Echoes & Reflections

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LESSON PLAN

EDUCATOR RESOURCE: LESSON PLANS

Our Lesson Plans provide a unique experience for educators to teach about the Holocaust effectively and interactively. The modular design of the lessons found within each unit allow for adaption and customization to specific grade levels and subject areas. The integration of rich content helps students construct an authentic and comprehensive portrait of the past as they frame their own thoughts about what they are learning, resulting in a deeper level of interest and inquiry. Each lesson includes:

Step-by-step procedures
Estimated completion time
Resources labeled by icons direct teachers to the piece of content named in the procedures
Print-ready pages as indicated by are available as PDFs for download

If you are new to teaching about the Holocaust, we encourage you to participate in one of our online course offerings to support instruction ahead. As well, for teachers with limited instructional time seeking a starting point, we offer a sample One Day Lesson Plan, as well as a sample Day Two Lesson Plan for a 2nd class period of instruction.

For more information, questions or concerns please contact us.

PEDAGOGY PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE HOLOCAUST INSTRUCTION

PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE HOLOCAUST INSTRUCTION

December 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, which depicts the true story of Oskar Schindler—a man who saved the lives of more than 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. It was Spielberg’s experience making this film that inspired him to collect and preserve the testimonies of over 54,000 Holocaust survivors and witnesses, a pursuit which ultimately led to the creation of what is now USC Shoah Foundation.

In honor of Universal Pictures’ rerelease of Schindler’s List, Echoes & Reflections has created a short, classroom-ready Companion Resource, that will help educators to provide important historical background and context to the film, as well as explore powerful true stories of rescue, survival, and resilience with their students.

Additionally, the following videos, recorded at Yad Vashem, feature Schindler survivors who speak of the impact Oskar Schindler had on their lives.

EVA LAVI TESTIMONY

Eva Lavi was the youngest survivor from Schindler’s list. She was two years old when the war began.

WATCH
EVA LAVI TESTIMONY

NAHUM & GENIA MANOR

Nahum Manor met and fell in love with his wife, Genia, in Schindler’s factory. Watch him read a letter at Schindler’s gravesite, expressing what he meant to them.

WATCH
NAHUM & GENIA MANOR

Visit the IWitness page commemorating the 25th anniversary of Schindler’s List for numerous additional resources to support teaching with this film.

CLASSROOM POSTER SERIES

INSPIRING THE HUMAN STORY

Echoes & Reflections is excited to announce that our poster series: Inspiring the Human Story, is now available in PDF format, free of cost.

The posters feature the powerful words and experiences of Holocaust survivor and memoirist Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor Kurt Messerschmidt, and Anne Frank rescuer, Miep Gies. Each poster promotes meaningful conversation and reflection in the classroom, whether in person or in a virtual setting, and inspires students with powerful human stories of the Holocaust that can continue to guide agency and action as a result of studying this topic.

To support you in these efforts, we have also compiled several suggested classroom activities from teachers in our network that may be of use and interest.

Please fill out the form below to access and download your PDF posters.

WE SHARE THE SAME SKY

USC Shoah Foundation’s first podcast, We Share The Same Sky, seeks to brings the past into present through a granddaughter’s decade-long journey to retrace her grandmother’s story of survival. We Share The Same Sky tells the two stories of these women—the grandmother, Hana, a refugee who remained one step ahead of the Nazis at every turn, and the granddaughter, Rachael, on a search to retrace her grandmother’s history.

A self-portrait of Rachael while she is living on a Danish farm that is owned by the granddaughter of Hana’s foster mother from World War II. Photo by Rachael Cerrotti, 2017

In order to enhance its classroom use, USC Shoah Foundation and Echoes & Reflections have created a Companion Educational Resource to support teachers as they introduce the podcast to their students. This document provides essential questions for students, as well as additional resources and content to help build context and framing for students’ understanding of the historical events addressed in the podcast.

Access to the podcast, as well as additional supporting materials—including IWitness student activities, academic standards alignment, and general strategies for teaching with podcasts—can all be found at the We Share The Same Sky page in IWitness.

Note: Due to the subject nature, the podcast is appropriate for older students, grades 10-12. As always, teachers should review the content fully in advance to determine its appropriateness for their student population.

After many years of research and digitizing the archive her grandmother left behind, Rachael set out to retrace her grandmother’s 17 years of statelessness. Her intention was to travel via the same modes of transportation and to live similar style lives as to what her grandmother did during the war and in the years after. That meant that when she got to Denmark, she moved to a farm. Rachael moved in with the granddaughter of her grandmother’s foster mother from World War II and traded her labor for room and board as Hana once did. This picture is from that first visit in the winter of 2015. Since this time, Rachael has spent many more months living on this farm. It is owned by Sine Christiansen and her family. Sine is the granddaughter of Jensine, one Hana’s foster mother from World War II. Photo by Rachael Cerrotti, 2015

A self portrait of Rachael overlooking the exact spot in Southern Sweden where her grandmother’s refugee boat came to shore in 1943. Photo by Rachael Cerrotti, 2016

UNIT IX: COMPLICITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

language

English

Spanish

MONSTERS EXIST, BUT THEY ARE TOO FEW IN NUMBER TO BE TRULY DANGEROUS. MORE DANGEROUS ARE THE COMMON MEN...READY TO BELIEVE AND TO ACT WITHOUT QUESTIONS.

– PRIMO LEVI, AUTHOR AND SURVIVOR

PREPARING TO TEACH THIS UNIT

Below is information to keep in mind when teaching the content in this unit. This material is intended to help teachers consider the nuances of teaching about some of the moral complexities of the Holocaust when considering collaboration and complicity, as well as assessing responsibility on individual, group, and government levels, in addition to delivering accurate and sensitive instruction.

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It is suggested that this unit be taught after students have acquired considerable knowledge of the Holocaust including the horrific nature of the ghettos and camps so they can begin to assess the choices made by individuals, nations, and governments.
Consider opportunities to complicate students’ thinking on responsibility and the Holocaust. Invite complexity, especially on topics related to complicity, action, and inaction as conscious choices which impacted history. Teachers and students should welcome analysis of circumstances, agency, and action as they navigate the roles and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and governments.

Examining the topic of responsibility and guilt for the Holocaust is an important, yet difficult, task. Allow opportunities to examine the roles of both individuals and nations in the perpetration of the Holocaust. This requires a nuanced study of decisions, actions, and consequences for the complex roles played by each individual and group, including perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, and liberators. Students should be encouraged to examine the complex boundaries of responsibility and the cost to a society that does not act. The study of the Holocaust raises many topics that may lead students to question, analyze, and redefine their own beliefs and values.
By 1942, reports were widely available about the unfolding genocide of the Jews. It is important to note, however, how inconceivable the Holocaust was as it was occurring. Many people and nations did not believe these reports were true or believed they were exaggerated. While questions abound regarding whether the democratic nations should have or could have done more sooner to help the victims of the Holocaust, these questions in no way take away from the fact that the soldiers of the Allied countries in great numbers gave their lives to liberate Europe.

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ABOUT THIS UNIT

Introduction

The purpose of this unit is to provide an opportunity for students to examine the complex issues of responsibility and guilt on a personal level as well as on a national level within the context of the Nazi occupation of Europe. With a firm understanding of what happened during the Holocaust, students will now be tasked to examine, analyze, and evaluate the actions and responsibilities of some of the actors in the genocide of the Jews. Students will also explore and consider the responsibility of the democratic nations to provide safe haven for refugees attempting to escape Nazi persecution.

Essential Questions:

To what degree were individuals, groups, and nations complicit in the Holocaust?
What factors influence an individual’s choices to act, including as a collaborator or bystander?
How does learning about choices made during the Holocaust teach us about human behavior and about how individual choices affect the world around us?
What responsibility do nations have to help those from another nation facing imminent danger?
How did the American government obstruct the immigration of Jews and other would-be immigrants at this time?

Objectives

Students will:

Define bystander and understand the fluidity of roles in the Holocaust: bystanders at times became rescuers but also became collaborators, beneficiaries, and perpetrators, depending on their circumstances, decisions, and actions.
Define collaborator and collaboration
Describe the actions and choices of those who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

Recognize, examine, and analyze the agency and actions of individual perpetrators within the Nazi system.
Examine larger groups, including corporations, to discuss the responsibility of society at large for the Holocaust.
Evaluate the actions taken or not taken by nations, including the United States, and understand their effect on what ultimately happened to the Jews of Europe.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Academic and SEL Standards View More »
School Library Standards View More »

TESTIMONY VIDEO GUIDE
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ASSET RESOURCE GUIDE
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STUDENT HANDOUT
Testimony Reflections View More »

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

90-120 minutes

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

90-120 minutes

LESSON 1: Bystanders

Introduction

In this lesson, students consider the connotations behind the word “bystander” and think about the responsibility one faces as a bystander. They examine examples of bystander behavior and consider how such behavior may lead to or even constitute complicity. Students are confronted with the fact that inaction by bystanders played a significant role in enabling the Holocaust to happen.

Note: To learn more about those who rejected the role of bystander and chose to help Jews, go to our unit, Rescue and Righteous among the Nations.

As an entire class or in small groups, students create a concept map on chart paper to explore the term bystander and expand on their preconceived notions of what a bystander is. The terms complicity, responsibility, and guilt are then added to the concept map and students consider how those words connect to bystanders. pin1

NOTE
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Students are introduced to [L]Barbara Fischman Traub[/L] and [L]Ibolya Grossman[/L] Clip . As they watch their testimonies, students take notes on the handout, Testimony Reflections, found in “About this Unit” above. Next, the class discusses the following questions:

Why does Barbara describe her past interactions with the neighbors (playing with the children, sharing meals, how they used to treat her parents at their shop)?
Based on their actions, the neighbors knew exactly what was happening. Describe what the neighbors did and what they witnessed happening.
Discuss how the neighbors acted as bystanders. Are they complicit in the fate of Barbara, Ibolya, and their families? What responsibility do they bear? Why do you think they acted the way they did?
Refer to the concept map students created. What characteristics on the map did Barbara’s neighbors display? Why do you think they acted the way they did?
Consider Barbara’s words, “The shame was theirs.” What does she mean by this?

BARBARA FISCHMAN TRAUB

IBOLYA GROSSMAN

STUDENT HANDOUT
Testimony Reflections View More »

NOTE
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3	Students read the Excerpts from Ponary handout as a whole group and annotate the diary entries to understand the events that are described. As a reflective activity, students discuss the following questions or journal their responses:

STUDENT HANDOUT
Excerpts from Ponary View More »

Why would a bystander or witness to such atrocities feel the need to record what they were witnessing?
Why is it important to know that Kazimierz Sakowicz knew the risks of keeping a diary?
Thinking back to your definition of a bystander, should Kazimierz be labeled as such? If not, what would be a good term to describe his choices and actions?

Historians and philosophers believe that a person who witnesses an event has a moral responsibility just because he/she is a witness. Did Sackowicz have a moral responsibility here to keep the diary? Does this responsibility outweigh the danger to his life?
Where is Sackowicz on the concept map?

In small groups, students review, discuss, and complete the Photographic Case Study Graphic Organizer about the Bystanders in Photos handout. Students thoroughly analyze each photograph, one photo at a time. When finished, each photo is projected, students review their completed graphic organizers, and discuss the following questions: pin1

NOTE
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STUDENT HANDOUT
Bystanders in Photos View More »

STUDENT HANDOUT
Photographic Case Study Graphic Organizer View More »

What were the roles of bystanders in these photos?
What might make a person go from merely being a bystander to becoming an active perpetrator of a crime? What might make them go from merely being a bystander to becoming an active rescuer? If they do become active, describe what actions they could take.

What might make a person leave a situation where they are a bystander? Is that a meaningful act of defiance? What purpose does it have?
Can a bystander be a collaborator or a perpetrator just by virtue of standing by passively and not taking action?

Students watch the testimony of [L]Dennis Urstein[/L]. The following quote is posted. Students analyze the quote and discuss whether they agree with Dennis’ opinion:

“It is a matter of indifference who actually committed this crime. Psychology’s only concerned to know who desired it emotionally and who welcomed it when it was done. And for that reason, all of the human family is equally guilty.”

DENNIS URSTEIN

As a summative task, students discuss the following questions:

Consider the concepts of bystander, complicity, responsibility, and guilt from the first activity in this unit. Have your perspectives changed?
Do you believe that the actions and inactions of bystanders might have affected, contributed, and potentially encouraged perpetrators during the Holocaust? How and why?
What does it mean to say that “all of the human family is equally guilty?” How does this inform your understanding of the Holocaust as a total societal collapse?

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

120-150 minutes

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

120-150 minutes

LESSON 2: Collaborators and Perpetrators

Introduction

In this lesson, students analyze the roles of collaborators and perpetrators in the Holocaust, and will consider the circumstances, potential choices versus choices made, and actions of those who decided to collaborate. They will also see the fluidity of the roles; one does not necessarily remain in one role, but can move from one to another based on one’s circumstances, choices, and actions.

Note: While we may expect to see names of high-profile Nazis here, e.g. Mengele, Eichmann, or Himmler, this lesson instead focuses on rank-and-file Nazis and collaborators, those who worked for and with the Nazis to enable the Final Solution. You should note that these people were human beings with agency who made choices and acted upon them. You should also note the ease with which many collaborators moved into the role of perpetrator based on choices they made in their positions.

In pairs or in small groups, students define the terms collaborator and perpetrator, utilizing as many adjectives as possible. As a class, the two terms are discussed with a definition agreed upon for each term. OPTIONAL: Students can return and add to their previous concept map to put the concepts of bystanders, collaborators, and perpetrators in conversation with each other.

Students learn they are going to read parts of an official report by German officer Paul Salitter side-by-side with Jewish victim Hilde Sherman’s testimony about similar events. (Brief biographies can be found in this note. pin1

) The handout, Report by Salitter and Memoir of Hilde Sherman, is distributed and in small groups, students focus on one of the four sections and complete their specific section in the Salitter and Sherman Graphic Organizer. Students may also watch Teaching about Nazi Perpetrators for information about the Salitter Report.

NOTE
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STUDENT HANDOUT
Report by Salitter and Memoir of Hilde Sherman View More »

STUDENT HANDOUT
Salitter and Sherman Graphic Organizer View More »

3	When finished, each group presents its findings to the class, citing textual evidence from Salitter and Sherman. As a class, students discuss some of the following questions:

What are some similarities and some differences between the two accounts?
Compare and contrast the word choices and tones of Salitter and Sherman.
Based on the report, how would you characterize Salitter’s role in the murder process?
Where did Salitter have the opportunity to make different choices? What would be some of his motivations for collaborating with the Nazis or potentially choosing a different course of action?

What are some other roles portrayed in these accounts? How would you characterize them (perpetrators, bystanders, collaborators)?
What emotions does Sherman’s testimony raise? Mark specific sentences from Sherman’s testimony that expose the brutality and violence of the guards. Why do you think Salitter’s report lacks these references?

Students watch testimony of a Polish Jew in hiding who was exposed and betrayed to the Nazis by people she knew: [L]Dora Iwler[/L]. As they watch the clips, students take notes on the Testimony Reflections handout. After viewing the clips, the class discusses the following questions:

How was Dora discovered by the Nazis? Who came to arrest her?
Why do you think Dora’s former classmates turned her in? Why do you think the Polish man collaborated with the Nazi who came to arrest her?
Many Jews were betrayed by their neighbors, former friends, and others who turned them over to the Nazis, sometimes for a monetary reward, sometimes to curry favor with the Nazis, and sometimes for reasons as personal as jealousy or a past feud. Antisemitism was also a factor, as was revenge. Usually, the arrested Jews would be murdered. How would you categorize people such as Dora’s former classmates who alerted the Nazis to where she was staying? Were they perpetrators? Collaborators? What responsibility do they bear for their actions?

DORA IWLER

STUDENT HANDOUT
Testimony Reflections View More »

5	Students annotate the handout, Profiting from Hatred, highlighting what they find important while pondering what responsibility major corporations should have for collaborating, profiting, and providing the infrastructure necessary to commit murder on a mass scale.

STUDENT HANDOUT
Profiting from Hatred View More »

Students view the testimony of [L]Silvia Grohs-Martin[/L] as she describes performing forced labor for Siemens while she was imprisoned at Ravensbruck concentration camp. Discuss some or all of the following questions:

As Silvia mentions, there were civilian laborers who worked alongside prisoners at factories located in and near concentration camps such as Siemens at Ravensbruck. Some ignored the inmates but others made different choices, from giving food, mailing letters for them, and treating them with kindness. What were the options for civilians who worked for a company that utilized forced laborers or provided the equipment needed to build a camp?
How would you categorize the German citizens who were Siemens employees who worked alongside prisoners such as Silvia?
From engineers to secretaries, teachers to doctors, lawyers to judges, what responsibility did typical Germans bear for their role in supporting Nazi Germany and the perpetration of the Holocaust? Do you feel that these different roles change their level of responsibility?
What do the decisions these individual companies made say about the people in charge of the company? What responsibility do they have for their role in the Holocaust?

SILVIA GROHS-MARTIN

7	Students read the handout, Letters from Karl Kretschmer to His Family, and annotate with a focus on Kretschmer’s activities and his relationship with his wife and children. Next, discuss the following questions:

STUDENT HANDOUT
Letters from Karl Kretschmer to His Family View More »

NOTE
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How did Kretschmer participate in the perpetration of the Holocaust? How does Kretschmer justify his actions, as explained to his family in his letters? What reasons does he give for why his actions are acceptable and even honorable?
What do his letters say about the claim that everyday Germans didn’t know what was happening?

How did the love of family members at home help perpetrators cope with their actions and even normalize the crimes that they were committing?
In the letters there is evidence that perpetrators were in favor of disciplining their emotional “weakness” and overcoming feelings of human sympathy. Where can you find such evidence? What does this say about perpetrator behavior?

8	On the concept map, where do each of the examples in this lesson fall in terms of guilt and responsibility?

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

150-180 minutes

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME

150-180 minutes

LESSON 3: The Role of the US and Responsibility of Nations

Introduction

This lesson will help students understand the role the US and other nations played in immigration of Jewish and other refugees during the Holocaust. Using primary source materials, students will look at attitudes of everyday Americans at the time and examples of failed rescue efforts. Students will foster empathy with Jewish refugees in their desperation to leave Nazi Germany while pondering the responsibility of the US to help those in imminent danger throughout the world.

Students skim the Echoes & Reflections Timeline of the Holocaust through the years 1933-1945, noting the Evian Conference of July 6, 1938, and the Bermuda Conference of April 19, 1943. Students consider how much they think the average American knew at various stages about what was happening in Nazi-occupied Europe. Students learn that American newspapers actually ran many stories about events happening in Nazi Germany, including actions of mass murder.

Utilizing the handout, Poll Results Related to the Plight of European Jews, students analyze the public opinion polls conducted at various points throughout the Holocaust. Students learn that the first poll taken after Kristallnacht showed 94% of Americans disapproved of Nazi violence against Jews, but 71% did not believe in allowing more Jews to enter the US.

STUDENT HANDOUT
Poll Results Related to the Plight of European Jews View More »

3	Students read The Otto Frank Letter handout. As they read, students highlight sections/lines that show attempts made by Otto Frank to leave his country and come to the US. Then, students discuss the following questions:

STUDENT HANDOUT
The Otto Frank Letter View More »

STUDENT HANDOUT
The Refugee View More »

NOTE
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What barriers to leave Germany existed for the Frank family? What is he asking the recipient of the letter to do?
Now look at The Refugee painting. What do you believe the artist was attempting to say to the world through this work?

What emotions are conveyed by the painting and the letter? How do these two pieces represent the Jewish refugee experience of the 1930s? Cite specific evidence from the letter and the painting.
Do you think this painting could have meaning for present-day refugees? Explain your thinking.

Students watch the testimony of [L]Liesl Loeb[/L]. In small groups or as an entire class, students discuss the following questions:

The quota number Liesl’s parents had was in the 14,000s. She says that by the time her mother’s sister was able to get to the consulate and get a number, they were in the 70,000s. What do these figures tell you about the desire of the Jewish population to leave Germany at the time?
How does Liesl describe the emigration process for Jews living in Germany? What were some of the unofficial barriers that US officials had put in place to restrict the amount of Jewish refugees able to leave Germany for the US?

LIESL LOEB

5	Students read the Evian Conference and Bermuda Conference handouts and discuss the following questions:

STUDENT HANDOUT
Evian Conference View More »

STUDENT HANDOUT
Bermuda Conference View More »

Compare the two conferences; what were their official goals?
What was the outcome of these conferences?

Do you believe that antisemitism was a factor in the outcome of these conferences? On what have you based your response?
What role, if any, should the United States play in helping to provide a safe haven to refugees from countries where gross human rights violations, genocide, or potential genocide is taking place?

6	Students are introduced with background information about the MS St. Louis using the information provided in the corresponding note.

NOTE
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Students watch the testimony of [L]Sol Messinger[/L] and discuss the following questions:

What did you learn about the ill-fated journey of the MS St. Louis by watching Sol Messinger’s testimony?
How far is Cuba from the United States? How do you think passengers felt being so close to the United States and freedom, but not being allowed to come ashore?

SOL MESSINGER

IWITNESS ACTIVITY
Voyage of the St. Louis: From Hope to Despair
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Next, students watch the testimony of [L]Jan Karski[/L] as he discusses meeting with President Roosevelt about the situation of the Jews in Poland. Students reflect on the following questions, either in a journal entry or in small groups:

How did President Roosevelt respond? Does Jan Karski feel the President’s response was adequate? How do you know?
After analyzing the Evian Conference of 1938, Sol’s experience being turned away by Cuba and the United States while aboard the MS St. Louis in 1939, the implementation of the Final Solution in 1941, the Bermuda Conference of 1943, and the meeting of Karski with President Roosevelt in July 1943, do you feel the US response to the pleas of Jewish refugees was adequate at different points in time based on the knowledge it had about what was happening to the Jews of Europe?
Thousands of Jews were saved by the actions of individuals, and generally not from the many governments and institutions who had pledged to save them but largely failed. Consider the decision by the Allies to prioritize winning the war over disrupting or stopping the genocide. Evaluate the actions of governments, including the United States, in their roles as deeply flawed rescuers and victors over Nazism.

JAN KARSKI

IWITNESS ACTIVITY
What did Americans know about the Holocaust?
here »

As a summative task, students refocus on the plight of the victims and the human story that their experiences teach us. The poem, Refugee Blues by W. H. Auden is distributed. Students read together or individually and discuss the following questions:

Who is the intended audience? What was the author’s purpose for writing this poem?
What images and emotions are evoked by the poem? Cite textual evidence.
What does the author want the reader to think, do, and understand after having read this poem?
Does this poem have significance today? Explain.

STUDENT HANDOUT
Refugee Blues View More »

MAKING CONNECTIONS

The ideas below are offered as ways to extend the lessons in this unit and make connections to related historical events, current issues, and students’ own experiences. These topics can be integrated directly into Echoes & Reflections lessons, used as stand-alone teaching ideas, or investigated by students engaged in project-based learning.

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Newspapers are an excellent source of information when studying the Holocaust, and one way to engage students is to have them research news that was reported from their own town or city’s newspaper. Students should utilize Echoes & Reflections Timeline of the Holocaust with the United States Holocaust Memorial and Museum’s History Unfolded project to research how certain events were reported in their local newspapers. Create a visual representation of certain events that happened during the Holocaust in juxtaposition to newspaper articles reporting on them from the United States.

Artists like Felix Neusbaum used their artwork not only as a catharsis, but also as a message to the world about their situations. Look at work done by artists today that speaks to the life of refugees and discuss the power of art to give voice to injustices. Create your own artwork to highlight an injustice or atrocity in the world today.

3	Students watch the film A Night at the Garden. While watching, students fill out the graphic organizer and answer the questions on the A Night at the Garden handout. For more information, go to the website behind the film: https://anightatthegarden.com/.

STUDENT HANDOUT
A Night at the Garden View More »

A common question asked is “Did all Germans agree with Hitler?” While the Nazis ran a totalitarian state, making it difficult for many to resist, a few Germans did act against the tyranny. Two examples include the Hampels and the White Rose. As students learn about them, discuss the challenges each faced, as well as the risks they took and why they were willing to do so. All were executed for their actions. Students should consider whether examples like these should be amplified as role models, or downplayed, since most Germans did not act in such a manner.

This unit includes information about the mass shootings that occurred in Eastern Europe. For more information, visit Yad Vashem’s Untold Stories page and Killing Sites Online Guide, as well as yahadinunum.org to learn about Father Patrick Desbois’ work in locating these mass graves and interviewing witnesses, many of whom were requisitioned to assist in these killings. Students can view videos of witnesses, most of whom were children at the time, and use the interactive map to locate towns and villages where the mass shootings took place.

The United States did make some attempts to rescue Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, although small and somewhat ineffectively. Research the Wagners-Rogers Bill, the War Refugee Board, and the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York. Consider the responsibility of the United States to do more to rescue refugees during the war, especially since it was the end of World War II and an Allied victory that ultimately ended the Holocaust. Write a journal response or short essay discussing your findings and analyzing the role the United States played in helping Jewish refugees.

There is an ongoing refugee crisis continuing today, the largest since the end of World War II. Utilize the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website to learn more about the current situation. Consider research polls gauging the public’s thoughts and fears on accepting more newcomers today. How are those similar to opinions during the Holocaust? Consider comparing quotes said by US leaders at both times, such as FDR’s fear of allowing Jewish refugees into the US: “Now, of course, the refugee has got to be checked because, unfortunately, among the refugees there are some spies” (June 5, 1940) with US House Speaker Paul Ryan’s hesitancy in taking Syrian refugees after the attacks in Paris in 2015, which was falsely blamed on Syrians. Ryan warned, “We cannot allow terrorists to take advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it is better to be safe than sorry.” (November 17, 2015).