Resistance
Vocabulary
Allies: During World War II, the group of nations including the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and the Free French, who joined in the war against Germany and other Axis countries.
Bund /boond/
: The Jewish Socialist Party founded in 1897. It aspired to equal rights for the Jewish population. During World War II the Bund was active in the underground resistance and some Bund members were also part of some Judenrat councils. They took part in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Bystander: One who is present at some event without participating in it.
Collaboration: Cooperation between citizens of a country and its occupiers.
Contra fact: A musical technique that places new lyrics into melodies of old songs. This technique was used during the Holocaust, when lyrics were being written faster than composers could generate the music.
Degenerate art (Entartete Kunst) /entatete koonst/
Gestapo /geshtahpoh/
Ghettos: The Nazis revived the medieval term ghetto to describe their device of concentration and control, the compulsory "Jewish Quarter." Ghettos were usually established in the poor sections of a city, where most of the Jews from the city and surrounding areas were subsequently forced to reside. Often surrounded by barbed wire or walls, the ghettos were sealed. Established mostly in eastern Europe (e.g., Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna, Riga, or Minsk), the ghettos were characterized by overcrowding, malnutrition, and heavy labor. All were eventually dissolved, and the Jews murdered.
Guerrilla warfare: Fighting in which small independent bands of soldiers harass an enemy through surprise raids, attacks on communications and the like.
Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious sect that originated in the United States and had about 2,000 members in Germany in 1933. Their religious beliefs did not allow them to swear allegiance to any worldly power making them enemies of the Nazi state.
Korczak, Dr. Janusz (1878-1942): Educator, author, physician, and director of a Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. Despite the possibility of personal freedom, he refused to abandon his orphans and went with them to the gas chamber in Treblinka.
Partisans: Irregular forces which use guerrilla tactics when operating in enemy-occupied territory. During the Holocaust, partisans operated secretly in their efforts to assist Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis.
Righteous Gentiles: Non-Jewish people who, during the Holocaust, risked their lives to save Jewish people from Nazi persecution. Today, a field of trees planted in their honor at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, commemorates their courage and compassion.
SD (Sicherheitsdienst /zikherhaitsdeenst/ or Security Service)
Hannah Sennesh
SS (Schutzstaffel /shoots shtahfl/ or Protection Squad)
Star of David: A six-pointed star which is a symbol of Judaism. During the Holocaust, Jews throughout Europe were required to wear Stars of David on their sleeves or fronts and backs of their shirts and jackets.
Underground: Organized group acting in secrecy to oppose government, or, during war, to resist occupying enemy forces.
Raoul Wallenberg: A Swedish diplomat who deliberately stationed himself in Hungary during the war to save Hungarian Jews from their deaths.
Warsaw ghetto: Established in November 1940, it was surrounded by wall and contained nearly 500,000 Jews. About 45,000 Jews died there in 1941 alone, as a result of overcrowding, hard labor, lack of sanitation, insufficient food, starvation, and disease. During 1942, most of the ghetto residents were deported to Treblinka, leaving about 60,000 Jews in the ghetto. A revolt took place in April 1943 when the Germans, commanded by General Jürgen Stroop, attempted to raze the ghetto and deport the remaining inhabitants to Treblinka. The defense forces, commanded by Mordecai Anielewicz, included all Jewish political parties. The bitter fighting lasted twenty-eight days and ended with the destruction of the ghetto.
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a) What chances did they take?
b) What would have happened to them and their families if they had been caught?
c) What resources did they have that helped them succeed?
a) What did they fight for?
b) Who did they fight against?
c) Were they a professional army?
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Lesson Plans from the Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
All Men Are Created Equal. Students begin with a quotation from Lincoln and explore the theme of equality by reading news articles and by making a multimedia presentation.
Lesson Plans on Other Sites
Resisters, Rescuers, and Bystanders 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 7 pages 6-8 Content Overview Unit 7 pages 9-23 Suggested Activities Unit 7 pages 24-25 Correlation to Sunshine State Standards Unit 7 pages 26-27 Activities Unit 7 pages 31-78 Testimonies Unit 7 pages 81-93
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A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2005.