Investigating the Holocaust:
A Pathfinder for High School Students
Developed by Mrs. Molin and Mrs. Fish
“We should always remember the lessons learned from the Holocaust, in hopes we stay vigilant against such inhumanity now and in the future.”
-Congressman Charlie Dent
-Congressman Charlie Dent
Although the Holocaust was certainly one of the darkest moments in modern society, it is a subject that should be given in-depth attention in the high school curriculum to give young adults an authentic picture of human nature at its very worst and also at its most resilient. Through this Pathfinder on the Holocaust, you will discover fiction, non-fiction, serial, internet and audiovisual resources to aid in your research of the treatment of Jews and the atrocities that occurred in the Nazi concentration camps; the brainwashing of Hitler Youth and the viewpoints of other Nazi sympathizers and Hitler devotees; and the stories of survival, kindness, and triumph that occurred during and after this horrific event.
Print Resources
Nonfiction Books
Altman, L. (2010). Hidden teens, hidden lives: primary sources from the Holocaust. Enslow Publishers.
Part of the True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust series, Hidden Teens, Hidden lives: Primary Sources from the Holocaust contains true stories, derived from museum and historical archives, of a variety of teenagers who all had very different, yet somehow linked experiences hiding out or under living under disguise during the Holocaust. Each story is told from the teenager’s viewpoint, and includes photos and newspaper excerpts to help readers to get a feel for their experiences. Altman’s book is included as part of the Booklist Top Ten Series for 2010 and the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection.
Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.
Winner of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2006 Best Books for Young Adults Nonfiction award, named a Newberry Medal Honor Book in 2006, and noted as “most highly recommended” by the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, gives a very different and essential side to any study on Hitler’s rise to power and the Holocaust: the perspective of the young Germans whose love for their country was twisted into demented devotion to serve Hitler and further his plan to create a German master race. Bartoletti personally interviewed many former members of the Hitler Youth for this book, as well as Jews who were teenagers in Germany at this time, and adds a section where she tells what happened to each member after fall of Hitler. Teachers and students will find included in this book authentic primary sources such as photographs and examples of propagnda from the era, as well as a suggested reading list for further study of the subject.
Glantz, S., & Kramer, C. (2009). Clara's war: One girl's story of survival. Ecco.
An American Library Association (ALA) RUSA Sophie Brody Award Honor Book in 2010, and part of the 2009 Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults list, Clara’s War: One Girl’s Story of Survival details the true story of Clara Kramer’s life as a teen and the time period when she hid in a bunker with 17 other adults and children during the Holocaust in Poland. Young adult readers will have the experience of witnessing two stages of Clara‘s life: her teenage years when she was in hiding, and Clara in the present-day as an elderly woman reflecting on her life since she this survived this horrendous event. Much like The Diary of Anne Frank, readers will be transported into the daily life of Jews cut off from the world outside, existing with little food and inhumane conditions in the dark.
Janeczko, P. B. (2011). Requiem: Poems of the Terezin ghetto. United States of America: Candlewick Press.
Part of the “most highly recommended” group in the H.W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto is a collection of poems written from the perspective of Jews living in the Terezin Ghetto, an area created by the Nazi regime to hold Jews that would ultimately be transported to various concentration camps. In reading this collection of poems, teens will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, from very young children fearing the unknown horrors they will face at the camps to inmates writing home to family members about the cruelties they are experiencing. Students and teachers can easily connect English and World History curricula using this resource.
Metselaar, M., Rol, R., Pomerans, A., Metselaar, M., & Anne Frank Stichting. (2009). Anne Frank: Her life in words and pictures from the archives of the Anne Frank House. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Pr. /Flash point.
This detailed photographic account of not only Anne Frank’s life, but also of the events of World War II, was created with the approval and assistance of The Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam. Primary sources that can be examined in the book include pages from Anne’s scrapbook, personal family photos, newspaper clippings, and maps of the area. This book, winner of the 2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award Nominations, is an excellent complement to a classroom study of The Diary of Anne Frank or a research project on the Holocaust.
Fiction Books
Bartoletti, S. C. (2008). The boy who dared. New York: Scholastic Press.
In this YALSA 2009 Best Book for Young Adults, Bartoletti, the author of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, continues her focus on teenagers involved in the Holocaust in this fictional account of the life story of Helmuth Hübener, a teen who actually really lived in this time period. She gets into the mind of Hübener and gives details of his life from his childhood when his family was supportive of the Nazis to his adolescence when he was arrested and eventually executed for openly opposing their rule in Germany. Bartoletti gives biographical information and authentic photos at the end of the novel to clear up any confusion about what is true and what is not true in the story.
Heuvel, E., Metselaar, M., Rol, R. ., Groeneweg, H., Bons, H., & Miller, L. T. (2009). A family secret. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
A Family Secret is a graphic novel that conveys the present-day story of Joeren, and his discovery of a scrapbook from his grandmother’s childhood in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, and eventually of her story of her Jewish best friend that disappeared during this time period. The graphic novel format is way effective way to display the emotion and realism of this book via detailed illustrations, and will easily draw teens in. Created as a joint effort of the authors and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the museum has also provided a website with educational resources and activities for teachers to use with this novel (http://www.annefrank.org/en/Worldwide/Education/A-Family-Secret/).
Lasky, K. (2010). Ashes. United States of America: Viking.
Gabriella, a teenage girl living in Berlin in 1932, gives the account of her life as the daughter of an anti-Nazi scientist in Ashes. Set in the time period when Hitler was just taking power, Lasky shows how life changed for everyone in Germany---Jews and Hitler supporters alike. A Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth winner in 2010 and “most highly recommended” in the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Ashes adds historical touches from this time, including Gabriella’s father’s friendship with Albert Einstein, and a scene detailing the real book burnings that took place in Berlin.
Sharenow, R. (2011). The Berlin boxing club. New York: HarperTeen.
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012 winner, The Berlin Boxing Club is a great novel to attract young adult male readers into studies on the Holocaust via the sports story of a young Jewish boy, Karl, who is taking boxing lessons from famous boxer Max Schmeling in 1930s Germany. The story of the Holocaust comes into play as Karl begins to see how being a Jew is increasingly causing his family to be persecuted and restricted by the Nazi soldiers and other Hitler supporters. The author includes facts about events of the Holocaust and the real Max Schmeling at the close of the novel to help readers grasp the significance of the story.
Zusak, M. (2006). The book thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Written from the viewpoint of Death personified, The Book Thief tells specifically about Death’s unfortunate duties during the Holocaust and its interaction with a girl named Liesl, whose family is hiding a Jew and who has a kleptomaniac side to her when it comes to books. The story has an interesting mixture of Liesel’s personal life and the events and influences of the Holocaust. It is the winner of the YALSA 2007 Best Books for Young Adults award and is a YALSA Printz Award Honor Book for 2007
Magazine Articles
Epstein, D. (2012, July 9). The strength to carry on. Sports Illustrated, 117(2), 96.
David Epstein tells the story of Ben Helfgott, former British Olympian and survivor of a German concentration camp. The details of his survival contrasted with the murders of his family members evoke deep emotions, yet his life as an orphan after the war was over, and eventual rise to success and acclaim as a weightlifter will be inspirational to students.
Goldhagen, D. (1998, June 15). Europe's success story. Newsweek, 131(24), 38.
How do Germans feel about always being identified as the perpetrators of the Holocaust, even generations after they could possibly be tied to the actual event? Goldhagen details how German society has come to grips with this dark moment in history and tried to make reparations for the Holocaust and gives readers studying the Holocaust a view of present-day Germany.
Levy, S. (2008, May 5). Hitler killed my father. Newsweek, 151(18), 22.
In remembering her father’s life and death over a decade ago, author Shirley Paryzer Levy tells about how Hitler continued to control her father and mother’s thoughts years after they were freed from the Nazi concentration camps. She touchingly tells about her mother’s stories of the camps that she shared during Levy’s childhood, and how her father ultimately found his voice in talking about the Holocaust in video testimonials for the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Lincoln, M. (2006, February 1). Witness to history. School Library Journal, 52(2), 54-57.
Including authentic photos and diary pages, Lincoln’s article effectively describes how teachers can give students a personal exposure to the Holocaust by visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum or by using the lesson plans and numerous other resources on its website. She includes a list of additional on-line resources to aid teachers and students in their study of the Holocaust.
Lincoln, M. (2007, November 1). All but her life. School Library Journal, 53(11), 52-54.
In this article, media specialist Margaret Lincoln tells how her high school’s book study of Gerda Weissmann Klein’s autobiography of her survival in a German labor camp evolved into an opportunity for the students to see Klein speak in person and the creation of a book blog where students interacted with other Holocaust survivors. Teachers and students can glean ideas on how to take their studies of the Holocaust to the next level and find deeper meaning and authentic experiences.
Internet Sites
Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam: The Official Anne Frank House Website (http://www.annefrank.org/)
This website, created by the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, is an essential tool in learning more about the life of Anne Frank and also in experiencing primary resources such as family photographs and excerpts from her diary in her handwriting. Viewers can take an interactive virtual tour of the secret annex where her family hid and there are specific pages for teachers and students interesting in learning more about Anne Frank and her experiences during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Survivors (http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/)
Established by a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, this website details the stories of survivors of the Holocaust complete with a historical overview of the Holocaust, a link to primary resources from the survivors such as authentic photographs and letters, audio clips of the survivors talking about their experiences, an encyclopedia of terms and events from the Holocaust, a bibliography of resources used to create the site, and links to other on-line resources.
IWitness: Video Testimonies from Holocaust Survivors and Witnesses (http://iwitness.usc.edu/SFI/)
Launched by Steven Spielberg in 1994, and awarded with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Best Website for Teaching and Learning designation in 2012, IWitness was designed specifically for educators and for students 13-18 interested in the Holocaust and allows users to search by topics such as “Ghetto Life” or “Schindler Jews” and then watch over 1,000 videos from Holocaust witnesses. The videos are accessible without joining, but teachers must apply to gain a full membership to the website, which allows access to the IWitness Community.
The Southern Institute for Education and Research: Louisiana Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
(http://www.southerninstitute.info/holocaust_education/holocaust_survivor_testimony.html)
This website, created by the Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University provides teachers and students with ten video interviews of survivors of the Holocaust that now live in Louisiana, which can be used as an excellent complement to the Holocaust Survivors website. Resources that go along with each of the testimonials include written transcripts, study guides with historical background information and key teaching points, and student tests with answer keys.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/)
The official website of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is an excellent resource for studying the events of World War II and the Holocaust, as it includes portions of the exhibition in Washington, D.C., collections and archives from the Holocaust, a page dedicated to Holocaust research, historical film footage, and a page specifically for teachers and students studying the Holocaust (teachers, see: http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/prodev/beli/2003/). Given the nature of the subject, there are some disturbing images and videos on the various pages of this website, so educators should use good judgment when directing students to specific portions of the website.
Audio-Visual Materials
DVDs
Colla, R. (Director). (2010). Hidden in silence. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.
Based on a true story, Hidden in Silence (not rated) depicts the bravery of a Catholic teenager in World War II era Poland who decides to aid Jewish citizens by hiding them in her attic and providing them with food and supplies. This video is an excellent resource to show how the Holocaust affected all groups and people of all religious backgrounds.
Deitch, D. (Director) & Yolen, J., Averch, R., Ciaffa, C., Hoffman, D., Weintraub, F., Cohen, J., & Zook, K. (Writers). (2004). The devil’s arithmetic. Showtime Entertainment.
Starring actresses Brittany Murphy and Kristen Dunst, The Devil’s Arithmetic is the tale of a modern-day teenager who travels back in time to experience the Holocaust and her ancestors’ plight first-hand. The film does not include any extremely violent scenes and is rated NR (not rated).
Harris, M. J. (Director) & Harris, M. J., Dwyer, A., Callaway, C. Oppenheimer, D., & Fusaro, L. (Writers). (2001). Into the arms of strangers - stories of the Kindertransport. Warner Home Video.
Filmed with the help of the United States Memorial Museum, Into The Arms Of Strangers - Stories Of The Kindertransport (rated PG), details an effort that rescued over 10,000 children from the horrors of the Holocaust and transported them to live with foster parents in England. This documentary, winner of an Academy Award, includes real present-day testimonials of men and women saved through the kindertransport effort.
CD-ROMs
MacMillan Reference Library. (1996) Historical atlas of the holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
This CD-ROM includes text, 275 maps, and 500 photographs on everything from the Jewish ghettos to the concentration camps to give students an authentic exposure to the surroundings of the Holocaust.
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. (1999). Survivors: Testimonies of the holocaust. Simon & Schuster Interactive.
Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and Winona Ryder, this CD-ROM allows students to witness the experiences of four survivors of the Holocaust. Resources on the CD-ROM include videos, text, photographs, and maps.
Keywords and Phrases for Searching
Key terms and phrases that will aid in your search are:
Anti-Semitism
Auschwitz
Diaries from the Holocaust
German nationalism
Germany-History-1933-1945
Hitler Youth
Nazi propaganda
Survivors and the Holocaust
Teenagers and the Holocaust
World War II
Nonfiction Books
Altman, L. (2010). Hidden teens, hidden lives: primary sources from the Holocaust. Enslow Publishers.
Part of the True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust series, Hidden Teens, Hidden lives: Primary Sources from the Holocaust contains true stories, derived from museum and historical archives, of a variety of teenagers who all had very different, yet somehow linked experiences hiding out or under living under disguise during the Holocaust. Each story is told from the teenager’s viewpoint, and includes photos and newspaper excerpts to help readers to get a feel for their experiences. Altman’s book is included as part of the Booklist Top Ten Series for 2010 and the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection.
Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.
Winner of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2006 Best Books for Young Adults Nonfiction award, named a Newberry Medal Honor Book in 2006, and noted as “most highly recommended” by the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, gives a very different and essential side to any study on Hitler’s rise to power and the Holocaust: the perspective of the young Germans whose love for their country was twisted into demented devotion to serve Hitler and further his plan to create a German master race. Bartoletti personally interviewed many former members of the Hitler Youth for this book, as well as Jews who were teenagers in Germany at this time, and adds a section where she tells what happened to each member after fall of Hitler. Teachers and students will find included in this book authentic primary sources such as photographs and examples of propagnda from the era, as well as a suggested reading list for further study of the subject.
Glantz, S., & Kramer, C. (2009). Clara's war: One girl's story of survival. Ecco.
An American Library Association (ALA) RUSA Sophie Brody Award Honor Book in 2010, and part of the 2009 Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults list, Clara’s War: One Girl’s Story of Survival details the true story of Clara Kramer’s life as a teen and the time period when she hid in a bunker with 17 other adults and children during the Holocaust in Poland. Young adult readers will have the experience of witnessing two stages of Clara‘s life: her teenage years when she was in hiding, and Clara in the present-day as an elderly woman reflecting on her life since she this survived this horrendous event. Much like The Diary of Anne Frank, readers will be transported into the daily life of Jews cut off from the world outside, existing with little food and inhumane conditions in the dark.
Janeczko, P. B. (2011). Requiem: Poems of the Terezin ghetto. United States of America: Candlewick Press.
Part of the “most highly recommended” group in the H.W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto is a collection of poems written from the perspective of Jews living in the Terezin Ghetto, an area created by the Nazi regime to hold Jews that would ultimately be transported to various concentration camps. In reading this collection of poems, teens will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, from very young children fearing the unknown horrors they will face at the camps to inmates writing home to family members about the cruelties they are experiencing. Students and teachers can easily connect English and World History curricula using this resource.
Metselaar, M., Rol, R., Pomerans, A., Metselaar, M., & Anne Frank Stichting. (2009). Anne Frank: Her life in words and pictures from the archives of the Anne Frank House. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Pr. /Flash point.
This detailed photographic account of not only Anne Frank’s life, but also of the events of World War II, was created with the approval and assistance of The Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam. Primary sources that can be examined in the book include pages from Anne’s scrapbook, personal family photos, newspaper clippings, and maps of the area. This book, winner of the 2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award Nominations, is an excellent complement to a classroom study of The Diary of Anne Frank or a research project on the Holocaust.
Fiction Books
Bartoletti, S. C. (2008). The boy who dared. New York: Scholastic Press.
In this YALSA 2009 Best Book for Young Adults, Bartoletti, the author of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, continues her focus on teenagers involved in the Holocaust in this fictional account of the life story of Helmuth Hübener, a teen who actually really lived in this time period. She gets into the mind of Hübener and gives details of his life from his childhood when his family was supportive of the Nazis to his adolescence when he was arrested and eventually executed for openly opposing their rule in Germany. Bartoletti gives biographical information and authentic photos at the end of the novel to clear up any confusion about what is true and what is not true in the story.
Heuvel, E., Metselaar, M., Rol, R. ., Groeneweg, H., Bons, H., & Miller, L. T. (2009). A family secret. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
A Family Secret is a graphic novel that conveys the present-day story of Joeren, and his discovery of a scrapbook from his grandmother’s childhood in Amsterdam during the Holocaust, and eventually of her story of her Jewish best friend that disappeared during this time period. The graphic novel format is way effective way to display the emotion and realism of this book via detailed illustrations, and will easily draw teens in. Created as a joint effort of the authors and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the museum has also provided a website with educational resources and activities for teachers to use with this novel (http://www.annefrank.org/en/Worldwide/Education/A-Family-Secret/).
Lasky, K. (2010). Ashes. United States of America: Viking.
Gabriella, a teenage girl living in Berlin in 1932, gives the account of her life as the daughter of an anti-Nazi scientist in Ashes. Set in the time period when Hitler was just taking power, Lasky shows how life changed for everyone in Germany---Jews and Hitler supporters alike. A Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth winner in 2010 and “most highly recommended” in the H. W. Wilson Senior High Core Collection, Ashes adds historical touches from this time, including Gabriella’s father’s friendship with Albert Einstein, and a scene detailing the real book burnings that took place in Berlin.
Sharenow, R. (2011). The Berlin boxing club. New York: HarperTeen.
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012 winner, The Berlin Boxing Club is a great novel to attract young adult male readers into studies on the Holocaust via the sports story of a young Jewish boy, Karl, who is taking boxing lessons from famous boxer Max Schmeling in 1930s Germany. The story of the Holocaust comes into play as Karl begins to see how being a Jew is increasingly causing his family to be persecuted and restricted by the Nazi soldiers and other Hitler supporters. The author includes facts about events of the Holocaust and the real Max Schmeling at the close of the novel to help readers grasp the significance of the story.
Zusak, M. (2006). The book thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Written from the viewpoint of Death personified, The Book Thief tells specifically about Death’s unfortunate duties during the Holocaust and its interaction with a girl named Liesl, whose family is hiding a Jew and who has a kleptomaniac side to her when it comes to books. The story has an interesting mixture of Liesel’s personal life and the events and influences of the Holocaust. It is the winner of the YALSA 2007 Best Books for Young Adults award and is a YALSA Printz Award Honor Book for 2007
Magazine Articles
Epstein, D. (2012, July 9). The strength to carry on. Sports Illustrated, 117(2), 96.
David Epstein tells the story of Ben Helfgott, former British Olympian and survivor of a German concentration camp. The details of his survival contrasted with the murders of his family members evoke deep emotions, yet his life as an orphan after the war was over, and eventual rise to success and acclaim as a weightlifter will be inspirational to students.
Goldhagen, D. (1998, June 15). Europe's success story. Newsweek, 131(24), 38.
How do Germans feel about always being identified as the perpetrators of the Holocaust, even generations after they could possibly be tied to the actual event? Goldhagen details how German society has come to grips with this dark moment in history and tried to make reparations for the Holocaust and gives readers studying the Holocaust a view of present-day Germany.
Levy, S. (2008, May 5). Hitler killed my father. Newsweek, 151(18), 22.
In remembering her father’s life and death over a decade ago, author Shirley Paryzer Levy tells about how Hitler continued to control her father and mother’s thoughts years after they were freed from the Nazi concentration camps. She touchingly tells about her mother’s stories of the camps that she shared during Levy’s childhood, and how her father ultimately found his voice in talking about the Holocaust in video testimonials for the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Lincoln, M. (2006, February 1). Witness to history. School Library Journal, 52(2), 54-57.
Including authentic photos and diary pages, Lincoln’s article effectively describes how teachers can give students a personal exposure to the Holocaust by visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum or by using the lesson plans and numerous other resources on its website. She includes a list of additional on-line resources to aid teachers and students in their study of the Holocaust.
Lincoln, M. (2007, November 1). All but her life. School Library Journal, 53(11), 52-54.
In this article, media specialist Margaret Lincoln tells how her high school’s book study of Gerda Weissmann Klein’s autobiography of her survival in a German labor camp evolved into an opportunity for the students to see Klein speak in person and the creation of a book blog where students interacted with other Holocaust survivors. Teachers and students can glean ideas on how to take their studies of the Holocaust to the next level and find deeper meaning and authentic experiences.
Internet Sites
Anne Frank Museum Amsterdam: The Official Anne Frank House Website (http://www.annefrank.org/)
This website, created by the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, is an essential tool in learning more about the life of Anne Frank and also in experiencing primary resources such as family photographs and excerpts from her diary in her handwriting. Viewers can take an interactive virtual tour of the secret annex where her family hid and there are specific pages for teachers and students interesting in learning more about Anne Frank and her experiences during the Holocaust.
Holocaust Survivors (http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/)
Established by a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, this website details the stories of survivors of the Holocaust complete with a historical overview of the Holocaust, a link to primary resources from the survivors such as authentic photographs and letters, audio clips of the survivors talking about their experiences, an encyclopedia of terms and events from the Holocaust, a bibliography of resources used to create the site, and links to other on-line resources.
IWitness: Video Testimonies from Holocaust Survivors and Witnesses (http://iwitness.usc.edu/SFI/)
Launched by Steven Spielberg in 1994, and awarded with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Best Website for Teaching and Learning designation in 2012, IWitness was designed specifically for educators and for students 13-18 interested in the Holocaust and allows users to search by topics such as “Ghetto Life” or “Schindler Jews” and then watch over 1,000 videos from Holocaust witnesses. The videos are accessible without joining, but teachers must apply to gain a full membership to the website, which allows access to the IWitness Community.
The Southern Institute for Education and Research: Louisiana Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
(http://www.southerninstitute.info/holocaust_education/holocaust_survivor_testimony.html)
This website, created by the Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University provides teachers and students with ten video interviews of survivors of the Holocaust that now live in Louisiana, which can be used as an excellent complement to the Holocaust Survivors website. Resources that go along with each of the testimonials include written transcripts, study guides with historical background information and key teaching points, and student tests with answer keys.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/)
The official website of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is an excellent resource for studying the events of World War II and the Holocaust, as it includes portions of the exhibition in Washington, D.C., collections and archives from the Holocaust, a page dedicated to Holocaust research, historical film footage, and a page specifically for teachers and students studying the Holocaust (teachers, see: http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/prodev/beli/2003/). Given the nature of the subject, there are some disturbing images and videos on the various pages of this website, so educators should use good judgment when directing students to specific portions of the website.
Audio-Visual Materials
DVDs
Colla, R. (Director). (2010). Hidden in silence. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.
Based on a true story, Hidden in Silence (not rated) depicts the bravery of a Catholic teenager in World War II era Poland who decides to aid Jewish citizens by hiding them in her attic and providing them with food and supplies. This video is an excellent resource to show how the Holocaust affected all groups and people of all religious backgrounds.
Deitch, D. (Director) & Yolen, J., Averch, R., Ciaffa, C., Hoffman, D., Weintraub, F., Cohen, J., & Zook, K. (Writers). (2004). The devil’s arithmetic. Showtime Entertainment.
Starring actresses Brittany Murphy and Kristen Dunst, The Devil’s Arithmetic is the tale of a modern-day teenager who travels back in time to experience the Holocaust and her ancestors’ plight first-hand. The film does not include any extremely violent scenes and is rated NR (not rated).
Harris, M. J. (Director) & Harris, M. J., Dwyer, A., Callaway, C. Oppenheimer, D., & Fusaro, L. (Writers). (2001). Into the arms of strangers - stories of the Kindertransport. Warner Home Video.
Filmed with the help of the United States Memorial Museum, Into The Arms Of Strangers - Stories Of The Kindertransport (rated PG), details an effort that rescued over 10,000 children from the horrors of the Holocaust and transported them to live with foster parents in England. This documentary, winner of an Academy Award, includes real present-day testimonials of men and women saved through the kindertransport effort.
CD-ROMs
MacMillan Reference Library. (1996) Historical atlas of the holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
This CD-ROM includes text, 275 maps, and 500 photographs on everything from the Jewish ghettos to the concentration camps to give students an authentic exposure to the surroundings of the Holocaust.
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. (1999). Survivors: Testimonies of the holocaust. Simon & Schuster Interactive.
Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and Winona Ryder, this CD-ROM allows students to witness the experiences of four survivors of the Holocaust. Resources on the CD-ROM include videos, text, photographs, and maps.
Keywords and Phrases for Searching
Key terms and phrases that will aid in your search are:
Anti-Semitism
Auschwitz
Diaries from the Holocaust
German nationalism
Germany-History-1933-1945
Hitler Youth
Nazi propaganda
Survivors and the Holocaust
Teenagers and the Holocaust
World War II