Course requirements

[Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Photo: Toppler, 2009)
Description: This course will explore innovative approaches to curricular design on origins, path, and consequences of racism, anti-Semitism and collective violence through an examination of the Warsaw Ghetto as a microcosm of the Holocaust. Resistance and the importance of memory will be explored.

Outcome: Understand and apply the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's (USHMM)guidelines. Gain deeper understanding of key lessons learned from the Holocaust and resources for effectively teaching these lessons. Share unit plan with other teachers.

Evaluation: Participate in discussion and activities using USHMM materials and information. Demonstrate a writing unit plan for teaching a Holocaust topic appropriate for a particular grade level using USHMM guidelines. Provide a copy of a Holocaust unit plan for the Leibovitz Collection on the Holocaust at Quad City Campus of Western Illinois University's library.

Background causes of the Holocaust

[Twin sisters in the Warsaw Ghetto, 1940. Public Domain]

Essential Questions: Why did Nazi Germany produce the Holocaust? Can "the people" possess too much democracy? What does civic preparation for a democracy look like? What is the difference between education and indoctrination?

Poland prior to World War II

[Poland 1933] Before WWII, Polish Jewry numbered 3.3 million, whereas post-war numbers totaled 240,000, a figure which had fallen to 9,000 after 1970. A total of 5.5 million people were murdered in camps in Poland: of these 4 million were of Jewish origin, 3 million being Polish Jews.

Essential Questions: How did Poland's national consciousness, stemming from a history of foreign suppression and intervention, make it susceptible to anti-Semitic influences from neighboring countries? In the study of national histories, how important are the actions of government officials compared to actions of "the people"?

Rising tide of anti-Semitism

[Child on bench marked J to indicate it is only for Jews. 1938, Berlin. USHMM]

Essential Questions: What are the various factors that shape identity? Do Germans possess a unique national character? What is race? Consider the connections between words (hate propaganda) and actions (murder).

Creation of the ghetto

[A section of the wall that separated the Warsaw ghetto from the rest of the city. 1940-41. Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz.]

Essential Question: How is the community impacted when groups are targets of discrimination?

Deportation

[Jews being deported from the Warsaw Ghetto. 1942. Leopold Page Photographic Collection.] From July to September 1942, 300,000 Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka II.

Essential Question: How do people get turned into objects?

Resistance

[Captured Jews during the uprising are led to the deportation center. May 1943. National Archives.]

Essential Questions: What is resistance during the Holocaust? What does it mean to be a bystander, a perpetrator, a victim, a rescuer? How do individuals and groups define their universe of obligation? What are the consequences of this definition and for whom?