what they have learned. [NOTE: To use IWitness activities, teachers must set up a class within the system and assign work to students, who then create their own account to access the assignment.]
2. Leopold Socha: Socha was a sewer worker in Lwów (pronounced Lvov), then in Poland, who hid and cared for a group of Jewish people in the sewers beneath the city streets. Though he engaged in illegal activity during his lifetime and held some antisemitic views, Socha evolved to care deeply about the people in his charge. Students follow the steps below to investigate Socha’s story. [NOTE: In preparation for this activity, the excerpts from the handout, The Girl in the Green Sweater, are enlarged and posted at four different stations.]  
   • Watch the testimony clip and read the biography of [L]Kristine Keren[/L], who was 8 years old when she hid with her family in Lwów’s sewers. Fill in the Testimony Reflections handout as you view.
   • Move around the room and read the excerpts from The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger (Kristine Keren). As you read each, participate in a “group annotation” by attaching a sticky note with your reaction to the passage and/or your classmates’ comments.
   • Divide into small groups and discuss some of the following questions:
     • Did Socha’s troubled background surprise you? How did this affect your perception of this particular rescuer and rescuers in general?
     • What is redemption and what role did it play in Socha’s decisions? Do you believe that people can transform over time? Explain.
     • How did Krystyna’s parents know that Socha saw them as “human beings instead of a group of desperate Jews”? How does this relate to other rescuers you have learned about?
     • Rescuers are often described as selfless (concerned more with others’ needs than one’s own). Would you characterize Socha as selfless? Why?

“Only a few had the courage to care – these few men and women were vulnerable, afraid, helpless. What made them different from their fellow citizens?”

In psychology, the “bystander effect” says the more people there are who witness someone in distress, the less responsible each individual feels to help. The likelihood that a person will receive help decreases as the number of witnesses increases. Discuss one instance in which a group of people neglected to help or acted to help someone in need. Why do you think the group behaved as it did in that instance?

In 1953, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) passed the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority Law, which created Yad Vashem. The law mandated that Yad Vashem identify and recognize non-Jews who had risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews in countries that had been under Nazi rule or that had collaborated with the German regime. In order to recognize people as Righteous, Yad Vashem set up a public Commission, headed by a Supreme Court Justice, which examines each case and is responsible for granting the title. Those recognized receive a medal and a certificate of honor and their names are commemorated on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem. The medal is inscribed with a phrase from the Talmud, a Jewish religious text, that says, “He who saves one life saves the world entire.” The historical account of the Holocaust would not be complete without the extraordinary stories of the “Righteous Among the Nations.”

1. Class investigation of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in German-occupied Hungary by issuing protective passports and sheltering them in buildings designated as Swedish territory:
   • Read the handout, Budapest: Historical Background
   • Read the handout, A Swedish Rescuer in Budapest and note the actions and impact of the subject as well as your reactions
   • View the testimonies of Vera Goodkin, who was saved by Wallenberg, and Per Anger, a Swedish diplomat who served with Wallenberg. Use the Testimony Reflections handout to record reactions and ideas.
2. Independent investigation of a subject from the “Righteous Among the Nations” Featured Stories page:
   • Choose a subject that includes a collection of photos, videos, and documents.
   • Read the story on the main page and note the actions and impact of the subject as well as your reactions.
   • Observe at least one photo and note what it reveals about the subject’s life or impact.
   • View at least one video and note what it reveals about the subject’s life or impact.
   • Analyze at least one document and note what it reveals about the actions and impact of the subject.