holocaust unit plan - Deerlake Middle School

discussion from the background material will include:
The rise of the Nazi party.
The road to World War II
Why study the Holocaust
The Holocaust in history (Other examples of persecution of the Jewish people)
The unique tragedy of the Holocaust (What makes the Holocaust different from other acts of
genocide)
The scope of the Holocaust (ghettos, slave labor camps, concentration camps, death camps,
number of people murdered during the Holocaust, number of Jews in Europe who survived
etc.)
14. Students will be given a list of vocabulary words for each of the four sections of the book, as
some of the words may not be familiar to them. Students will also receive a study guide for each
section.
15. To assist in understanding the background information about what was happening in
Germany, students will watch an excerpt from the DVD version of Into the Arms of
Strangers (an Academy Award Winner for best documentary feature in 2000). The
documentary is about the 10,000 children saved from the Nazi regime when the British
government implemented a plan called “Kindertransport”, which allowed many children to
leave the horrors of the Nazi regime and find temporary refuge within British families and
hostels. The excerpt shows what it was like to be a Jewish child growing up in the
shadow of the Nazi threat and how the children’s safe, familiar world was quickly
changed. The excerpt includes first-hand testimonies of some of the people who were
children at this time.
16. Writing journal activities for the excerpt from Into the Arms of Strangers:
(Choose one)
Write about a time when you departed from a place that was important to you. What and who
made it difficult to leave
Consider the lessons or values your parents, guardians, or friends have taught you
throughout your life. What qualities in those people do you appreciate or take for granted
How have they prepared you to face the world How might you offer a tribute to one of these
individuals
Using the stories you have heard in the film, reflect on the meaning of “home”. What parts of
home can and cannot be taken with you In a poem, a story, or another medium of creative
expression, write about the ways in which refugees in the past, as well as today, have
attempted to create home in a new place.
Imagine that you are one of the children selected to leave Nazi Germany and your parents
and travel to a different country where you will not understand the language. How might you
feel Either write a journal/diary entry you might make during your last week, or write a
farewell letter to your parents.
Note for Curriculum Compacting: If there are students who have already read the book
Daniel’s Story, those students may have the option of reading another book about children of the
Holocaust and creating a presentation for the class. Some titles include:
NONFICTION
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport by J. Harris & D. Oppenheimer(Based
on the documentary)
The Holocaust Personal Accounts by D. Scrase & W. Mieder