parallel journeys: world war ii and the...

MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

EDUCATING FOR A RESPONSIBLE FUTURE

Parallel Journeys:

World War II and the Holocaust

Teacher’s Guide

1000 CHASTAIN ROAD • KENNESAW GA • 30144-5591

PHONE: 678-797-2083 • FAX: 770-420-4432 • WWW.KENNESAW.EDU/HISTORYMUSEUM

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These activities meet the criteria for the following Georgia Performance

Standards:

5th grade:

ELA5R3 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it

correctly in reading and writing.

ELA5W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational

structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout,

and signals a satisfying closure.

ELA5W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.

ELA5W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.

ELA5W4 The student consistently uses a writing process to develop, revise,

and evaluate writing.

ELA5LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student,

and group verbal interactions.

ELA5LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media in

order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand

ideas.

S5CS6. Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively.

SS5H4 The student will describe U.S. involvement in World War I and post-World War I

America.

SS5H6 The student will explain the reasons for America’s involvement in World War II.



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These activities meet the criteria for the following Georgia Performance

Standards:

8th Grade:

ELA8R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a

warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational

texts.

ELA8W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational

structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout,

and signals a satisfying closure.

ELA8W2. The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.

ELA8W3 The student uses research and technology to support writing.

ELA8W4 The student consistently uses the writing process to develop, revise,

and evaluate writing.

ELA8LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student,

and group verbal interactions.

ELA8LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media

in order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and

understand ideas. The student will select and critically analyze messages using

rubrics as assessment tools.

M8D4. Students will organize, interpret, and make inferences from statistical data.

S8CS7. Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively.

SS8H8 The student will analyze the important events that occurred after World War I

and their impact on Georgia.

SS8H9 The student will describe the impact of World War II on Georgia’s development

economically, socially, and politically.

.



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I Find; I Would

Read three panels from the Parallel Journeys exhibit. Write down a list of

things that you find interesting and things that you would like to learn more

about. Be sure to write the name of the panel next to your comment.



I FIND THIS INTERESTING…. I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT….

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Mapping Parallel Journeys: Geography of Survival

Grade levels: 5-12

Objectives:

To identify key locations important to the Holocaust and individuals who lived during the Holo-

caust

To improve understanding of geography in Europe during WWII

Read the biographies of the following individuals from Parallel Journeys.

Use the library or internet to research towns where they were born, lived,

fled, and/or were interred.

Irene Awret Jill Berg Pauly and Inge Berg Katzenstein

Susan Berlin Leo Bretholz Isak Danon

Erika Eckstut Annamarcela Falco Anne Frank

Henry Greenbaum Murray Lynn Miriam and Eva Mozes

For help, look at the ‚my maps‛ Google map for the project

‚MappingParallel Journeys‛:

http://bit.ly/96kOXF

Locate the hometowns of each person on a map of Europe.

What country does each person come from?

Who traveled the farthest from home? Where did they go and why?

Make a list of names of towns that are spelled differently in English, or have

become part of a different country. What do you notice?

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Mapping Parallel Journeys: City and Country Spelling Bee

Host a spelling bee in class using the names of important cities and countries

featured in Parallel Journeys. Each student stands in turn and must spell the

location out loud. If they make a mistake, they must sit out the rest of the

round. The last person standing is the spelling bee winner.

Munich Amsterdam Poland Slovakia

Berlin Yugoslavia Switzerland Brussels

Auschwitz Israel Austria Italy

Dachau Kiev Warsaw Luxembourg

Romania Prague Normandy Dresden

Mapping Parallel Journeys: Geography Bee

Host a geography bee in class using a large world or European map. Each

student stands and must locate the country named. If they make a mistake,

they must sit out the rest of the round. The last person standing is the

winner. For a secondary round, name a city and ask students to point to the

country in which the city is located.

Germany Poland Hungary Romania Slovakia

France Spain England Switzerland Netherlands

Yugoslavia Sweden Italy Norway Belgium

Warsaw Berlin Paris Amsterdam Prague

Munich London Frankfurt Brussels Vienna

Budapest Kiev Zurich Krakow Rome

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Religious Identity Grade Levels: 6-12

Objectives:

To help students understand how people identify themselves

To understand why religious identity is such an important characteristic for many people

To use the concept of religious identity to explain the diary of Anne Frank

Background

Anne Frank was a child living in Europe during World War II. She and her family spent two years

in hiding from the Nazis. They lived in a very small upstairs apartment in Amsterdam, hidden by

non-Jewish friends. In 1944, Anne and her family were found by the Nazis and sent to live in concentration

camps. Sadly, Anne died the following year at Bergen-Belsen due to an outbreak of typhus. Her father

survived the war and found the diary that Anne had written while in hiding. The diary was published in

1947, has been translated into numerous languages, and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

In her diary, Anne discusses many things that happened while she was living in hiding. She also

shared her own personal feelings as a child growing into a young woman. Among the many emotions she

expressed, she explores her own identity as a Jew. She had been forced into hiding due to being a Jew and

could be killed if found. The quotes below are from April 1944, shortly before Anne and her family were

discovered by the Nazis. She was now a young woman in the midst of her teenage years and had been

living in the annex for 2 years. Only four months after these thoughts were written, Anne and her family

were betrayed and arrested by an SS-officer and three Dutch policemen.

Purpose:

In spite of the fact that she was persecuted just because she was a Jew, Anne shared very profound

and mature feelings about being Jewish. Below are two quotes from Anne Frank written during April 1944,

shortly before her capture. Following the quotes, there are various questions that can be used to start a

discussion among students about their knowledge of Anne Frank and their feelings regarding religious

identity. More than sixty years later, the concept of religious identity is still a major point of contention in

the world. People still die and are willing to sacrifice their lives because of and for their religious identity.

This activity is intended to encourage students to share their feelings about the importance (or

unimportance) of religious identity and how people from varying backgrounds can coexist peacefully. It is

also intended to help students understand how Anne Frank felt about being Jewish, even after an ordeal

such as hers.

Religious Identity

"Who knows, maybe our religion will teach the world and all the people in it about goodness, and

that's the reason, the only reason, we have to suffer. We can never just be Dutch, or just English,

or whatever, we will always be Jews as well. And we'll have to keep on being Jews, but then, we'll

want to be." (April 1944)



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Religious Identity (continued) How does Anne write about herself in terms of her identity as a Jew?

Is Anne proud to be Jewish?

Why does Anne think that Judaism and the Holocaust can teach the world about goodness? Is she

right, can it teach the world about goodness?

When Anne says ‚we’ll have to keep on being Jews, but then, we’ll want to be‛ does she mean that

right now she does not want to be Jewish? What is she trying to say?

Why did Anne and all the Jews have to suffer? Is teaching the world about goodness a good enough

reason for so many people to suffer?

Sixty years after the end of the war, did the world learn the lesson of the Holocaust? Or is there still

genocide and religious intolerance existent in the world? Where? Why?

Why does Anne feel that her people can never just be Dutch or English, but that they will always be

Jews as well?

"We must put our feeling aside; we must be brave and strong, bear discomforts without complaint,

do whatever is in our power and trust in God. One day this terrible war will be over. The time will

come when we will be a people again and not just Jews!" (April 1944)

How can Anne be so faithful in God after what she has been through the past two years?

Why does Anne still have faith that the war will end?

After so many years of war, why does Anne still believe in God? Why is she trusting that he will save

her people?

What does Anne mean by ‚the time will come when we will be a people again and not just Jews?‛

Possible Discussion Questions/Topics for High School or Older Students:

In the first quote, Anne talks about the fact that Jews will always have two identities. Yet in her second

quote she mentions that at the time, they were ‚just Jews‛ and had no other identity because it has been

stolen from them by the Nazis. Can a person be defined by more than one identity? Why can or cannot a

person be both American and Jewish or American and Christian? Is it possible to be defined by our

nationality and our religion? Or are we always defined by what we believe?

In the world today, many people die because of their religious beliefs or their nationality. Why? Why

is it so seemingly difficult to reconcile religious and national identity? Can there ever be a time when all

religions can live peacefully together?

Today, are the Jews a people again and not just Jews, as Anne hoped would one day happen?

Further research: Use the library or internet to learn more about your own religious identity or the history

of a religion with which you are unfamiliar. What do world religions have in common?



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National Identity and Pride For One’s Homeland

Grade Levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To discuss national pride

To examine how Jews, such as Anne Frank, felt about their national identities during the war

Materials: None

Procedure:

Gather students in a group to begin the following discussion. Note: It is up to the teacher to determine if

the students should first know about the story of Anne Frank before conducting this discussion with stu-

dents.

Background Most people identify themselves using many terms. During the Holocaust, Jews were targeted

because of their identity as followers of the Jewish faith. They were persecuted for simply being born to

Jewish parents.

In her diary, Anne Frank discusses the emotions and experiences of being a young girl in hiding.

She was in hiding because she was Jewish, an identity that has since shaped her legacy as one of the most

well known victims of the Holocaust.

Purpose:

The purpose of this activity is to explore the themes of national identity and what it means to be identified

by a particular trait or characteristic.

Anne Frank wrote in April 1944, "My first wish is to become a Dutch citizen. I love the Dutch, I love this country,

I love the language, and I want to work here. And even if I have to write to the Queen herself, I won't give up until I

reach my goal."

What does national identity mean to Anne?

Why does Anne want to be Dutch when she in hiding from the Dutch government?

During the 1930’s, many European governments took away the citizenship of Jewish people. If the

government tells you that you are no longer a citizen of its country, what does that mean? Are you no

longer a German, an Italian, a Spaniard, an American? Is the requirement of citizenship necessary for

national identity? Think of our own country today. There are many illegal immigrants and legal

immigrants living in the US. Can these people consider themselves ‚American‛? Why or why not?



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National Identity (continued) Anne also writes, "Hitler took away our nationality long ago." (October 9, 1942)

What does Anne mean?

How did Hitler take away her nationality? Why?

If Hitler did indeed take away her nationality, why does Anne still want to be a Dutch citizen? (Note

the dates of the quotes. In 1944, Anne stated that she still wanted to become a Dutch citizen – two years

after she wrote the quote above.)

How can a person lose his or her nationality? How can it be taken away? Physically, a person can no

longer be a citizen of a country; yet, what does it mean for a person to lose his or her nationality? Can it be

found again?

Had Anne survived the war and returned to the Netherlands, do you think she would still want to be a

Dutch citizen? Why or why not? Or would Anne have done as many Jews did and emigrate to Palestine or

the United States to start a new life?

If you were Anne, would you have wanted to be a Dutch citizen or a citizen of any country in which

you were persecuted for your identity?

The following poem is from the British website Something Jewish. It is a poem written by Leslie Bunder about

her homeland. Read the poem and discuss the following questions.



My Homeland

by Leslie Bunder

There's a place in my heart

That I want to return to

They call it homeland

Where all my people came from

Once we were all together as one

Now we see the sun from different views

One day I hope and pray

That the ocean waves we see are the same

My homeland, there's a place in my soul for

you

My homeland, my love for you will carry

through

My homeland, a place for all to come and share

My homeland, you know it's true

Let's start building bridges for all those who care

My homeland, a place for all families

I know we can sit down and work it out

So stop the killing and let's start to trust

We fear them and they fear us

We all know there's room enough

Warring and shooting doesn't help anyone

Too many innocents lost without a trace

Can we really call ourselves part of the human race?

Reconcile hostility and show respect

Peace, love and tranquility in full effect

This is the way to a happy future

To offer shelter and security in my homeland

http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/838_my_homeland.htm

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National Identity (continued)

Where is this homeland? Is it a physical place?

Can anyone live in the homeland? If so, can they all live in peace?

Why does everyone ‚see the sun from different views‛? What does this mean?

Anne Frank talks about her desire to be a Dutch citizen. Leslie does not mention a particular

nationality. Instead, she mentions her homeland. How are these two concepts of national identity and

a homeland tied together? Can a person have a separate homeland and national identity?

Do you feel the same way that Anne and Leslie do about your homeland and national identity? Why

or why not? What does it mean for you to be a citizen of your country? Do you consider the country

you were born in to be your homeland? Or is your homeland in another part of the world where your

parents or grandparents (or other relatives) were born?



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Diversity Quilt

Grade Levels: 2-6

Objectives:

To build the foundations of cooperation and appreciation of diversity among young students

To teach young students about the underlying lessons of the Holocaust

Materials:

Colored construction paper

Markers, crayons, colored pencils, pens, pencils

Glue, glue sticks, tape, string

Procedure:

1. After introducing students to the key words below (you may add or remove words from the suggested

list to better fit your class and purposes), give each student a piece of colored construction paper. The

normal 8 ½ x 11 size works best.

2. Instruct students to design a piece of the quilt on their paper by drawing whatever comes to mind

when they think of the key words. Encourage students to focus on the positive words in their drawings.

You may even wish to assign a word to each student to create a drawing that represents that word.

When the pieces of the quilt are complete, connect them together using either tape or string and display the

quilt somewhere so that your students and others can see their finished project.

Key Words:

Diversity

Discrimination

Prejudice

Equality

Racism

Unity

Cooperation

Freedom

Peace

Togetherness

Justice

Bigotry

Intolerance

Fairness

Support



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Memorial Plaques

Grade Levels: 6 - 12

Objectives:

The students will research the life of a child who was a victim in the Holocaust and create a "memorial plaque" for

their child to display in the school.

To teach students that we should “never forget” the victims of the Holocaust, especially those who never had a chance

to live to adulthood

Materials:

Some type of poster board or durable paper

Glue/tape

Black & colored markers and pens

Scratch paper for note taking

Museum of Tolerance: Children of the Holocaust

Procedure:

1. Using the link provided, have each student choose a child for whom he or she would like to

create a memorial.

2. The Museum of Tolerance website has biographies for all the children it profiles. Students

should look for details, such as birth and death dates, nationality, family information, and a picture

of the child.

3. After the information is found, have students make their plaques by printing, cutting out, and

gluing their child's picture onto the plaque. Have the students include the birth and death dates,

place of birth, and family information they found.

4. When the plaques are completed, you may wish to have each student share his or her plaque

and a few details about the life of his/her child. The students profiled by the Museum are of many

different nationalities and each have their own unique story of life during the Holocaust.

5. Depending on the class and school, display the plaques so that students and others may

observe them.

A modification for older students: You may wish to have the students write a short research paper to

accompany their plaque. In addition to researching the life of their child from the Museum website, you can

assign the students to find information relating to the environment of the country in which the student was

living and the type of life that he/she might have led.



http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/pp.asp?c=arLPK7PILqF&b=249685

http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/pp.asp?c=arLPK7PILqF&b=249685

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Lost Diaries: A day in the life during the Holocaust

Grade Levels: 8-12

Objectives:

Students will research the life of a Holocaust victim

Write creatively about another person in a specific historical time and place

Remember the victims of the Holocaust

Think critically about the historical timeline of the Holocaust

As a class, discuss the practice of keeping a diary. What kinds of things do people write

in diaries? Why do people keep diaries? Why are they important?

If time permits, read a selection of the Diary of Anne Frank.

Choose one individual featured in Parallel Journeys. Use the internet or library to

research their life history.

Ask students to write a diary entry for a specific date from the perspective of the person

they studied in Parallel Journeys. Consider the date carefully—what was happening

historically during the war at this time? What might this person have been experiencing

and feeling? Refer to the timeline of the Holocaust if necessary.

After completing the diary entry, class can compile the entries together to create a shared

diary for the individuals in Parallel Journeys.



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Anti-Semitism

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

Think critically about religious difference

Learn about anti-Semitism throughout history and today

Learn about eugenics and its impact on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism

Practice group cooperation and public presentation skills

Ask students to read the Parallel Journeys panel, ‚Anti-Semitism.‛ What was anti-

Semitism? Use the internet or library resources to learn about the history of anti-

Semitism before the Holocaust. Divide the class into teams and ask each team to research

one of the following questions:

-What role did ethnicity, race, and religion play in immigration laws in the U.S. prior to

and during WWII? What were the immigration rules

concerning Jews during this time?

-What was eugenics, and how was it used to justify anti-Semitism? What did eugenicists

say about Jews?

-What ‚Christian‛ arguments were used to justify anti-Semitism?

-Does anti-Semitism still exist today? Find examples. How long ago did anti-Semitism

begin? Find a few early examples.

-What kinds of false beliefs were promoted by anti-Semites? What did they say about the

Jews?

-Jews are generally considered ‚white‛ today, but they were not always seen as such.

Find clues to explain how and when this shift occurred.

-Ask students to present their findings to the class. Use images and media if possible.



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Science and Racism

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

Think critically about eugenics and its role in the Holocaust/world history

Think critically about race, science, and racism/prejudices

Work collaboratively with other students

Ask students to read the panel, ‚Anti-Semitism.‛ Use the internet or library resources to

research the history of eugenics. Divide the class into teams and ask each team to answer

one or more of the following questions:

-What was eugenics and when did it begin?

-Who were the main promoters of eugenics?

-What did these ‚scientists‛ say about different races?

-How did eugenics promote racist beliefs?

-Find contemporary examples of scientific studies about differences: gender, racial,

ethnic, etc. What do these scientists say about different groups of people?

-Read about the difference between ‚correlation‛ and ‚causality.‛ How is this difference

important when drawing conclusions about scientific

evidence?

-Discuss whether contemporary scientific studies about differences could be or have been

used to support prejudice and/or discrimination.

-Discuss the way ‚scientific‛ knowledge is presented to the public. Are we asked to

question it? Why or why not? When is it good or bad to question scientific

interpretations of evidence?

Take a survey of the class according to arbitrary criteria: first letter of last name, favorite

color, score on latest quiz, number of siblings. Enter the data into a spreadsheet and look

for patterns. What kinds of conclusions could be drawn from this evidence?



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Casting a Wide Net

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To learn about the variety of groups targeted by Nazis during the Holocaust

To study ways in which certain groups are or are not publicly memorialized

To practice writing skills and argumentation skills

Ask students to read the panel, ‚Casting a Wide Net.‛ Make a list of the

kinds of people (other than Jews) who were targeted by the Nazis.

Divide the class into teams and assign one targeted group to each team.

That team will use the internet or library resources to research ways in

which the Nazis targeted this group. When did it begin? What was the

rationale? What happened to members of this group? Was everyone

punished, or just some members?

Research Holocaust memorials and find out whether each group’s suffering

has been honored through a memorial. If so, explain where the memorial is

and a bit about its purpose. If not, imagine a few reasons why this might be

the case.

Write a letter to a local elected official arguing for the creation of a Holocaust

memorial to one or more of these groups.



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Resistance in the Ghettoes: Create an Underground Newspaper

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To learn about life in the ghettoes during WWII/the Holocaust

To compare life in the ghettoes with one’s own living situation

To work cooperatively in a group

To practice writing and design skills

Read the document about life in the ghettoes here:

http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/HRCA/news/anatomy_of_ghetto_p1.htm

Read the following articles about resistance in the ghettoes:

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005416


http://www.jewishcurrents.org/2003-mar-stillman.htm

Your job is to create the front page of an underground newspaper from one

of the ghettoes during the time of WWII. Look at some examples of

contemporary newspapers to get ideas about content and layout. You can

use a computer program like Microsoft Publisher, or find some large

construction paper and use craft supplies to create your paper. Consider

what to include: what kinds of resistance did Jews and others in the ghetto

practice? What was considered news during this time? What would have

been important for residents of the ghetto to know and learn?

Once you finish your paper, share it with your classmates. Consider posting

the newspapers on a hallway or classroom wall for others to see.



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Devil’s Advocate:

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To analyze the motivations and morality of individual choices in difficult situations

To summarize a person’s experience and how that impacts life choices

To work cooperatively in a group setting

Each student should choose the story of an individual in Parallel Journeys

and carefully consider whether their actions were right or wrong. Write one

paragraph about why they actions were wrong. Then, on the other side of

the page, write one paragraph as ‚devil’s advocate‛—try to imagine reasons

why the person might have acted in the way that they did. What pressures

did they face? What would have happened to them if they had acted

differently?

Have students gather in groups according to the person they chose to write

about. Ask them to share their opinions about the morality of this person’s

behavior.

Using the arguments discussed by the group, ask two students to volunteer

to be lawyers in a mock trial. Each student is given two minutes to make

their argument: one student argues that the person’s behavior was wrong;

one person argues that the person’s behavior was justified. Ask the class to

vote on whose arguments were most persuasive.



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Survivor Stories

Grade levels: 5-12

Objectives:

To use internet and library research skills

To learn more about the life histories of individuals impacted by the Holocaust

To think critically about survival during the Holocaust

To understand the relationship between individual experiences and the larger historical events of

the Holocaust

Use the internet or your library resources to find more information about the

following individuals featured in Parallel Journeys:

Gad Beck Leo Bretholz

Erika Eckstut Stella Goldschlag

Edith Hahn Alfons Heck

Helen Waterford Margaret Lambert (Gretel Bergman)

Charlene Schiff Elie Wiesel

What did these individuals do to survive?

Did they receive help from others, or were they on their own?

What has life been like for them after the Holocaust?

Have they received any official recognition for their experiences?

Create an age timeline for these survivors. Make a note on the timeline for

the age at which key events happened in their lives. Consider your own life

and what you were doing at that age. Can you imagine having to make the

choices that these individuals made at this age? How do you think they felt?

Would you have been able to make a similar choice? Why or why not?



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Alfons Heck & Helen Waterford: Response and Reflection

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To think critically about how individuals identify themselves and to gain respect for diversity

The lives of Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck are told through one panel in

Parallel Journeys, and they reflect two very different sides to the story of the Holocaust. In

1980, Helen began to read newspaper articles written by Alfons about his days in the

Hitler Youth. The two met and began a friendship which has resulted in several speaking

tours and the book, Parallel Journeys.

Read the short quotes from Parallel Journeys listed below and write a short

response to one of the questions provided. Consider how the experiences of Helen and

Alfons after World War II compare with their lives during the Holocaust era.

Quote 1-- As Alfons and Helen address a group of high school students, a question

arises:

The question struck the two speakers on stage like a round from a submachine

gun. ‚Mr. Heck, would you have killed Mrs. Waterford if you had been ordered to do so

in the Hitler Youth?‛<..Unable to look at Helen, seated next to him on the stage, Alfons

spoke slowly into the microphone.

‚I’m afraid, young man, that the answer is ‘yes.’ Obeying without question was

the iron-clad rule by which we were raised. To refuse a direct order in the line of

duty, no matter how repulsive that order might be, was simply unthinkable.‛

<.As guest speakers Alfons Heck and Helen Waterford walked across the parking lot to

their cars, Alfons apologized to her. ‚I’m really sorry you had to listen to that question,

but the kid deserved an honest answer. I hope you’re not too offended.‛

Helen’s answer was quick and quiet: ‚If you had said anything else, our

partnership would have been over. I couldn’t have trusted you to tell the truth.‛

Question: What does this quote illustrate about forgiveness and the importance of

honesty and reconciliation? Why do you think Helen affirmed Alfons’s strategy for

answering the questions the way she did?



22



Alfons Heck & Helen Waterford: Response and Reflection (continued)

Quote 2-- During another lecture, several Jewish students take issue with

Helen’s relationship with Alfons:

Naturally, I realized that some people would not agree with what I was doing, but

I felt helpless when a group of ten to twelve young Jewish students began yelling

remarks<.‛What kind of a Jew are you? You should be ashamed!‛

The young people in this audience seemed unable to separate their hatred of Nazis

from their hatred of all Germans, even those born after the war. They could not see that

to condemn all Germans reduced them to the same level as the Nazis, who hated every

Jew, every gypsy, every Jehovah’s Witness.

Question: How does this anecdote told by Helen Waterford illustrate the dangers of

stereotypes and intolerance? What do you think Helen Waterford hoped to gain by

telling this story?



23



Anti-Semitic Laws in Nazi Germany: When Would You Leave?

Grade levels: 5-12

Objectives:

To think critically about the erosion of rights at the beginning of the Holocaust

To consider reasons for or against leaving Germany as a Jew in the 1930s

Using the internet or library, make a timeline of anti-Semitic laws passed in Nazi

Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. Here are some examples:

1933: Jews removed from Universities, Jewish authors banned from publishing, Jewish-owned

shops boycotted

1935: German Jews’ citizenship taken away, “Intermarriage” illegal, Jews banned from parks,

pools, cafes

1936: Jews can no longer vote, Jews can no longer become doctors

1937: Jewish children banned from schools, Jewish businesses taken away

1938: Jews must carry identity cards, Jews barred from cinemas, resorts, concerts, beaches,

Jews must add “Israel” or “Sarah” to name

1939: Jews not allowed to own telephones

1941: All Jews must wear yellow Star of David patch, Jews’ pets taken away, Jews barred from

leaving country

Consider these laws. Why would Germany pass such laws? Why would Germany care

whether Jews owned telephones or pets? Discuss.

Why did Germany spread out these laws over the course of so many years? Why not

pass all the laws at once?

Imagine that you were a Jew living in Germany during this time. Would you stay?

Would you leave? At what point would you leave?

Ask each student to stand. Slowly read through the list of years, beginning with 1933.

Ask students to sit down in their chairs at the point at which they would try to leave

Germany (if they would leave in 1939, they sit when the year ‚1939‛ is called aloud).

Once everyone is seated, discuss why each person chose the year that they did. Who sat

down right away? Was anyone left standing? Why?



24



Anti-Semitic Laws in Nazi Germany: When Would You Leave? (continued)

Ask students who have moved into new homes or to new towns to talk about what you

have to do to move to a new place. Did you pack? Hire movers? Have your mail

forwarded? Now consider the situation of Jews during this time. Were they able to hire

movers? Were they allowed to leave freely, or did they have to hide the fact that they

were leaving and slip over the border unnoticed?

Try to imagine a situation today that would cause you to leave your home and friends

behind. How would this feel? What would you miss most?

Imagine that you had to leave your home suddenly and no one could know that you

were leaving. What would you bring with you? What would you leave behind? Would

you bring necessities like food and water? Or would you bring personal items like

photographs, old letters, or legal documents?

Where would you go once you left? Where would you sleep? How would you find food

and shelter?

Use the internet to learn what percentage of German Jews attempted to leave Nazi

Germany. Do you find this number surprising? Why or why not?

Use the internet to research the story of the ship, the St. Louis. One place to start is here:


Why didn’t the US allow those on the ship to enter the country? What does this story say

about the difficulties of Jews trying to leave Nazi Germany?



25



Difficult Choices

Grade levels: 8-12

Objectives:

To engage students in a thoughtful and intriguing discussion about moral dilemmas and the choices that one is forced

to make under difficult circumstances

To show students that the decisions they make affect not only themselves but the fate of others

Procedure:

1. Gather students around a table or in a fashion that allows everyone to talk openly and face-to-face.

2. Read the scenario to the students, instructing them that they may want to jot down some notes.

3. Next, read the biographies of the individuals to the students. Give them enough time to write down

some notes about each person.

4. Discuss with students which persons they believe should be chosen and why. Also, have students

discuss why they would not choose the other individuals.

Discuss further, if so desired, using the questions found at the end of the biographies.

Modification:

You may want to have students write a paper about their choices instead of or before the group discussion.

In this case, you can print copies of the scenario and biographies to pass out to students.

Difficult Choices Scenario

It is August 1943. You live in southeastern Germany in the region of Baden-Wurttenberg only fifty miles

from the Swiss border. Before the war, you were employed in various jobs. None of the jobs were exactly

illegal, but you made many contacts in your work. A year or so ago, you ran into a friend who was in the

business of ‚transporting‛ people out of Germany, for a cost, of course. When he told you how much

money he makes off of the people, you decided that you wanted in on the action. Thus, you are now in the

business of helping people escape from Germany to Switzerland. Due to the significant risk that you face

in transporting these people, you charge a very high fee for your services. As the war progresses and the

Nazi policies become harsher for those found working against the Reich, you have decided to leave your

present line of work. Thus, you will only take one more group to the border. Unfortunately, you can only

transport five people at a time. There are eight people who have inquired about your services. You must

choose which people will go with you and which people will be forced to remain behind.

Hans Schmidt

Hans works for a German industrial company. He was an ardent member of the Nazi party for most of his

life. At age twenty, he is married with one son. His son, Fritz, was born with Down Syndrome. Fritz does

not fit the Nazi ideal. Hans, however, loves his son and fears for his fate under the Nazi regime. Hans

wants to escape to Switzerland with Fritz so that he and his son can live safely until the war ends. As a

member of the Nazi party, Hans knows many officers and has already threatened to turn you in if you

don’t take him and his son with you.



26



Difficult Choices (continued) Sarah Oppenheimer

Sarah is a Polish Jew. She was visiting friends in Germany when the Germans invaded Poland. Sarah

immediately went into hiding with the help of her friends. They have been hiding her for a few years now

and think that their neighbors are suspicious of Sarah. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, but her ‚family‛

doesn’t feel they can protect her anymore. Sarah is twenty-five years old and was a law student before the

war. She does not know the fate of her family back in Poland. Hearing the rumors that circulate, she

thinks that she may be the only one still alive. If Sarah is exposed, both she and the people who have been

hiding her will be arrested and most likely killed. Sarah has no hope to get out of Germany except you.

Father Michael Bauer

Father Michael is a friar at a seminary in central Germany. He has been secretly hiding Jews in his friary

for months. Someone in the community betrayed Father Michael and his hiding place was raided. Only he

and one of the others brothers escaped. They were away at the time of the arrests. Word got back to Father

Michael not to return and now he is on the run. The Nazis are looking for him for ‚questioning.‛ If he is

found, he will most likely be sent to a camp or killed. It is estimated that he helped over three hundred

Jews and Nazi targets to escape Germany.

Ruth and Sam Manheim

Ruth and Sam are a protestant couple from Berlin. They are both in their sixties. In their youth, they

worked for a German factory in Bremen. Sam’s sister married a Jewish man and had two children. In the

early years of the Nazi regime, Sam’s sister was killed. His brother and the two kids moved in with them.

When the Nazis began to arrest Jews, Sam’s brother-in-law was taken. They never saw him again but

heard that he was killed somewhere in Poland. Some neighbors told them that they’d heard rumors that

children of mixed marriages were going to be taken next. Sam and Ruth decided to leave town with the

kids. They relocated to Stuttgart and want to get the kids out of Germany. They are asking you to take

them. Hannah is nine and Henry is eleven. Hannah is in perfect health, but Henry walks with a limp. This

may slow you down as most of the journey involves walking through the forests at night. (Ruth and Sam

will not travel with you to Switzerland.)

Jan and Gretel Schuman

Jan is a forty-six year old man. His wife, Gretel, is thirty-seven. Jan is a devoted Jehovah’s Witness and

Gretel grew up in a family of gypsies. They are both wanted by the Nazi regime. As a Jehovah’s Witness,

Jan refused to swear an oath to Hitler. In doing so, he placed himself in grave danger as an enemy of the

state. He was arrested last year, but escaped prison due to a clerical error. With his wife Gretel, he fled

town and has been posing as a Catholic man. Gretel’s appearance, however, does not exactly fit the

German ideal. Gretel’s caravan was captured by Nazi officers and sent to a death camp. She managed to

escape and was found by Jan. They fell in love. Their new neighbors are suspicious of Gretel and Jan feels

that it is not safe for he and his wife to remain in Germany. They want to get married, but know that it

would not be safe to do so in Germany. Gretel is six months pregnant.



27



Difficult Choices (continued)

Gerte Neumann

Gerte is eighteen years old. She heard rumors that you transport Jews to safety. She has blonde hair, blue

eyes, and is gorgeous. Her entire family was taken by the Nazis and sent to a camp in Poland. She has an

uncle in England who will take care of her. As a Jew, she can’t get out of Germany. If she tries, she will be

captured and most likely face the same fate as the rest of her family. She lives on the streets and moves

from town-to-town in the late hours of the night.

Questions To Discuss:

1. Who would you chose to go to Switzerland with you? Why?

2. What factors influenced your decisions?

3. Was there a specific criteria that led you to choose certain people?

4. Why did you not choose a particular person to take on the trip?

5. Was it hard to choose which people to take knowing their histories? Would it have been easier if you

knew little about them?

6. If this situation were real, would you have undertaken such a task as illegally transporting people to

safety? Would you have been too afraid of being caught?

7. After you’ve made your choices, what do you think happened to the people that you chose? What

about the ones you didn’t?

Thinking about the people that you didn’t select, do you think they would have turned you in?



28



Identity Triangles: Badges of Honor

Grade levels: 5-12

Objectives:

To think about personal and group identity and its relationship to prejudice and the Holocaust

During World War II, the Nazis created a system of badges for so-called ‚criminals‛ of Nazi Germany.

Many of these ‚criminals‛ had done nothing wrong. They were persecuted because of who they were and

what they believed. (See: Nuremberg Laws)

The Nazis made these people wear badges, usually in the shape of a triangle, on their clothes so they would

be seen by everyone. The Nazis assigned different colors of triangles for different kinds of people: red tri-

angles for political prisoners, blue triangles for immigrants, purple triangles for some Christians, and black

triangles for people including the disabled and Roma (Gypsies). The Nazis tried to make people feel

ashamed for who they were and what they believed by making them wear these triangles. The Nazis said

these people were criminals. But many people who wore the triangles were proud of who they were and

what they believed. These people wore their triangles as badges of honor, not badges of shame.

What part of your identity is important to you? What beliefs are important to you?

Have other people ever tried to make you feel ashamed of who you are or what you believe?

Materials:

Paper triangle template, markers and crayons, scissors, tape or safety pins

Instructions:

Read about how the Nazis used triangles and other symbols to ‚mark‛ people that they found inferior:

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?ModuleId=10005378

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/markings.html

Draw a picture on the triangle of a part of you—your identity or beliefs—that you wear as a badge of

honor. It might be part of you that other people have made fun of, or maybe a part that some people don’t

understand. This is your chance to show that you are proud of who you are and what you believe.

Some examples: you might want to draw a hobby or something you like to do, you might draw a picture of

your religious beliefs, or you might draw a picture of your family history, including maybe your racial or

cultural history. Maybe you are good at math, or you like to play an instrument. Draw whatever you think

is an important part of who you are and what you believe.

Once you have drawn your triangle, cut it out and attach it to your clothes. Today, you will wear this

identity triangle as a badge of honor.



29



Moral Passports Grade levels: 6-12

Objectives:

To think critically about morality and the context in which individuals make moral decisions

To learn more about the context of the Holocaust and the kinds of decisions individuals were forced to make during a

difficult time

Morality—the questions of whether specific actions are right or wrong—tells us a lot

about what the moral agent—the person making the decision—does and does not value.

Every moral choice that we make is a statement about what we value. If I am robbed at

gunpoint and I hand over my wallet, my action shows that I value my safety more than

the money in my wallet. Most situations demand that we ‚weigh‛ competing or

conflicting values such as this.

The Holocaust presented many people with difficult and complicated moral choices.

This exercise draws from the experiences of people in MHHE’s Parallel Journeys exhibit as

a way to consider and challenge what is and is not considered moral behavior.

Choose an individual featured in Parallel Journeys or on the MHHE website. Answer the

following questions:

Briefly explain who this person was and what happened to them.

Do you think this person’s actions were moral or immoral? What would you have done?

What does this say about what you value? Explain.

Consider what it was like to live in Nazi Germany: Anti-Semitic propaganda is all

around, children are indoctrinated into Aryan values through Hitler Youth, and many

people who dissent are labeled criminal and punished. Do you think that most Germans

thought that the Nazis were acting morally? Why or why not?



30



Moral Passports (continued)

Given that most of the people featured in Parallel Journeys were children, does that make

them any less responsible for their actions? Explain.

What does the Holocaust suggest about the relationship between law and morality? Why

some actions that are immoral also illegal (i.e., murder) and others are not (i.e., lying to a

friend)? Should laws reflect moral sensibilities?

Try to identify any competing values and principles at stake in this person’s situation.

(For example, an Aryan German who chooses to hide a Jew from the Nazis would

consider the value of saving others’ lives as more important than the value of self-

preservation, following the law, or protecting one’s family from danger.) Consider the extremes

of both moral relativism and moral absolutism. With which do you relate more?

Look up definitions for ‚moral absolutism‛ and ‚moral relativism.‛ What parts of the

Holocaust could provide evidence for the existence of moral absolutism? What parts

could provide evidence for moral relativism?



31



What will you do now?

Grade levels: 5-12

Objectives:

To consider positive actions to take in light of the knowledge of the Holocaust

To become involved in current affairs and one’s community

The scope and horror of World War II and the Holocaust was unprecedented. However,

discrimination, inhumanity, and injustice continue through prejudice and bigotry, human

rights abuses, and genocide. But we have an opportunity to learn from history. We have

an opportunity to stop being bystanders or perpetrators and instead become rescuers.

We have an opportunity to take action.

Make a list of actions that students might take in response to what they learned from

Parallel Journeys. Examples could include:

I will write a letter to the editor about genocide that occurs today.

I will teach my friends and family about the Holocaust.

I will apologize to someone that I have hurt in the past.

I will speak up when I hear a racist or sexist joke or remark.

Compile the actions and post them on a class website or bulletin board for others to see.

Turn these actions into pledges. Ask each student to choose one action and write it on a

‚pledge card‛ and sign the back. They should keep this card in their wallet or book bag

as a reminder that they have pledged to take this action to make the world a better place.

After a week or two have passed, ask the students to write about their experiences

fulfilling their pledges. What did they do? Was it easy or difficult? What did they learn

from the experience?



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