Teacher's Guide, the Holocaust
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THE HOLOCAUST A NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER’S RESOURCE FEATURING THE NARRATIVES OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WHO BECAME NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS NORTH CAROLINA COUNCIL ON THE HOLOCAUST North Carolina Department of Public Instruction www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust-council/ THE HOLOCAUST A NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER’S RESOURCE FEATURING THE NARRATIVES OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WHO BECAME NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS North Carolina Council on the Holocaust North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 2019 Cover photographs. Top: Zev Harel, Morris Glass, Barbara Ledermann Rodbell. (front) Bottom: Gizella Gross Abramson, Abram Piasek, Susan Eckstein Cernyak-Spatz. Cover photographs. Top: Jack Hoffmann, Walter Falk, Renée Laser Fink, Gizella Gross Abramson, (back) Rachel Giralnik Kizhnerman, Barbara Ledermann Rodbell. Middle: Rena Kornreich Gelissen, Hank Brodt, Morris Stein, Shelly Weiner, Julius Blum. Bottom: Zev Harel, Simone Weil Lipman, David & Edith Neuberger Ross, Esther Gutman Lederman. Reproduced by permission. This guide is available for free download, in its entirety and by individual narratives and chapters, at the Council website: www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust-council/ © 2019, rev. ed. 2021. North Carolina Council on the Holocaust, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. he first-person accounts in this guide are those of Holocaust survivors who became North Carolina residents. The Council expresses deep gratitude for T their contributions to Holocaust education. Gizella Gross Abramson Rachel Giralnik Kizhnerman RALEIGH GREENSBORO Julius Blum Esther Gutman Lederman ASHEVILLE CHAPEL HILL Hank Brodt Simone Weil Lipman HIGH POINT CHAPEL HILL Susan Eckstein Elias Mordechai Cernyak-Spatz GREENSBORO CHARLOTTE Walter Falk Esther Politis Mordechai GREENSBORO GREENSBORO Renée Laser Fink Abe Piasek CHAPEL HILL RALEIGH Rena Kornreich Gelissen Barbara Ledermann Rodbell HENDERSONVILLE CHAPEL HILL Morris Glass Edith Neuberger Ross RALEIGH CARY Zev Harel Morris Stein GREENSBORO CONCORD Jack Hoffmann Shelly Weiner GREENSBORO GREENSBORO Anatoly Kizhnerman GREENSBORO This is going to end up being something quite awful and everybody better pay attention. __Barbara Ledermann Rodbell People ask how I survived such hell [Auschwitz]. I have only one explanation that makes sense to me. I learned to accept the nightmarish camp as the real world and coped from one minute to the next. Blind luck also played a part. __Susan Eckstein Cernyak-Spatz I have often wondered how the Palaschuk family had such strength and bravery to do what they did [in hiding us]. I am not sure how I would react in the same situation. I don’t think that many of us would know how we would react. __Shelly Weiner How can I describe the jubilation I felt when I first glimpsed that tank flying an American flag? There is no way to describe the joy in my heart—the joy of being free! I ran outside and embraced the first sol- dier I saw. __Morris Glass People have to believe that it happened to the Jews and it can happen again. I love America and I love democracy with all my heart, but how can people defend it if they don’t realize it can be threatened? __Gizella Gross Abramson TABLE OF CONTENTS I. A HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM: Overview 1 Lesson: Anti-Semitism in Prewar Europe 7 Narrative: Morris Remembers the Threat 8 II. HITLER’S RISE: Overview 11 Lesson: Hitler’s Rise 15 Narrative: Young Jews Become Aware 16 III. PREWAR NAZI GERMANY: Overview 21 Lesson: Prewar Nazi Germany 26 Narrative: Walter Escapes at Age 12 28 Narrative: Jack Escapes at Age 14 30 IV. THE HOLOCAUST: Overview 35 Lesson: The Ghettos 41 Narrative: Gizella in the Lutsk Ghetto 43 Narrative: Anatoly in the Zhmerinka Ghetto 44 Narrative: Morris in the Łódź Ghetto 46 Lesson: The Camps 53 Narrative: Esther & Elias Are Sent to Auschwitz 56 Narrative: Susan Aims for Survival 58 Narrative: Morris Endures Four Camps 62 Narrative: Hank Questions a German Officer 71 Narrative: Julius Survives Close Calls 73 Narrative: Rena Makes a Promise 78 V. RESISTANCE: Overview 87 Lesson: Resistance 90 Narrative: Gizella Joins the Resistance 92 Narrative: Barbara Gets False ID Papers 96 Narrative: Simone Saves Refugee Children 103 VI. RESCUERS: Overview 109 Lesson: Hidden Children 115 Narrative: Shelly & Rachel Hide on a Farm 117 Narrative: Renée Hides with a Catholic Family 124 Narrative: Esther’s Rescuers Are Honored 130 VII. LIBERATION: Overview 135 Lesson: Liberation 137 Narrative: Morris Sees the American Tanks 139 Narrative: Edith Is Freed in Auschwitz 144 Narrative: Abe Survives a Death Train 148 Narrative: Zev Meets His Liberators 152 Photograph Permissions* 157 SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS 161 North Carolina Survivors: Online Testimonies and 163 Published & Online Memoirs Holocaust Fact & Fiction Quiz 165 Holocaust Fact & Fiction Quiz, with answers 167 Holocaust Time Line 169 Why Teach about the Holocaust? 177 U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust 179 U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Why Simulation Activities Should Not Be Used 182 in Holocaust Education Anti-Defamation League Definitions of Holocaust and Genocide 183 Roles People Play in Human Rights 184 Pyramid of Hate Anti-Defamation League 185 Statement of Rev. Martin Niemöller 187 —— —— This guide is available for free download, in its entirety and by individual narratives and chapters, at the Council website: www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust-council/ * Images from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have the credit line USHMM/Provenance at the top of the image. See Photograph Permissions for complete information. ___ACKNOWLEDGMENTS___ The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust is pleased to present this expanded and revised edition of The Holocaust: A North Carolina Teacher’s Resource, available at no charge on the Council website (www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust-council/). In addition to lesson plans and supplemental materials, this edition presents the narratives of 21 Holocaust survivors who became North Carolina residents. The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust was established in 1981 and is currently an agency within the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. It is comprised of 24 members. Eighteen are appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (six appointments each). Six are elected to the Council and must be Holocaust survivors or lineal descendants of survivors. Through its instructional and commemoration programs, the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust educates North Carolinians about the systematic program of mass murder by the Nazis and their collaborators of six million Jews and millions of other targeted groups including Roma (gypsies), homosexuals, handicapped persons, and religious and political dissidents, from 1933 to 1945. The Council gratefully acknowledges the dedication and contributions of its members and supporters over the years, as well as the longstanding support of the N.C. Depart- ment of Public Instruction and the North Carolina General Assembly. The Council gratefully acknowledges the past chairmen of the Council: Rev. Dr. B. Elmo Scoggin, William Shrago, Dr. Bramy Resnik, and Dr. David Crowe. The Council also acknowledges the past chairmen of the North Carolina Holocaust Foundation: William Shrago, Joe Woodland, Steven Ellsweig, and Alan Novak. Funding for the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust and the continued success of the Council would not have been possible without the expert management and guidance of Richard Schwartz, Vice Chairman of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust since July 1999, and Mitch Rifkin, Chairman of the North Carolina Holocaust Foundation since 2012. The Council gratefully acknowledges Henry and Runia Vogelhut for the creation of the State Holocaust Commemoration in 1982 and for their annual management of the Commemoration through 1998. The Council thanks the current and former members of the Commemoration Committee for continuing to plan the Commemoration since 1998. The Council offers its sincere gratitude to Holocaust survivors Gizella Abramson, Irving Bienstock, Julius Blum, Hank Brodt, Susan Cernyak-Spatz, Suly Chenkin, Renée Fink, Morris Glass, Zev Harel, Rebecca Hauser, Henry Hirschmann, Manfred Katz, Henry Landsberger, Simone Weil Lipman, Elias Mordechai, Esther Mordechai, Abe Piasek, Bramy Resnik, Alfred Schnog, Shelly Weiner, and Walter Ziffer for their countless speak- ing engagements on behalf of the Council to teachers, students, civic groups, and the military about their Holocaust experiences and lessons learned from the Holocaust. The Council remembers with fond memory and deep appreciation Holocaust survivor Gizella Abramson for her endless dedication to educate others about the Holocaust. For almost 38 years, from autumn 1973 to spring 2011, including 20 years as the Council’s principal speaker at its workshops and throughout the state, Gizella Abramson served as an inspiration to thousands of North Carolina teachers, students, and other audi- ences. The Council recognizes the dedicated educators who have led the Council’s teacher workshops across the state for almost three decades. The workshops were initiated in 1991 by Gizella Abramson and educator Linda Scher, both of whom continued with unflagging perseverance until their retirements in 2011 and 2013. The Council thanks those who have carried on the workshops: Lynda Moss (2013-2015), Audrey Krakovitz (2016-2018), and the current co-directors Karen Klaich and Juanita Ray who, with the workshops committee,