teaching the Holocaust in limudei chol class

ruth

Thu, Aug 03 2006, 10:57 pm

The school that has hired me to teach Mod World History also requires the students to take "Historia" (Jewish History) as a seperate subject.

Has anyone taught the Holocaust in a limudei chol class? How did you apporach the subject?

If anyone has ideas or suggestions, please post them.

southernbubby

Fri, Aug 04 2006, 1:27 am

Could you show them the Paper Clips video? Young Israel showed it here last year on Tisha B'Av, about an 8th grade in Tenessee who lived in an all white Christian area and wanted to collect 6 million paper clips. Important people from all over sent paper clips as well as Holocaust momentos and this school built it's own Holocaust museum out of an actual rail car that had been used to transport Jews to the death camps. This whole town got involved and at the dedication of the museum, survivors came to tell their stories and a Jewish child came to lead the town's people in the mourner's kaddish. That video is now used nationwide to teach Holocaust in public schools.

MMEC123

Fri, Aug 04 2006, 4:51 am

There is a video out entitled "The Wave" which also has a very powerful message. It was also based in a school (not sure if it's a true story or not). Basically, one teacher was trying to drive home the point of how it was possible to convince all of Germany to follow along with Hitler Y"SH's plan. It's very powerful if you can get a hold of it.

ruth

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 10:10 am

Thank you everyone for responding.

One of our teachers has used "The Wave," so I will probably have access to this. I stumbled upon an article on the web that explains the background of the "experiment" from which the movie is based on. It is a true story.

[quote="Kmelion"]The Holocaust is part of world history, when teaching WW II... why couldn't/wouldn't you teach it in a secular class?[/quote]
The purpose of my post was to hear how others approached this in their class.

I have to cover 600 years of world history in one year; thus, everything I am going to teach will be taught on a superficial level. The Holocaust is something that all students have knowledge about -- many have relatives who are survivors. There is a pre-existing communal memory of the Shoah which I don't want to trivialize; and, I don't want to be redundant and cover what the "Historia" class is teaching.

My task will be to connect it with the rest of the course. This means having to stepping out from the Judeo-centric view and present more on the political causes and universal implications of the Shoah. This is what I am asking help for.

Motek

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 10:36 am

ruth wrote:

This means having to stepping out from the Judeo-centric view and present more on the political causes and universal implications of the Shoah. This is what I am asking help for.

political causes for genocide? were there any?

step out of a Judeo-centric view? of the Holocaust?? shock

shayna82

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 10:49 am

ruth wrote:

One of our teachers has used "The Wave," so I will probably have access to this. I stumbled upon an article on the web that explains the background of the "experiment" from which the movie is based on. It is a true story.

I agree- the wave was the perfect teaching method as an intro. to what the germans yimach shemam accomplished.

ruth

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 11:01 am

Motek, thanks for responding.

I am teaching World History. Yes, the Shoah was primarily directed at us. But did it effect only us? I am not speaking about the other murder victims, I am talking about the moral ramifications for mankind. It is my job as a limudei chol teacher to show other angles on things. Please do not confuse this with presenting a so-called "balanced" or neutral view.

The beauty of teaching/learning in a frum school is there isn't the requirement of being morally neutral. However, I believe the school wants to develop the students intellectual comprehesion of the world. I don't think studying and analyzing the Holocaust is any less mechubad to the memory of those who perished and suffered. On the contrary, it is the antidote to anti-semitic revisionists.

Why the aversion the to word "political?" Remember the old slogan, "the personal is political?" Why does understanding the politics of something take away from the meaning? I think it enhances.

Motek

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 11:10 am

ruth wrote:

I don't think studying and analyzing the Holocaust is any less mechubad to the memory of those who perished and suffered. On the contrary, it is the antidote to anti-semitic revisionists.

How about having an actual Holocaust survivor speak to the students?

Quote:

Why the aversion the to word "political?" Remember the old slogan, "the personal is political?" Why does understanding the politics of something take away from the meaning? I think it enhances.

Rather than an aversion, my question was whether so-called political reasons for murdering babies, women, and innocent people exist.

If trains that were desperately needed for the war effort were used to carry Jews to their deaths instead, I don't think politics had anything to do with it. Any political reasons offered are smoke-screens to whitewash crimes.

Or do I not know what you are referring to?

amother

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 2:23 pm

I worked in a school that had a pilot program to teach about the holocaust that may be interesting to you. It was run by someone from the BJE (Board of Jewish Education New York). She was writing a curriculum that would be able to be used later by others. You could contact the BJENY for more info. though I can't remember her name. It was used in the sixth grade secular studies class. But could be adapted to older grades. Actually it seemed like it might even be better suited for an older grade. I don't remember all the details, but the perspective was basically about teaching the students how the holocaust came about politically- the fact that it came about through democratic voting, how laws were passed one by one that it did not just happen, there were steps that led to it etc... The point in the end was teaching about personal responsability in making decisions- that each decision, each vote, each law, has an effect that leads to the next step whatever it may be. Let us know if this helps.

(Amother, because I don't want to give away identifying info. )

lamplighter

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 4:07 pm

ruth,
hiya, im a fellow teacher who loves lesson planning.....
I have a few questions for you before I can offer realistic and purposful advice...
what about the holocaust does your curriculum ask you to teach?
what do you what the students to know and feel after your class?
what age group are they?
what kind of school (bais yaakov, modern orthodox...?) and what hashkafos regarding the holocaust do they emphasize?

if you would like to pm me thats also ok...
gluck

lamplighter

Sun, Aug 06 2006, 4:10 pm

there is a woman named mrs. strauss from kensington who has taught the holocaust in bais rivka foe over 20 years. although the school is lubavitch, she is litvish and has done an incredible job teaching this important subject to her th grade history classes...
if u would like her phone number pm me

ruth

Sun, Aug 20 2006, 10:20 pm

Thanks for posting.

The school is a Bais Yaakov. I spoke with the new incoming menachelet. They really didn't give me any guidelines that can answer the questions you posed. That's my problem. I think they just want me to follow in the footsteps of one of the vetran teachers who's going on sabbatical for a year. I haven't been able to get her -- yet.

My own personal take on it is reflected on my other posts in this thread. I want to show the political situation of Europe at that time. I am not qualified to teach hashgafa pratit stories and I think the school wants that to stay in the Historia (judaica) class.

As far as what I want them to get out of my lesson are the following:
1) to be able to refute revisionists by knowing the facts, as in #2
2) to know the basic timeline of events and relevant 5 W's & H
3) the "why" is a bit tricky and falls into hashkafa issues
4) have a personal encounter w/ a survivor (one of the teachers requires interviewing a survivor or WWII vetran and doing a project from this.)

I know I'm missing other important components - that's why I posted.