WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 13, 1999
AFTERNOON SESSION A 14:00-15:30
The Holocaust Genocide Project
A Telecommunications Based Curricular Project
By
Honey Kern and Gideon Goldstein
The Holocaust/Genocide Project (HGP) is an international, nonprofit,
telecommunications project focusing on the study of the Holocaust and other
genocides. The purpose of the HGP is to promote education and awareness, and to
encourage the application of this knowledge in a way, which makes a positive
difference in the world. The HGP welcomes all students -- Age 12-17 -- and teachers,
internationally.
A project of the International Education and Resource Network (I*EARN), the HGP
involves participating schools around the world, including schools in the United
States, Israel, Australia, Argentina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Russia, Poland, South Africa,
Germany, Slovakia, the Netherlands, and Estonia.
Since its inception in 1992, the HGP has been a model for on-line learning. The
project follows an array of components intended to make it attractive to all learners.
The HGP is curriculum based and requires teacher facilitation. The curriculum is
based on an on-line conference (threaded newsgroup) which provides a
cross-disciplinary approach to the Holocaust including History, Literature and Poetry,
Art, Music and Film.
The list of conference topics demonstrates the variety of subject matters discussed:
Background information, - For example:
Wiesel, Elie. NIGHT. New York: Bantam Books, 1982. (First published in
French in 1958 by Les Editions de Minuit.) Softcover. 109 pages.
Wiesel, born in Hungary, writes of his teenage experience in the town of Sighet with
his family as they were forced from small town life, to ghetto, to train transport, to
Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. This painful journey, with his
father, is one of the most stirring of Holocaust recollections. Recommended for high
school students, 15 and older.
Proposed activities and lesson plans for teachers – For example:
Major Holocaust Themes in Elie Wiesel's Night
(A unit for a high school English class – First activity)
Materials: The choice of materials is determined by the particular class and is usually
revised/updated each year. But here is a list of some materials I make use of in
reading Wiesel's book with my classes.
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Night, Elie Wiesel, Bantam Books, 1982.
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Why I Write, by Elie Wiesel, “The New York Times”, Book Review Section,
pg. 13-14, April 14, 1985.
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This Honor Belongs to All Survivors, Nobel Speech by Elie Wiesel, delivered
in Oslo, Norway in December, 1986.
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The Fate of the Hungarian Jews, article from Anti-Defamation League.
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What Makes Hungary Unique, by Phillips and Solomon, from “Past/Forward”
the newsletter of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, July 1996.
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"On Wiesel's Night" poem by Thomas Thorton, “English Journal,” February,
1990.
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In Black Rain: for Elie Wiesel, poem by Charles Fishman, “The Death
Mazurka”, Texas Tech Press, 1989.
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Map of Hungary: 1938-45, showing Sighet, from Past/Forward, July, 1996.
•
Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major, OP. 61, on tape, by Isaac Stern,
Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Documents from Fifty Years Ago: Darkness Before the Dawn, 1994, United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
1. Stettinius Telegram, June 6, 1944, page 110.
2. Telegram from Chaim Barlas, Istanbul, to Laurence A.
Steinhardt, Ankara, June 24, 1944, page 113.
3. Hull Telegram, August 25, 1944, pages 114-115.
4. Raoul Wallenberg's Last Report to Sweden, December
8, 1944, page 319.
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Historic timeline, 1933-45, from The Holocaust, Yad Vashem. (available on
the HGP conference)
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Photo of Elie Wiesel in Buchenwald, from The Holocaust, Yad Vashem,
Jerusalem, Israel.
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Poster Set, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC.
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Thirty- Six Questions About the Holocaust, published by Simon Wiesenthal
Center, 1989.
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Video-tape: Gabe Pressman interviews Elie Wiesel and Cardinal O'Connor,
NBC, June, 1989.
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Video-tape: Bill Moyers, Facing Hate: with Elie Wiesel, PBS, August, 1992.
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Video-tape: Oprah interviews Elie Wiesel, July, 1993.
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Video-tape: Survivors of the Holocaust, by Steven Spielberg, Survivors of the
Shoah Visual History Foundation.
Photos I have taken in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Goals:
1. To understand a first-person narration account of one young person's Holocaust
experience from 1943-45.
2. To develop an awareness of historical documents and testimonies to study the
Holocaust.
3. To develop an interest in poetry, video, art and music in collaboration with the
autobiography, Night.
4. To examine the role of the individual, during the Holocaust:
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In decision-making
As victim of dehumanization
As perpetrator
As bystander
In the ghetto
In transit
In the camps
In resistance
As witness
5. To encourage use of Internet resources for research and the proper use of MLA
documentation.
6. To foster respect for each other's opinions while encouraging good speaking skills
for the group.
7. To encourage students to expand their study of the Holocaust during and after this
unit.
8. To foster critical thinking skills in addition to humane, compassionate responses to
the study of the Holocaust.
9. To look around at our community and world and take an action to make it a better
place for all of us.
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Days 1 and 2:
Prepare the classroom:
1. Have students put up posters and enlarged timeline around the room.
2. Students should write down any questions they have as they go about this work.
3. If possible, for discussion, seat the class in a circle. It's important to see and hear
each student. Discuss the upcoming plans of the unit, and ask the students what they
have learned or know about the Holocaust previously from social studies classes or
elsewhere, and how they would "define" the Holocaust.
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Put some definitions on the board and let students discuss them. Review terms
like "prejudice, stereotype, intolerance, genocide."
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Hand out pamphlet of 36 questions from Simon Wiesenthal Center and tell
students that the pamphlet may be a good resource to review from time to time.
(See "Materials")
4. Depending on the group's knowledge and questions, review the period between the
end of WWI and 1933 in Germany.
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Assign the major topics from the timeline: the rise of the National Socialist
German Workers Party and Hitler, the Enabling Act, Book burning, Nuremberg
Laws, German Aryan Racial Policy, Evian Conference, Kristallnacht, German
invasion of Poland, all the way to 1945, for student research to be shared orally in
class in two days.
• Encourage students to use the Internet to gather information, stressing MLA
method of citing of sources for electronic data. Review MLA method of citation
for e-mail, CD-ROM, WWW site, newsgroups, and other sources.
5. Encourage students to keep a "journal," of their questions and reactions while they
read and discuss during this unit. The teacher should keep a journal, too, even if rereading the book.
6. Hand out Thorton poem to students to read and save for discussion after the entire
unit is complete.
Discussion space – Here is an example of student discussion:
What exactly is the death march? I've studied a bit about the holocaust, but
I have not come across anything about a death march, and it would be nice
if you could respond and explain what the death march is. Also if you
guys are learning about any other genocides, you could talk about that also,
and tell me what you have learned. I am presently studying about the
Cambodian genocide, but I can't tell you much about it yet.
Please respond, thanks.
My name is Teoma, and I am a sophomore at international studies academy
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in San Francisco
Dear Teoma,
Hi, my name is Greg and I am a sophomore in Cold Spring Harbor High
School, New York. The death marches occurred late in the war. The Germans
tried to march the people from the concentration camps in Poland to Germany
so that the allies wouldn't be able to find out what happened. Many of
them died from the marches because they were given little to no food, they
were wearing hardly any clothing, and it was in the middle of winter. Many
people froze to death or became so weak that they could not keep up. If
someone couldn't keep up they were shot and left there to die.
When you are done writing about the Cambodian genocide please send a copy
to reisner@csh.k12.ny.us
I would really like to learn more about it. I hope to hear from you soon.
Dear Greg,
I'm Samantha from Kent Place School in NJ. I just read the book
Night and was interested in what you had to say about the death marches.
Elie Weisel talked a lot about his own death march and reading about it
was upsetting. It was scary to hear about the constant struggle to
survive and how people trampled one another to death just to keep
themselves alive. For example, there was that one boy who, instead of
standing by his father, left him behind in the snow because his father
was slow and weak and he wanted to be free of the burden. There were
so many instances of people losing sight of their humanity and
forgetting about what mattered to them because of what they had to go
through. It was amazing that Elie had the strength to stick by his
father throughout their imprisonment because of the pressures put on him
to leave him and live for himself. But even he felt relieved when his
father died and it's so hard for us to understand how anyone could
possibly feel this way. It's terrible that someone's relationship with
their father had to be challenged in that way. The most frustrating
thing about Elie's situation was the fact that he and his father could
have avoided the struggle and death. If they had remained in the
hospital, they would have been liberated by the Russians within the next
2 days. It must have been terrible for Elie to know that he had made
the wrong decision in leaving and could have saved his father's life.
I'd like to hear more from you if you are still interested in the Holocaust.
From,
Sam
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The core conference is further enhanced by several on and off line activities.
The project has its own Web site (http://www.iearn.org/hgp).
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Project participants publish an annual magazine An End to Intolerance which
appears in both printed and Web form.
The table of contents for the 1997 issue:
Making Moral Decisions
Sempo Sugihara
Hannah Szenes
The "List" That Saved Jews
Zegota
Raoul Wallenberg Stamp
Janusz Korczak
The White Rose
Le Chambon
What's New for 1997
The Holocaust/Genocide Project (HGP) into the Millenium
Faces of War Ventures Forth
An Exciting Collaboration with Facing History and
Ourselves
Survivors Speak
The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation
Ghetto Shanghai -- Evelyn Pike-Rubin
Survivors Interviewed in Australia
My Grandmother's Story
Opa and The Family Project
True Stories That Had to Be Told
The Memories of a Former Prisoner
The River That Vanished -- Bernheim
Global Education
Polish Student Wins Prize
Holocaust Education in Germany Expands
Teaching the Holocaust in Poland
Russian Are Active in Holocaust Studies
Belarus Students Research the Grodno Ghetto
Nazi Swastika or Ancient Symbol?
The Jews in Bulgaria During World War II
Letter from Argentina
In the Schools
The Magenta Project
The St. Louis
Our "Zuni Connection" Grows
School Symposium Educates the Community
A Real Lesson
Students Travel on History Tour
Veteran Recalls Liberating Camp
The Cage
On-line Reading of Night
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Resources
Are We Facing History and Ourselves?
Topography of Terror Publishes Resource
Local Holocaust Center Dedicated to Education
The Melbourne Holocaust Museum and Research
Center
These World Wide Web Sites Can Help You!
Reach and Teach: Survivors On-line to Help Students
Current Events
Swiss Accused of Keeping Holocaust Funds
About the Printer of Rare Postcards
Human Rights and Genocide
Roma/Sinti (Gypsies) and the Holocaust
Roma and Sinti in Slovakia
Holocaust Resource Newsletter: Gypsies and the
Holocaust
Genocide of Native Americans Still Haunts United
States
Poland/Israel
Study Mission: College Student Shares Memories
Book Reviews
Hitler's Willing Executioners
Zlata's Diary
Friedrich
Night
Creative Impressions
Yad Vashem: Quartet of Poems
The Herd
The Dove
For Juliek
Conclusion
Letters to the Editor
Benefactors, Patrons, and Supporters
The International scope of An End to Intolerance is demonstrated by the
following list of the contributing schools to the 1997 issue:
Albuquerque High School; New Mexico, USA
AMCHA; Jerusalem, Israel
Ararat Community College; Australia
A:Shiwi Elementary School; Zuni, New Mexico, USA
Bairnsdale Secondary College; Australia
Barker Community Learning Center; Greenacres,
Washington, USA
Broadford Secondary College; Melbourne, Australia
Brown University; Rhode Island, USA
Cybrary of the Holocaust (Internet)
Cold Spring Harbor High School; New York, USA
CPEM N3; Zapala, Argentina
Erich-Fried 2 Grammar School; Berlin, Germany
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Facing History and Ourselves; Brookline,
Massachussetts, USA
Fifth Language School; Varna, Bulgaria
German Information Center; New York, USA
Ghetto Fighters' House; Israel
Gimnazia N30, Grodno; Belarus
James Buchanan High School; Mercersburg,
Pennsylvania, USA
Koenigin Charlotee Gymnasium; Stuttgart, Germany
Lake Bolac Secondary College; Australia
Lyceum #429; Moscow, Russia
Lyceum #444; Moscow, Russia
Lyceum #689; Moscow, Russia
Lyceum #1813; Moscow, Russia
Lyceum #64; Warsaw, Poland
Magenta Foundation; The Netherlands
Melbourne Holocaust Museum; Australia
Micha-Kgasi High School; Rosslyn, South Africa
ORT Motzkin Comprehensive High School; Israel
Pretoria Education Network; South Africa
Reach and Teach; Eugene, Oregon, USA
San Francisco Unified School District; California,
USA
Simon Wiesenthal Center; Los Angeles, California
(Internet)
Sophie-Scholl-Schule; Berlin, Germany
Srobarova High School; Kosice, Slovakia
St. Hilda's School; Queensland, Australia
St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School; Warragul,
Australia
Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation;
New York, USA
The New York Times; New York, USA
The Nizkor Project (Internet)
The Sydney Jewish Museum; Australia
The Transatlantic Classroom; Hamburg, Germany
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum;
Washington, DC
United States Postal Service; Washington, DC
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs
Yad Vashem; Jerusalem, Israel
The US project participants assist in survivor interviews conducted by the
"Shoah" Foundation. Here is a report of a student volunteer:
Volunteer Joey Bergida, grade 12, 17 years old
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Over the years I have learned a tremendous amount about the Holocaust from a
variety of sources, some of them first hand accounts. When I first heard about the
opportunity to be involved in the Spielberg Shoah project, my interest was sparked for
a number of reasons. The most obvious reason was that I have always been interested
in hearing individuals speak of their experiences in the Holocaust, and the second
reason being that I have always been somewhat interested in the technical aspects of
projects, in this case the videography.
On October 23, I went to Wantaugh, Long Island for a morning interview with a
survivor, of whom I knew nothing about. After assisting the camera men with their
equipment and filling out a few forms, I did have the chance to learn about the
cameras and the set up for such an interview. Once the technical aspect of the day
was completed, the actual interview began. For the first time in my life I found
myself relating to this survivor in a way I never had before.
The survivor being interviewed was of Polish background, and in the early portion of
the war, he was forced into the Lodz ghetto. I travelled to Poland and Israel three
years ago as a part of the I*EARN Holocaust-Genocide Project study mission, and we
visited this particular ghetto, so I was able to visualize somewhat the environment he
was referring to. (Obviously, the circumstances surrounding our time in Lodz
were vastly different, but there was still a visualization.)
As the interview progressed and the survivor continued to describe his life during the
Holocaust, he mentioned a number of the concentration camps that were familiar to
me. The first concentration camp he was brought to was Auschwitz-Birkenau, a
location I had also been to during my time in Poland. During the interview, more
names of places were mentioned and incidents were recounted that now meant
something to me from a visual aspect. The man mentioned how all he could bring
with him to Auschwitz was one suitcase with all his belongings. Then he explained,
in detail, the dehumanization process he went through. First, there were the separate
groups that all those disembarking from the trains were put into, then the shower and
the haircut.
At Auschwitz anyone touring the camp now can see "miles" of hair from the victims
behind one glass case, followed by displays of suitcases and other personal
belongings. Now, for me, one suitcase has an owner. All these camps have a
face. The Holocaust has a heart and a mouth, and it is because of this that I know it
will never be forgotten.
The I*EARN Holocaust/Genocide Project offers an annual study mission to Poland
and Israel.
Teacher support is of extreme importance. The project has both a facilitator and a
mentor allowing for immediate assistance. The conference has a teacher's discussion
forum and other teacher questions are answered by e-mail.
The HGP has collaborated during its existence with many Holocaust organizations
such as: The Shoah Foundation of New York, The US Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington DC, The Ghetto Fighters House Museum in Israel, The Simon
Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and "Facing History and Ourselves” of Cambridge
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MA. Project students have received acclaim from US Vice President Albert Gore and
Professor Elie Wiesel. Several of the project graduates selected Holocaust studies as
part of their academic program.
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