Suggested Lessons and Activities

  1. Review vocabulary terms included in this packet.
  2. Select an appropriate video about life in prewar Europe or during the Holocaust.
  3. Generate a discussion to answer the following questions:
    1. What is the definition of genocide?
    2. How does the Holocaust fit into this definition?
    3. What was the ultimate aim of Hitler and the Nazis? What was the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question?" What were the victims' crimes? What can be learned by studying the Holocaust?
  4. Optional Activities:
    1. Define the terms victim, bystander and perpetrator. What are the characteristics of each? Are there any other categories that might be used in talking about the Holocaust?
    2. Create a timeline of the Holocaust (in broad general terms or specifically for Luboml).
    3. Select a photograph from the exhibition or other source about the Holocaust, and have students write a story or poem describing their reactions to it and what the people in the photograph might have been thinking or feeling at the time.
    4. Select a biography or autobiography of a child during the Holocaust, and have students compare their lives to that narrative.
    5. Create a map of where Luboml is. Identify the major concentration camps in Europe or in Poland.
    6. Select a poem about the Holocaust. Have student write a reaction to that poem. What does the poem say about humanity? What would you remember if your hometown disappeared tomorrow?
    7. Have students write an essay describing what artifacts they might try to save and why. What would you do to recreate your hometown?
    8. Write a poem about Luboml. One of the laws passed by the Nazis was that all Jews had to wear an identifying badge.
    9. Have students explore how this affected the identity of Jews. Also if you noticed in the exhibit, none of the Jews in Luboml were wearing the "yellow star." Why not?
    10. Write a report on some aspect of the Holocaust in Poland. For example, Dr. Janusz Korczak, a Polish doctor who operated the orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto. He is considered a hero. Why?
    11. Have a Holocaust survivor speak to your class. [For more advanced class levels] Conduct an interview with a survivor. Or view a taped interview with a survivor and give a report to the class about what was learned.
    12. Research one of the many Holocaust or genocide web sites. Links are available through the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies's website.