Introduction
So what if we taunt certain groups of students
for looking a little different. What does it matter if we feel some
ethnic groups do not deserve to live in America? And what is the
harm in jokes that stereotype and make generalizations about people of
certain races, religions, and ethnic groups? These are tough questions,
and surely answers will vary. However, history has shown us that
these "little" things have often exploded into horrific experiences for
people around the world. One such experience is described in the
novel Night by Elie Wiesel. The following questions and Big
Question will not only allow you to build your background knowledge of
the Jewish experience, but they will allow you to make connections between
this and other catastrophic episodes in history and examine their impact
on the present and the future.
Questions
Directions: Use the resources listed below to answer the following questions. Write your responses in complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What is anti-Semitism?
2. Who was Hitler, and what was his
role in World War II?
3. Who were two key perpetrators of
the Holocaust, and what were their roles?
4. How was propaganda used during the
Holocaust?
5. What were the discriminatory decrees
against Jews, and how were they similar to Jim Crow Laws in place in
the United States?
6. What were conditions like for the
Jews in the concentration camps? Provide specific
examples.
7. After reading transcripts and viewing
the movie clips about the survivors' testimonials, what
three questions would
you want to ask a survivor if you had an opportunity to speak to him or
her?
8. How are Elie Wiesel's and Anne Frank's
experiences similar? How do they differ? Identify at
at least two similarities
and at least two differences.
9. What type of persecution did Japanese
Americans experience in America during World War
II? Provide
specific examples.
10. Identify two contemporary examples of
genocide. How is the experience of the Jews similar
to and different
from these examples? Identify at least two similarities and at least
two
differences.
Resources
Directions: Use the following links to build your background knowledge and assist you in answering the questions listed above.
http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/glossary.html
- Glossary of terms
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/people/perps.htm
- Holocaust perpetrators and propaganda
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/people/survivor.htm
-
Holocaust survivors
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/people/victims.htm
- Holocaust victims
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/wie0bio-1
- Profile, biography, and interview for Ellie Wiesel
http://www.annefrank.com/site/af_life/1_life.htm
- Life and times of Anne Frank
http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/index.utp?content=whatis/whatis.php
- Contemporary Genocide
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/people/DocDec.htm
- Discriminatory decrees against Jews
http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/gloss.htm
- Glossary of terms
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/ghettos.htm
- Holocaust timeline
http://remember.org/witness/jagermann.html
- Memories of a survivor
http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/jewvicts.html
- Number of victims
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/dictator.htm
- Hitler's Rise
http://www.ushmm.org/
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum<
http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo/9066/9066.htm
- Japanese Interment Camps
http://oz.net/~cyu/internment/main.html
- Japanese Interment Camps
http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/overview.htm
- Jim Crow
The Big Question
History informs us and teaches us about the triumphs and challenges of the past. Your job is to leave a message for generations to come. You will create a photo essay using PowerPoint in which you will show and tell others about two of the following topics:
Created by Denise Khaalid
[email protected]
Rock Hill School District Three
Rock Hill, SC 29731
June, 2003
Web site links on this page have been used without permission for educational purposes only. All rights belong to the creators of these sites.