Vermont-NEA / Holocaust Curriculum

Holocaust and Resistance

Phase One (Can be one or several days, depending upon class time)

I. Handouts (Glossaries)

II. Discussion

A. What is the Holocaust?

(Literal definition is: a "burning whole," in other words by fire. The term Holocaust was coined by the Jewish community and Jewish writers and refers to a specific event in the 20th century: The systematic, deliberate, bureaucratic destruction of more than 6 million Jews in Europe by the German Nazi regime and their collaborators as a central act of state, of government policy, before and during World War II.

It should not be confused with other acts of mass killing we have learned about in history or witnessed in recent years, such as the decimation of the Indian population in the United States, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the murder of more than a million Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge, the murder of more than a million Armenians by the Turks, the murder of the Kurds by the Iraqis, the so-called "ethnic cleansing" of Muslim minorities by Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, the murder of millions of Russians by Stalin, and, more recently, the mass murders, numbering in the tens of thousands, in Rwanda and Burundi.

These and other mass killings are referred to as Genocide, the systematic extermination of a national or racial group. (See glossary) What happened to the Jews under the Nazis was also genocide, but the term "Holocaust" is intended to be used solely for that event. Further discussion on this to follow.

Many others were murdered by the Nazis and in huge numbers, though not nearly so huge as the with the Jews: Gypsies, Poles, Slavs, Russian prisoners of war, Homosexuals, political dissidents and resisters, Jehovah's witnesses, the mentally and physically disabled, etc. The difference between those latter groups and the Jews was that those others listed, while they were considered inferior to the Aryans, or the German nationals, and they could be used for slave labor or eliminated simply because they got in the way, there was never any belief that they were "viruses" in the national and international body and had to be removed to preserve the health of the European Christian body. There was never any concerted government policy to eliminate every last one of them. But this was the policy toward the Jews: Every last one of them had to be eliminated! And this is the meaning of the "burning whole," of the "Holocaust."

III. Definitions (see Glossary)

Prejudice A prejudgment before all the facts are known. A judgment or an opinion held in disregard of the facts that contradict the judgment. A suspicion, intolerance, or irrational hatred of other races, creeds, religions, ethnic groups, homosexuals, the opposite sex, the poor, immigrants, etc.

Examples: "Girls are dumber than boys, or boys are dumber than girls." "Blacks are intellectually inferior to whites." "Aryans are superior to Jews and Blacks." "Jews are greedy and all they think about is money." "Italians are natural-born crooks or mobsters." "The Irish are dirty." "The French are all snobs." "Politicians are crooked." Lawyers are sly." "Girls just aren't as good at math and science as boys." "Blacks are lazy." "Welfare mothers don't want to get off welfare. They'd rather be supported by the taxpayers."

Discrimination A distinction made in the treatment of others based upon prejudice -- or prejudging. An act against others, or policies directed against others, because of their differences, or because of the differences we are prejudiced against.

Examples: The children of illegal immigrants in California. New welfare legislation which discriminates against poor children. The historic treatment of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in this country. The racist criminal justice system in America, etc.

Perpetrators In relation to the Holocaust, those who actively and willingly performed the crimes against humanity.

Bystanders Those who stood by, saw and knew what was happening, did not actively participate, but who did nothing to stop it, who did not protest, who looked the other way.

There were some people who risked their lives to save Jews, and these people are honored at Yad Vashem in Israel, but it is important to note that of the entire population of all of Europe, less than one-half of one percent helped to rescue the Jews. Denmark is a notable exception which we'll discuss later.

It is also important to remember that the Holocaust took place because individuals such as you and me, groups, and nations made deliberate decisions to act or not to act.

Resistance The Jews have often been accused of going to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter. Not true. First, the steps that were taken by the German government in Germany and in the occupied countries happened in such a fashion as to render the Jewish community economically, politically, and militarily helpless to begin with. (See the Time-Line, And Steps Taken) Next, there were hundreds of acts of resistance in every land. These took many forms, from outright partisan activities ranging from smuggling arms, messages, and food, and from rescuing trapped Jews, to direct military action. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is one of the supreme acts of resistance in history.

These acts also embraced unbelievably courageous and risky disobedience, such as: (1) continuing to practice religious and cultural activities in defiance of German orders; (2) creating fine art, poetry and prose inside Ghettos and concentration camps (Terezin); (3) great spiritual resistance in the determination to survive, to save their children, to live to witness under the most brutal of conditions. (Harry Bialor in the Night People is an example of which we'll learn more.)

Films recommended for this time: Daniel's Story, The Attic, the Hiding of Anne Frank

Books: Night People, Anne Frank Stories, Smoke and Ashes