These lesson plans are intended to supplement instruction of content on World War
II and the Holocaust to meet the
West Virginia State Content Standard 2520.4, and were designed as a starting
point for high school teachers to encourage their students to study the experiences
of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Providing the necessary context is critical for students to understand the sources
highlighted in these lesson plans, and we encourage teachers to draw upon their
resources to teach students about the political, social, and economic contexts
that provided the backdrop for the human rights violations that occurred during
the Holocaust, how and why individuals navigated, supported, and fought against
those violations, and more fully understand the complexity of our shared past.
These sources, which are made available for public use by
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, can be used to provide insight
into the lives of individuals affected by the Holocaust across Europe. The
sources aim to reflect the diversity of experience among different (Jewish) populations
across the European continent, highlighting the role of age, gender and nationality
of individuals, and the location and time of their exposure to Nazi violence. Teachers
can use the included questions to start student discussions, and the other
resources of the museum to support teacher-developed lectures (including
information on
emigration, the
types and
development of ghettos.
living conditions and resistance in ghettos, and more). Through asking and discussing the
questions provided in the lesson plans, students will gain the experience
of engaging with primary sources in the manner of professional historians, and
instructors can tailor the themes of the activity according to their preference.
More information about all of these primary sources is available on the Experiencing
History webpage of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and links to
this website are provided in both lesson options.