Aftermath

Vocabulary Discussion Questions/Research Topics Reproducible Student Hand-Outs Bibliography Books Other Resources Lesson Plans From the Teacher's Guide Links to lesson plans on other Web sites Florida Resource Manual on Holocaust Education

Bergen-Belsen /beagen belzen/ : Nazi concentration camp in northwestern Germany. Erected in 1943. Thousands of Jews, political prisoners, and POWs were killed there. Liberated by British troops in April 1945, although many of the remaining prisoners died of typhus after liberation.

B'richa: The organized and illegal mass movement of Jews throughout Europe following World War II.

British White Paper of 1939: British policy of restricting immigration of Jews to Palestine.

DP: Displaced Person. The upheavals of war left millions of soldiers and civilians far from home. Millions of DPs had been eastern European slave laborers for the Nazis. The tens of thousands of Jewish survivors of Nazi camps either could not or did not want to return to their former homes in Germany or eastern Europe, and many lived in special DP camps while awaiting migration to America or Palestine.

Displaced Persons Act of 1948: Law passed by U.S. Congress limiting the number of Jewish displaced persons who could emigrate to the United States. The law contained antisemitic elements, eventually eliminated in 1950.

Eichmann, Adolph (1906 - 1962): SS Lieutenant Colonel and head of the Gestapo department dealing with Jewish affairs.

Einsatzgruppen /ainzatsgroopen/ : Mobile units of the Security Police and SS Security Service that followed the German armies to Poland in 1939 and to the Soviet Union in June, 1941. Their charge was to kill all Jews as well as communist functionaries, the handicapped, institutionalized psychiatric patients, Gypsies, and others considered undesirable by the nazi state. They were supported by units of the uniformed German Order Police and often used auxiliaries (Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian volunteers). The victims were executed by mass shootings and buried in unmarked mass graves; later, the bodies were dug up and burned to cover evidence of what had occurred.

Genocide: The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, cultural, or religious group.

Gestapo /geshtahpoh/ : Acronym for Geheime Staatspolizei /gehaime shtahtspolitsai/ , meaning Secret State Police. Prior to the outbreak of war, the Gestapo used brutal methods to investigate and suppress resistance to Nazi rule within Germany. After 1939, the Gestapo expanded its operations into Nazi-occupied Europe.

Gypsies: A collective term for Romani and Sinti. A nomadic people believed to have come originally from northwest India. They became divided into five main groups still extant today. By the sixteenth century, they had spread to every country of Europe. Alternately welcomed and persecuted since the fifteenth century, they were considered enemies of the state by the Nazis and persecuted relentlessly. Approximately 500,000 Gypsies are believed to have perished in the gas chambers.

Holocaust: Derived from the Greek holokauston which meant a sacrifice totally burned by fire. Today, the term refers to the systematic planned extermination of about six million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazis between 1933-1945.

Homophobia: Fear of homosexuals.

International Military Tribunal: The United States, Great Britain, France, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics charted this court to prosecute Nazi war criminals.

The Nazi (National Socialist German Workers') Party: The Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei /natsional sotsialistishe doiche abaita patai/ or NSDAP was founded in Germany on January 5, 1919. It was characterized by a centralist and authoritarian structure. Its platform was based on militaristic, racial, antisemitic and nationalistic policies. Nazi Party membership and political power grew dramatically in the 1930s, partly based on political propaganda, mass rallies and demonstrations.

Nuremberg Trials: Trials of twenty-two major Nazi figures in Nuremberg, Germany in 1945 and 1946 before the International Military Tribunal.

Nuremberg Laws: The Nuremberg Laws were announced by Hitler at the Nuremberg Party conference, defining 'Jew' and systematizing and regulating discrimination and persecution. The "Reich Citizenship Law" deprived all Jews of their civil rights, and the "Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor" made marriages and extra-marital sexual relationships between Jews and Germans punishable by imprisonment.

SA (Sturmabteilung /shtoormabtailung/ or Storm Troopers) : Also known as "Brown Shirts," they were the Nazi party's main instrument for undermining democracy and facilitating Adolf Hitler's rise to power. The SA was the predominant terrorizing arm of the Nazi party from 1923 until "The Night of the Long Knives" in 1934. They continued to exist throughout the Third Reich, but were of lesser political significance after 1934.

Scapegoat: Person or group of people blamed for crimes committed by others.

SD (Sicherheitsdienst /zikherhaitsdeenst/ or Security Service) : The SS security and intelligence service established in 1931 under Reinhard Heydrich.

Wiesenthal, Simon(1908- ): Famed Holocaust survivor who has dedicated his life since the war to gathering evidence for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

Zionism: Political and cultural movement calling for the return of the Jewish people to their Biblical home.

Zyklon B: (Hydrogen cyanide) Pesticide used in some of the gas chambers at the death camps.

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Discussion Questions/Research Topics

• Identify examples current human rights violations. Research and discuss.

• What harsh realities and strictly limited options ultimately confronted the survivors of the Holocaust?

• Find and read the British White Paper of 1939. Why did it restrict Jews from going to Palestine?

• Assess the motives and tactics of the deniers of the Holocaust.

• After the liberation of camps throughout Europe, many displaced persons came to the United States. Research the plan of action for the immigrants taken by the U.S. government and the effects of the plan on the displaced persons.

• Which famous Nazis fled Germany to avoid trial? Where were they later found?

• Which countries were willing or unwilling to help bring Nazi war criminals to justice?

• Discuss the collective German conscience after World War II. There is a bulk of literature dealing with Germans and Germany "coming to terms with" what happened during the War and the Holocaust. How would you suggest dealing terms with humanitarian crimes if committed by your country?

• How long (by how many generations) in your opinion should responsibility for the Holocaust be carried?

• Who would you consider responsible for Nazi crimes, those who made the laws of persecution, those who carried them out, those who did not interfere?

• What event would have to occur in your life that would convince you to leave everything and go to a foreign country?

• Should Neo-Nazis organizations have the right to form and hold public demonstrations?

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Reproducible Student Hand-Outs

Central Europe 1945. Map of Central Europe as it looked at the end of the war.

Central Europe Today. Map of Central Europe today.

Europe Today. Map of Europe today.

Holocaust time line 1933-1945. (Use your browser's back button to return to this page.)

• Carson-Dellosa. Holocaust. 1998
• The Holocaust: Prejudice Unleashed Unit. Ohio Council on Holocaust Education. 1994
• Meriwether. Children of the Holocaust. Play Script.
• The Spirit that Moves Us. The Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine. 1997
• Walch, J. Weston. Understanding the Holocaust. 1995
• Zanger. The Bystander's Dilemma: Thinking Skills and Values Exploration in the Social Studies.

  Nazi War Criminals and Trials: A Selected Bibliography.

  Searching for Nazi War Criminals: A Selected Bibliography.

  A bibliography related to Jewish immigration to Palestine is available at the Wiesenthal Center site.

• A Time to Gather Stones Together. This video documents Holocaust survivors living in the US as they return to their roots in Poland and the Ukraine. Survivors are shown visiting their ancestral homes, looking up long lost relatives, and placing stones on the graves of the dead. (28 minutes), Grades 7-12, Documentaries International, 1993
• Breaking the Silence: The Generation After the Holocaust. This award-winning documentary shows survivors and their children trying to understand how the Holocaust has effected both their lives. (58 minutes), Grades 7-12, Cinema Guild, 1984
• Children of the Holocaust. Four survivors of the Holocaust, now adults, share their experiences of life in the camps, ghettoes, and Auschwitz. (51 minutes), Grades 7-12, Films for the Humanities, 1994
• The Democrat and the Dictator: A Walk Through the 20^th Century. In this video, Bill Moyers contrasts the lives of Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler during the 1930's and 40's. (58 minutes), Grades 7-12, PBS
• Displaced Persons. At the end of World War II over 250,000 Jews were left homeless. This video documents the plight of the Jews, through archival footage and interviews, the struggle they endured as a result of the war. (48 minutes), Grades 9-12, Israel Film Services, 1981
• For the Living. This video, narrated by Ed Asner, chronicles the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. How it was created, designed and built, as well as the artifacts it contains is documented. (60 minutes), Grades 7-12, PBS, 1993
• The Holocaust: In Memory of Millions. This video, hosted by Walter Cronkite, provides an overall history of the Holocaust, and introduces the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Using a mix of archival film footage, survivor testimonies, and a discussion with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, this video attempts to answer the question: Why should we remember? Warning: graphic presentation of atrocities. (60 minutes), Grades 7-12, Discovery Channel, 1994
• The Holocaust: A Teenager's Experience. The journey of Holocaust survivor David Bergman is documented through narration, film footage and drawings. Warning: some graphic footage. Reproducible activities and a guide for teachers are also provided. (30 minutes), Grades 7-12, United Learning
• The Holocaust: Through Our Own Eyes. This video provides firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivors, as well as liberators of the concentration camps, on the atrocities that took place. Reproducible masters, discussion questions, and activities are also provided. (35 minutes), Grades 7-12, Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, 1994
• A Journey Back: Remembrances of the Holocaust. This video documents Broadway producer Jack Garfein's return to Aushwitz, as he searches for his past as well as the truth. (60 minutes), Grades 7-12, Direct Cinema Education
• Kitty: Return to Auschwitz. This documentary chronicles Auschwitz survivor Kitty Hart, and her return to Auschwitz 34 years later. (73 minutes), Grades 7-12
• Lest We Forget: A History of the Holocaust. This CD-ROM provides a thorough overview of the Holocaust. Using text as well as archival film and audio clips, and hundreds of captioned pictures, topics such as life in the ghettoes, revolts in the death camps, and the Nuremberg trials are covered. Grades 9-12, Logos Research Systems, 1996
• The Long Way Home. This video narrated by Morgan Freeman documents the struggles Jews faced at the end of World War II. Through the use of photographs, archival footage, testimonies and letters, a glimpse of the war's aftermath is portrayed. (120 minutes), Grades 7-12, Moriah/Somon Wiesenthal Center
• The Nazis: A Warning From History. This set of 6 videos explores where the blame for the Holocaust should be placed, and suggests that responsibility can be spread much wider than previously thought. Film footage and interviews are used in this documentary, some never-before-seen. Note: some nudity and violence. (5 hours total time), Grades 10-12, BBC/A&E
• Number the Stars. The story of a young Jewish girl and her best friend who helps her, along with the Danish Resistance, escape from the Nazis during occupation in 1943. (15 minutes), Grades 3-7
• Nuremberg: A Simulation of the International Military Tribunal of 1945-1946. A simulation activity where students portray prosecution and defense attorneys, witnesses, and judges to re-create the Nuremberg Tribunal. Includes a reproducible student guide and a leader's guide. (25-35 players), Grades 9-12, Interact
• Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial. This documentary of the Nuremberg Trials uses archival film footage, witnesses, and courtroom commentary to bring to life these unprecedented judicial proceedings. Note: some graphic footage. Also available separately are captioned photographs of scenes surrounding the trial. (50 minutes), Grades 9-12, The history Channel, 1995
• Retrospective on the Holocaust: The Trial of Adolf Eichmann. This video, along with 27 reproducible prints, a poster and guide, provides insight into the trial of Adolf Eichmann using newsreel footage and journalistic commentary. (17 minutes), Grades 9-12, NYT Educational Media, 1995
• Return to Life: The Story of the Holocaust Survivors. Firsthand testimonies, film footage, and photographs are used in this program to educate and describe the plight of the Jews after World War II. Database links to maps, a timeline and glossary are also provided. Grades 9-12, Yad Vashem, 1997
• Reunion. This video documents the liberation of Jews from the Nazi concentration camps at the close of World War II, and the huge task of returning these millions of Displaced Persons to their homes. (21 minutes), Grades 7-12
• Survivors of the Holocaust. This documentary provides testimony of Holocaust survivors and their children, as they describe life before, during and after the war. Actual photographs and film footage shot in the concentration camps are also shown. Note: some graphic footage. (25 minutes), Grades 7-12, Anti-Defamation League
• Survivors of the Holocaust. This video created by Steven Spielberg and funded by the Shoah Visual History Foundation, has as its mission to preserve eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust through its survivors. (70 minutes), Grades 7-12, Shoah Visual History Foundation/Turner, 1995
• Teaching Holocaust Studies with the Internet: Internet Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities. Lessons using specific web sites along with reproducible worksheets are provided. Lessons on The Rise of Hitler and Nazism, Life in the Ghettos, Survivors' Stories and others are included. Grades 4-12, Classroom Connect, 1997
• To Bear Witness. In this video, 14 nations gather together at the First International Liberators Conference along with survivors to testify about their experiences during the Holocaust. Along with archival film footage and survivor testimony, an account of what some nations did to prevent the Holocaust, as well as those who were slow to act against the Holocaust. Warning: not recommended for unprepared audiences. (41 minutes), Grades 9-12, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, 1981
• Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? This video addresses the question "Could the Jews of Europe have been saved?" Using archival film footage, interviews with Holocaust survivors as well as Jewish leaders and American officials, this documentary argues that the American Jewish community failed to pressure the Roosevelt administration into acting quickly. Note: graphic film footage. (90 minutes), Grades 9-12
• World War II - The Propaganda Battle: A Walk Through the 20^th Century with Bill Moyers. In this video Hitler's chief propagandist, Fritz Hippler, and America's Frank Capra are contrasted on their use of propaganda during WWII. (55 minutes), Grades 7-12, CEL/BDM

Lesson Plans from the Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust

The Anne Frank Story. Students create timelines of Anne Frank's life and history.

Human Nature. Students discuss a list of questions related to human nature.

Map Studies. An interdisciplinary unit for middle school.

News Watch. Students track prejudice and human rights issues in current newspapers or on the Web.

People are People. Students compare groups that have been treated with prejudice.

Liberation and Return to Life. This activity is designed to familiarize students with survivors and their lives after liberation.

Survivor Interview. Students listen to stories from Holocaust survivors.

Lesson Plans on Other Sites

This study guide with activities was created by Gary Grobman for the PBS production The Trial of Adolf Eichmann.

The Aftermath from Gary M. Grobman's "The Holocaust--A Guide for Teachers."

Florida Resource Manual on Holocaust Education

The following materials from the State of Florida Resource Manual on Holocaust Education, Grades 9-12 will enrich your class's study of this topic. This manual was distributed to all Florida high schools in the spring of 1999 and should be available in your school resource center.

Vocabulary	Unit 9	pages 6-8
	Unit 10	page 5
Content Overview	Unit 9	pages 9-27
	Unit 10	pages 6-9
Suggested Activities	Unit 9	pages 28-29
	Unit 10	pages 10-12
Correlation to Sunshine State Standards	Unit 9	page 30
	Unit 10	pages 13-14
Activities	Unit 9	pages 33-66
	Unit 10	pages 17-111
Photographs	Unit 9	page 69
Testimonies	Unit 9	pages 73-90

| Nazi Party | Nazification | Ghettos | Camps | Resistance | Liberation | Aftermath |

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2005.