History Dept PP

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History Dept PP
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Holocaust Teaching Weeks

• 14th 25th January 2008

Remember , Reflect, React
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Why teach the Holocaust and the lessons of the
Holocaust?

• The teaching of the Holocaust and the lessons
  that can be drawn from it go to the very root of
  the purpose of education.
• This purpose is succinctly and movingly captured
  in the letter received by Chaim Ginott.

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• Dear Teacher
• I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes
  saw what no man should witness
• Gas chambers built by learned engineers.
• Children poisoned by educated physicians.
• Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and
  babies shot by high school and college graduates.
• I am suspicious of education.
• My request is
• Help your students become human. Your efforts
  must never produce learned monsters, skilled
  psychopaths, educated Eichmanns.
• Reading, writing and arithmetic are important
  only if they serve to make our children more
  human.

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Modern day relevance

• Aim to teach the positive lessons which can be
  learned from the Holocaust.
• What contribution can we make to try and ensure
  that bullying, racism, and prejudice does not
  happen in our society ?

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• During the Second World War the Nazis sought to
  destroy all the Jews of Europe.
• Industrial (factory) methods were used for the
  mass extermination of a whole people.
• The Nazis also enslaved and murdered millions of
  others including
• Gypsies
• Homosexuals
• Political enemies
• Jehovahs Witnesses
• Mentally and physically disabled people
• http//www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_nm.php?langenMod
  uleId10005143MediaId3372

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Facts and Figures

• The Holocaust extended across the entire
  continent of Europe
• It is estimated that 11 million died during the
  events of the Holocaust
• 6 million of those who perished were Jewish
• 1.5 million of these were children

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Girl poses with fake tears as her bowl is empty
Photo from Auschwitz guards album showing female
SS workers eating blueberries.
On the same day 150 prisoners were taken to
Auschwitz. 21 men 12 women were selected for
work. The rest were sent to the Gas Chamber.
http//www.ushmm.org/research/collections/highligh
ts/auschwitz/
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A mother and her young boy are gathering
mushrooms in the German forest. The boy finds
some poisonous ones. The mother explains that
there are good mushrooms and poisonous ones, and,
as they go home, says "Look, Franz, human beings
in this world are like the mushrooms in the
forest. There are good mushrooms and there are
good people. There are poisonous, bad mushrooms
and there are bad people. And we have to be on
our guard against bad people just as we have to
be on guard against poisonous mushrooms. Do you
understand that?"
And do you know, too, who these bad men are,
these poisonous mushrooms of mankind?" the mother
continued. Franz slaps his chest in pride "Of
course I know, mother! They are the Jews! Our
teacher has often told us about them."
"However they disguise themselves, or however
friendly they try to be, affirming a thousand
times their good intentions to us, one must not
believe them. Jews they are and Jews they remain.
For our Volk they are poison." "Like the
poisonous mushroom!" says Franz.
http//www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/story2.htm
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Spot the evil children
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• Q. Can you tell which of these pre war photos of
  Germans contains non Jewish people ?
• A. none of them.

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Where did the events of the Holocaust take place?
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Pre war Jewish populations
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Post war Jewish populations
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What makes you you?
Links to the community
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Anti-Jewish Laws

• Sort the laws into chronological order
• In your groups choose 3 laws,
• which makes you feel the most
• Anger
• Sadness
• Fear

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Jewish people can only buy food between 4pm and
5pm. July 1940
Jewish people are not allowed to attend the
cinema. November 1938
Jewish children can only play with other Jewish
children and no one else. 1938
Jewish people must be at home from 8pm in the
winter and 9pm in the summer. September 1939
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Jewish people over 6 must wear a yellow
star. September 1941
Jewish people may not keep pets. May 1942
Jewish Children are not allowed to go to
school. June 1942
Newborn Jewish children can only have a name from
a special list. August 1938
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Jewish people are not allowed to use
libraries. August 1941
Jewish people are not allowed to have
telephones. July 1940
Jews may not buy magazines or newspapers. February
1942
Jews are not allowed to be members of sports
clubs. April 1933
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Jewish people must hand in their bikes and
radios. January 1936
Jewish people are not allowed to buy milk or
eggs. July 1942
Jewish people can be thrown out of their homes at
any time. April 1939
Jewish people are not allowed to use swimming
pools. December 1938
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And then they came for me
First they came for the communists and I did not
speak out because I was not a communist. Then
they came for the trade unionists and I did not
speak out because I was not a trade
unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did
not speak out because I was not a Jew. And then
they came for me and there was no one left to
speak out for me. By Martin Niemoeller
(1892-1984)
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• Nazi Holocaust 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths
• Pol Pot in Cambodia 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths
• Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths
• Rwanda 1994 - 800,000 Deaths
• Darfur 2003 present 500,000 Deaths

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Modern Day Relevance

• Aim to teach the positive lessons which can be
  learned from the Holocaust.
• What contribution can we make to try and ensure
  that bullying, racism and prejudice does not
  happen in our community?

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Sites on resistance

• http//www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holoca
  ust/grobres.html
• http//fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/timeline/resist.htm
• http//www.ushmm.org/
• http//www.wfjcsh.org/mishpocha/MishSum2003.pdf
• http//www1.yadvashem.org/Odot/prog/index_before_c
  hange_table.asp?gate1-7
• http//edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id
  275

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The Jewish Shtetl
And once, there was a garden, and a child, and
a tree. And once, there was a father, and a
mother, and a dog. And once, there was a
house, and a sister, and a grandma. And
once, there was life. (Anonymous)