Remembrance Days
Inspiration Book:
Terezin : voices from the Holocaust by Thomson, Ruth --Candlewick Press, 2011 --940.53--Int Lvl: 5-8--Rd Lvl: 6.0 Provides firsthand accounts and artwork from the Jewish people who were forced to live in Terezin, the Czechoslovakian town that was turned into a ghetto and later a transit camp by the Nazis during World War II. This is the story of Terezín, a town in Czechoslovakia, which the Nazis turned into a ghetto and then a camp where they imprisoned Jews during World War II. A moving and powerful story, told through the diary entries and artwork of those who were imprisoned.
Rationale: The Jewish Holocaust during World War II was horrific, but especially so for the children. The most well known child of the Holocaust is Anne Frank. This entry is about everyday life in the Czechoslovakian Concentration Camp at Terezin and emphasizes the everyday life of the camp. Several out of print Outstanding Social Studies Trade Books, indicated by √√ about Terezin are also included here. Susan Goldman Rubin has written a number of books about the Holocaust--they too are featured.
My husband and I traveled to former East Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland recently. Much of our trip was a study of the Holocaust, Jewish ghettos, concentration and work camps, synagogues, cemeteries, and museums honoring those lost. It was a heavy trip, but also gave us more understanding of the horrors of genocide and war.
Terezin was difficult to see and absorb--I had read the Inspiration book. Even more challenging was seeing the baby clothes and blankets at Auschwitz. Berkenau was brutal. Images from these places of horror and terror will not be erased from our minds or hearts.
My eighth graders study World War II in their social studies class. There is always a sub-study about the Holocaust. The students have a surreal fascination with the historical event--they are horrified that humans exterminated other humans on purpose; they want more information; they want to know how this can be prevented; they especially want to know about the children. The study can become very intense and extensive. The time allocation has a tendency to stretch on and on because the students want to discuss the most recent horror they have found in their research. Set a firm timeline; stick with it.
First we read The Diary of Anne Frank together. Then I divide the class into groups, each group studying one concentration camp. Sometimes we compare and contrast, sometimes we look for tidbits about everyday life of the children or teens. Sometimes we write personal narratives, sometimes poems, sometimes poignant scripts for video clips. Lastly, we have a Day of Remembrance at which everybody shares in some way. We’ve had flowers, the traditional stones Jewish people place at gravesites, haunting vocal and instrumental music, stories from survivors (although they’re aging and passing quickly), poetry, eulogies. And, promises to never forget. I ask that the students be creative, but sensitive, appropriate, and respectful in their responses for the Day of Remembrance.
The bibliography below is strictly that, a bibliography of teacher and student resources, for the Terezin study only of a much larger open ended unit about World War II, Anne Frank, and the Holocaust.
Related Books:
Brundibar by Kushner, Tony — Michael Di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children, 2003--Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.4 When Aninku and Pepicek travel to the village to earn money to buy milk for their sick mother, they are befriended by three intelligent talking animals who help them overcome their fears. Brundibar is based on a Czech opera for children that was performed fifty-five times by the children of Terezin, the Nazi concentration camp.
√√Fireflies in the dark : the story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the children of Terezin by Rubin, Susan Goldman — Holiday House, 2000--940.53; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.5. Covers the years during which Friedl Dicker, a Jewish woman from Czechoslovakia, taught art to children at the Terezin Concentration Camp. Includes art created by teacher and students, excerpts from diaries, and interviews with camp survivors.
The cat with the yellow star : coming of age in Terezin by Rubin, Susan Goldman — Holiday House, 2006--940.53; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.6. Holocaust survivor Ela Weissberger describes her experiences as a child imprisoned with her family at Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp, and tells of her participation, along with other children, in the performance of the opera "Brundibar," in which she played a cat.
Somewhere there is still a sun by Gruenbaum, Michael — Aladdin, 2015. Dewey: 940.53; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.6. When the Nazis invade Czechoslovakia in 1941, twelve-year-old Michael and his family are deported from Prague to the Terezin concentration camp, where his mother's will and ingenuity keep them from being transported to Auschwitz and certain death.
Remember not to forget : a memory of the Holocaust by Finkelstein, Norman H — Jewish Publication Society, 2004--940.53; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 4.7. Describes concisely for young readers the history of anti-Semitism, the events of the Holocaust, and the ways Jews and others in Israel and around the world have kept alive the memory of the Holocaust's six million victims.
√√Hana's suitcase : a true story by Levine, Karen Follett eBook— Second Story Press, c2002. 940.53; Int Lvl: 5-8. A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's suitcase was sent to her.
Hana's suitcase on stage by Levine, Karen — Second Story Press, 2006. Dewey: 812; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.0. A comprehensive guide to the stage adaptation of the award-winning book "Hana's Suitcase" that contains the script of the play and the full text of the original story, which recounts the experiences of Hana Brady, a young girl whose life was turned upside down by the Nazi invasion of her small Czech town.
The secret of Gabi's dresser by Kacer, Kathy, 1954- — Second Story Press, 1999---Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.3. When the Nazis invade Czechoslovakia in 1942 life for Gabi, a Jewish girl, changes forever and will never be the same.
Clara's war by Kacer, Kathy — Second Story Press, 2001---Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 5.9
After young Clara and her family are sent by the Nazis to the Czechoslovakian ghetto of Terezin, she copes by looking forward to auditions for a children's opera, "Brundibar"--but plans change when she learns her friend Jacob is plotting an escape.
I am a star : child of the Holocaust by Auerbacher, Inge, 1934- — Puffin Books, c1986 p2006--940.53; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.0. The author shares memories of her childhood in Germany, years of which were spent in a Nazi concentration camp, and includes several of her original poems.
The underground reporters by Kacer, Kathy — Second Story Press, c2004 p2005--940.53; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 6.0 Presents an account of two young Jews during World War II, John Freund and Ruda Stadler, and provides information on how they resisted Nazi oppression by forming their own secret community center and a newsletter called "Klepy."
The night spies by Kacer, Kathy — Second Story Press, 2003--Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.4. Presents a fact-based story in which Gabi and her young cousin Max, hiding in a hayloft to avoid detection by the Nazis during World War II, begin taking late-night excursions into the nearby woods and come across information that leads to their involvement with the anti-Nazi partisan soldiers.
I never saw another butterfly : children's drawings and poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944 — Schocken Books ,Distributed by Pantheon Books, 1993--741.9437; Int Lvl: YA A selection of children's poems and drawings reflecting their surroundings in Terezin Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia from 1942 to 1944.
Requiem : poems of the Terezin ghetto by Janeczko, Paul B — Candlewick Press, 2013--811; Int Lvl: YA Collects poems in which Paul B. Janeczko describes the experiences of prisoners of the Czechoslovakian concentration camp Terezin; and includes illustrations by inmates.
What world is left by Polak, Monique — Orca Book Publishers, 2008. Dewey: -Fic-; Int Lvl: YA. Anneke Van Raalte and her family are taken by the Nazis to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in 1942, and Anneke's father, who is a cartoonist, is coerced into helping a propaganda campaign falsely depicting the camp as an idyllic place for Jews; as time passes, Anneke struggles with her loyalty to her family and her sense of right and wrong.
Teacher Resources:
Lesson Plan (PDF) for Cat with Yellow Star from Holiday House available through http://holidayhouse.com/docs/Cat%20with%20the%20Yellow%20Star%20Teachers%20Guide.pdf
Author Interview of Susan Rubin at Cynsations for Fireflies (scroll to midway in interview) http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2006/05/author-feature-susan-goldman-rubin.html
Hana’s Story Lesson Plan http://www.hanassuitcase.ca/
Web Links:
Jewish Virtual Library
Photographs from Terezin http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/terezpictoc.html
United States Holocaust Museum http://www.ushmm.org/museum/
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