Camera of My Family Video
Subject: Social Studies
Grade Levels: 6 through 12
Sunshine State Standards:
- Grades 6-8
- SS.A. 3.3.4
- Grades 9-12
- SS.A. 3.4.9
View all Sunshine State Standards
Discussion Questions: Camera of My Family Video
- What does Noren mean when she says that she began "to discover who I am and where I came from"? Why was this so important to her?
- Do you think she may have been better off not knowing what the Nazis did to her family? Why or why not?
- What were some of the important events in Noren's family history? How did these events effect the family?
- How did German culture and Jewish culture influence Noren's family? Were the two cultures a source of conflict for them during the Nazi period?
- Noren says that "in an effort to forget, my family tried to blot out the past." If it were not for her "chance discovery" of the family photos, do you think she would ever have learned about her family's past? Is forgetfulness ever complete?
- What reasons does Noren give for the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in Germany?
- Why do you think Hitler received so much support?
- How did Hitler's government affect the Jews in Germany? What are some examples in the video of antisemitism?
- How did the Nazi government change Germans and Germany?
- How did members of Noren's family respond to Nazi oppression?
- Why do you think Noren's family continued to live in Germany in spite of the episodes of antisemitism during the early years of Nazi rule?
- Government safeguards:
- What safeguards existed in Germany in the years just before Hitler (during the period of Germany's Weimar Republic, 1918-1933) to preserve civil liberties and to check political tyranny?
- Why did these safeguards fail?
- Are there safeguards built into the American system of government that prevent it from becoming a reign of terror?
- What are they?
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 1997-2013.