HERITAGE: Civilization and the jews - PBS

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W O R K S H E E T S T U D E N T HERITAGE: CIVILIZATION AND THE JEWS PREVIEW QUESTIONS Answer these questions as you watch Roads from the Ghetto or as you explore the accompanying multimedia presentations, historical documents, and maps. 1. How did the French Revolution affect the Jews of France 2. What was the significance of Lionel Rothschild taking his seat in the British House of Commons 3. What is a shtetl 4. What reforms did Alexander II bring about in Russia How did they affect the Jews 5. What was the Dreyfus Affair 6. What motivated Theodor Herzl to become a Zionist 7.What conditions in Eastern Europe led to the rise of the Jewish Labor Bund MAP PROGRAM SIX: ROADS FROM THE GHETTO (1789 - 1925) IMPORTANT PEOPLE Column A contains a list of important people you will learn about in Roads from the Ghetto. As you watch the video, match the names from Column A with the correct descriptions in Column B. 1. Sigmund Freud 2. Emile Zola Column A 3. Mayer Amschel Rothschild 4. Hayyim Nachman Bialik 5. Benjamin Disraeli Column B A. Founder of a banking dynasty B. A converted Jew who became Prime Minister of Great Britain C. A Jewish army captain falsely accused of espionage D. Father of modern Zionism E. French journalist who exposed the false charges against the captain mentioned in (C) 6. Alfred Dreyfus 7.Theodor Herzl F. A Viennese Jew known as the father of psychoanalysis G. A great modern Hebrew poet USING PRIMARY DOCUMENTS Your teacher will help you understand the following documents. EMANCIPATION The following provision of the French Constitution led to the emancipation of the Jews in France. The Constitution guarantees, as natural and civil rights [...] Liberty to every man to speak, write, print and publish his thoughts, without the writings being subjected to censure or inspection before the publication, and to exercise the religious worship to which he is attached. THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT This map shows the Pale of Settlement, where millions of Jews who fell under Russian rule at the end of the 18th century were confined. The following are some land areas and bodies of water in or near the Pale. Write the name of each in the correct place on the map: Austria-Hungary Baltic Sea Black Sea Germany This excerpt of a letter written by a prominent Jewish businessman and politician, Berr Isaac Berr, reflects the feelings many French Jews had about their emancipation. At length the day is arrived when the veil, by which, parted from our fellow-citizens, we were kept in a state of humiliation, is rent; at length we recover those rights which have been taken from us more than eighteen centuries ago [...] We are now, thanks to the Supreme Being, and to the sovereignty of the nation, not only Men and Citizens, but we are Frenchmen!
PROGRAM SEVEN: THE GOLDEN LAND (AMERICA 1654 - 1930S) So at last I was going to America! Really, really going at last! The boundaries burst. The arch of heaven soared. A million suns shone out for every star. The winds rushed in from outer space, roaring in my ears, “America, America.” — Mary Antin, The Promised Land HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door! It is surely no coincidence that these words, engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty, are from the pen of a Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus. In all the lands of the Diaspora, never has there been a country in which Jews have had such freedom and security as they have had in America. Indeed, some of the thirteen American colonies were founded by religious minorities seeking havens from persecution. These communities also attracted others, including a small number of Jews seeking freedom and the chance for a new life.The colonies were especially attractive for two reasons: they had not produced an entrenched system of social privilege, such as that which existed in Europe, and they offered fertile ground for the spread of Enlightenment ideals of reason and tolerance.These concepts influenced many colonial leaders, some of whom would become Founding Fathers. As the newly independent United States expanded in the 19th century, it attracted millions of immigrants. The decades before Boy with Tallith and immediately after the Civil War witnessed a huge influx of immigrants from Ireland and from German-speaking countries—the former fleeing the effects of the terrible famine and the latter escaping poverty and political turmoil. Among the German-speaking immigrants were approximately a quarter of a million Jews, moved by the same impulses as their neighbors, but with the added incentive of escaping anti-Jewish laws. Following the general pattern of immigration, most of these Jews arrived on the East Coast and traveled all over the American continent, settling in cities, in small towns, or on the frontier. A far larger wave of immigration to the United States took place between 1880 and 1920, as 26 million predominately Eastern and Southern European immigrants, including two million Jews, flocked to America’s shores. This was an era of rapid and sweeping change. The very fabric of American life was altered by the new and varied immigrant population, the closing of the frontier, the growth of industry and cities, the rise of the labor movement, and the spread of socialism. The immigrants formed the backbone of American industry and made the United States a richer, more diverse society than it had ever been before. Social change, however, also created tensions, fear, and opposition to immigration. Jewish immigrants lived and worked in crowded city slums like New York City’s Lower East Side. They played their part in the transformation of American society, and, in turn, were transformed by it. For them and for other minority immigrant groups, America was a true haven, free of the persecution they had known in Europe and offering hitherto unknown economic and educational opportunities. Still, America was not perfect: The Declaration of Independence’s promise of the inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was yet incomplete. American Jews, drawing on both their ancient prophetic heritage and their new, democratic one, would play a prominent role in the effort to realize the American ideals of freedom and justice. ACTIVITIES CATEGORIZING Students are given a list of Jewish organizations and are asked to list parallel institutions established by another minority group. (See Student Worksheet.) Answers will vary, depending on the ethnic group chosen. Discuss and ask how each organization helps that minority group preserve its culture in the United States and explore other reasons why minority groups might choose to establish separate institutions (e.g., non-provision of services by civil authorities or fear of prejudice). Encourage students to add to the list. USING PRIMARY DOCUMENTS T E A C H E R ’ S HERITAGE: CIVILIZATION AND THE JEWS A LETTER FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON TO THE JEWS OF NEWPORT Make sure the class understands the letter. (See Student Worksheet.) Ask why the American Revolution may have had particular significance for Jews. The following information may help the discussion: Prior to the Revolution, executive power over the thirteen colonies was R E S O U R C E 31
Page 1 and 2: DVD-ROM Resource Guide www.thirteen
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION In 1984, PBS broadcast
Page 5 and 6: Exploring Heritage via the historic
Page 7 and 8: Conservative, and Reconstructionist
Page 9 and 10: (Settlement in Canaan) • Babyloni
Page 11 and 12: Indeed, Jewish history is a repeati
Page 13 and 14: of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 C.E.,
Page 15 and 16: PROGRAM ONE: A PEOPLE IS BORN (3800
Page 17 and 18: PREVIEW QUESTIONS PROGRAM ONE: A PE
Page 19 and 20: PROGRAM TWO: THE POWER OF THE WORD
Page 21 and 22: T E A C H E R ’ S PROGRAM THREE:
Page 23 and 24: S T U D E N T PREVIEW QUESTIONS PRO
Page 25 and 26: PROGRAM FOUR: THE CRUCIBLE OF EUROP
Page 27 and 28: PROGRAM FIVE: SEARCH FOR DELIVERANC
Page 29 and 30: S T U D E N T PREVIEW QUESTIONS PRO
Page 31: PROGRAM SIX: ROADS FROM THE GHETTO
Page 35 and 36: PREVIEW QUESTIONS PROGRAM SEVEN: TH
Page 37 and 38: PROGRAM EIGHT: OUT OF THE ASHES (19
Page 39 and 40: PROGRAM NINE: INTO THE FUTURE (1880
Page 41 and 42: PREVIEW QUESTIONS Answer these ques
Page 43 and 44: SELECTED JEWISH HISTORY RESOURCES S
Page 45 and 46: The Israel Museum www.imj.org.il/ A
Page 47 and 48: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This guide was pro

HERITAGE: Civilization and the jews - PBS

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