Scattered Seeds-Hidden Children of the Holocaust. Please prepare yourself by watching the entire program before showing it to your students.

Transcription

1 Scattered Seeds-Hidden Children of the Holocaust Please prepare yourself by watching the entire program before showing it to your students. Overview: Grade Level: 5 to 12 Time Allotment: Activities may be used as a complete unit or select and utilize individual lessons. Featured National Standards (History): Grades 5-12: Historical Thinking Standards 2. Historical Comprehension B. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage by identifying who was involved, what happened, where it happened, what events led to these developments, and what consequences or outcomes followed. C. Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses and the purpose, perspective, or point of view from which it has been constructed. F. Appreciate historical perspectives--(a) describing the past on its own terms, through the eyes and experiences of those who were there, as revealed through their literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, artifacts, and the like; (b) considering the historical context in which the event unfolded--the values, outlook, options, and contingencies of that time and place; and (c) avoiding present-mindedness, judging the past solely in terms of present-day norms and values. 4. Historical Research Capabilities A. Formulate historical questions from encounters with historical documents, eyewitness accounts, letters, diaries, artifacts, photos, historical sites, art, architecture, and other records from the past. B. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources, including: library and museum collections, historic sites, historical photos, journals, diaries, eyewitness accounts, newspapers, and the like; documentary films, oral testimony from living witnesses, censuses, tax records, city directories, statistical compilations, and economic indicators. 5. Historical Issues Analysis and Decision-Making A. Identify issues and problems in the past and analyze the interests, values, perspectives, and points of view of those involved in the situation.

2 Featured State Standards (Missouri): Show Me Performance Standards: Goal 1 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 Goal 2-1, 2, 4, 7 Goal 3-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Goal 4-1, 5, 6 Social Studies Knowledge Standards - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Communication Knowledge Standards - 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Mathematics Knowledge Standards 1, 3 Learning Objectives: Students: 1. Will gain a greater understanding of what it meant to live during the Holocaust 2. Will interact with individuals providing primary source accounts of recent world events 3. Become familiar with the era of World War II and the Jewish experiences 4. Learn about the Holocaust, hidden children, and what it meant to live during the Holocaust 5. Develop an understanding of the choices, risks, and hardships faced by children in hiding during the Holocaust 6. Will meet people and hear stories from diverse perspectives Prep for Teachers: Study and select activities for your students Prepare to tape the documentary so that the students may recheck information Copy necessary materials from this curriculum. If necessary, print website information cited for research Introductory Activity: Air the documentary, Scattered Seeds-Hidden Children of the Holocaust, for your students. Lesson Taught: Six million Jewish men, women, and children died during the Holocaust. Although the United States of America entered the war in December 1941, this was not the start of the War or the Holocaust. The first camp in Germany was Dachau and it was established in March By 1942 there were many camps. The first camps were concentration camps, intended to house enemies of the state. Extermination camps came later and were established for the systematic murder of Jews, political prisoners, criminals, homosexuals, gypsies, the mentally ill and others. After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, concentration camps became places where millions of ordinary people were enslaved as part of the war effort. Many of the prisoners died in the concentration camps through deliberate maltreatment, disease, starvation, and overwork, or were executed as unfit for labor. Most prisoners were transported by rail freight cars, often

3 with little or no food and water, and standing room only. Conditions were so atrocious that many people died before reaching the camps. Since entire families were sent to concentration and death camps, it is obvious that many children died also. Although the actual number who died will never be known, estimates range as high as 1.2 million Jewish children did not survive. All Jews were targeted for death, but the mortality rate for children was especially high. Only 6 to 11% of Europe s prewar Jewish population of children survived as compared with 33% of the adults. The chances for survival for adolescents between 13 and18 years of age were greater, as they could be deployed at forced labor. Pre-adolescents were too young to be of use for forced labor and so were often killed when they arrived at a death camp. Starvation and exposure killed many other children. But thousands of Jewish children did survive. Some left their homes to seek refuge in other countries, sometimes with their families, sometimes without. Others survived because their parents chose to hide their children in order to save them. Some children passed as non-jewish while others had to hide in attics, cellars, or barns. Whether hidden in plain site or in actuality, both were dangerous. An accent, a mistake in customs, or noise could expose the children and the caretaker s family to danger. Finding a caretaker was not easy, especially one who could keep a child safe for what might turn into years. Desperate parents turned to all personal contacts, religious organizations, and people who were driven to help by their own morals. Organized rescue groups often found it necessary to move children from one caretaker to another, for the safety of both parties. The decision to hide a child was heart wrenching for the families. There was the obvious very real risk of the parents not surviving to ever come back for their children. And if they did survive, how would they find the child after several moves and the chaos of war? Then there was the worry that the children would lose their Jewish identities. By necessity they had to practice the religion of their caretakers, often had to be renamed, and had no one to teach them Jewish rites and theology. Once the war ended, Jewish organizations attempted to reunite families. Some children had been with their caretakers so long, their biological family was completely foreign to them. The children didn t want to go with the parents, and the caretakers didn t want to give up children they had become attached to. All too often though, there were no surviving family members to reclaim a child. Learning Activity: Language Arts Activity Set One: Group Discussion Materials Needed: Scattered Seeds-Hidden Children of the Holocaust for the children to view, whiteboard, chalkboard, or poster paper to record feelings. Lead your class in a group discussion by asking some or all of the following questions:

4 How did watching this personal story make you feel? How do you think the little girls felt during this experience? Can you imagine doing what the parents did in leaving their children? Explain your thinking. Discuss some of ways in which the two survivors share that their own identities were affected by this experience. What impact do you feel this may have had on them and the choices they made as adults Learning Activity: Language Arts Activity Set Two: Group Feelings Materials Needed: whiteboard, chalkboard, or poster paper to record feelings. While the numbers involved in the Holocaust are vast, students often do not see the actual people behind the numbers. Divide your students into five groups. Each group will represent one type of person; Nazi soldiers, Jewish parents, Jewish children, caretakers, and the children of caretakers. Have each group brainstorm about how their type of person would act and feel about hidden children. Have them present about their type of person through poetry, a short play, or short story. Learning Activities: Social Studies and Math Activity Set Three: Holocaust Map Materials Needed: maps of Europe from pre and post World War II, blank maps of Europe, computers, internet access Have your students research pre and post War World II geography and color in countries on their maps accordingly. Now, have them research the pre and post Jewish population of each country and enter the numbers on the respective maps. Now, have them calculate the percentage of the Jewish population that survived. Here are some questions to pose to your class: Consider the number of students who are in your class right now. If you and your classmates had all been Jews living in Poland during WWII, how many students would still be in your class at the end of the war? If you and your classmates had been Jews living in Denmark during WWII, how many students would still be in your class at the end of the war? What factors helped to determine the number of survivors from country to country?

5 Learning Activities: Activity Set Four: Character Education Materials Needed: computers, internet access As your class noted from the above activity, some countries had much higher rates of Jewish survivors than did others. Sometimes it was because of government policy, other times it was because of individuals who chose to help their friends and neighbors. One of the most well known inviduals is Miep Gies, who hid Anne Frank, her family and four other Jews in an attic. But there were many others. The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, organized by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, has been charged with the duty of awarding non-jews who rescued Jews the honorary title of Righteous among the Nations. Since ,355 people have been awarded this title. Have your students research people from the countries with the most and least survivors to see what characteristics of the people caused them to save Jews at risk of their own lives. These may be listed on paper, white boards, or notepaper. Lead a discussion on what qualities they see within themselves or others that are similar. Ave your students reflect about what they think they might have done, based on the qualities they identified. Reflections may be presented in the form of a journal entry, poem, short story, or artwork. Useful Links to Websites Liquid Light: Scattered Seeds Hidden Children of the Holocaust, Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yad Vashem, A Teacher s Guide to the Holocaust, Education World, Teaching the Holocaust Lesson Plan,