Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Slides).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their notebooks or on a piece of paper, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What role does religion play in society?
  • Which holidays do you celebrate, and why?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to view and define the vocabulary terms listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• THE CONTEXT OF THE ERA

  Direct students to Section #1 in their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following three video clips that detail how the Nazi regime tried to control all aspects of society and how they used Christmas in these efforts, targeting certain groups for persecution. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #1: Nazis Control Society (2:47). U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historians Edna Friedberg and Lindsay MacNeill discussed the Nazi goal of controlling all aspects of society.

  • What will this lesson “examine?”
  • According to Edna Friedberg, what did European Jews do while living under threat from the Nazi regime?
  • Before coming to power, what was one of the “main goals” of the Nazis?
  • Of what is the swastika a symbol of, according to Lindsay MacNeill? Summarize what you see in the photo of the menorah and swastika flag.
  • Where should menorahs be placed during Hanukkah, and why was this a “risk?”

• Clip #2: Nazis and Christmas (3:59). U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historians Edna Friedberg and Lindsay MacNeill discussed how the Nazis used Christmas to advance their goals.

  • Germans primarily celebrate what holiday, according to Edna Friedberg?
  • In what two ways did the Nazis “put their stamp” on Christmas?
  • According to Lindsay MacNeill, how did the Nazis use Christmas markets?
  • What do you see in the Christmas display shown in the video clip?
  • Summarize the “hypocrisy” of Nazi actions with regard to Christmas. Of what were Nazi’s “masters?”

• Clip #3: Targets of Persecution (2:14). U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historians Edna Friedberg and Lindsay MacNeill discussed how Jews became targets of Nazi persecution.

  • According to Edna Friedberg, what happened to Tamara Lazerson and her family?
  • What do you hear in the translation of Tamara’s diary entry from Christmas Eve 1940?
  • How was Tamara’s diary entry “evocative,” and how did it illustrate the “hypocrisy” mentioned in the previous clip?

• SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

  Direct students to Section #2 in their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following two videos that offer two specific examples of how people found “holiday hope during the Holocaust.” Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #4: Norbert Obstfeld (8:47). U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historians Edna Friedberg and Lindsay MacNeill discussed the story of Norbert Vos-Obstfeld.

  • According to Edna Friedberg, who was Norbert Obstfeld, and with whom did he take shelter?
  • How was Norbert born “into danger?” Summarize how Norbert and his mother made it into hiding.
  • Why was the decision to shelter Norbert and his mother “risky?”
  • How were Norbert and his mother “hiding in plain sight?” Summarize what you see in the photographs shown in the clip.
  • With whom did Norbert have a “lifelong bond?”
  • What happened to Norbert’s father, according to Lindsay MacNeill? What ultimately happened to Norbert and his mother?

• Clip #5: Gerda Weissmann (9:20). U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum historians Edna Friedberg and Lindsay MacNeill discussed the story of Gerda Weissmann.

  • Who was Gerda Weissmann and for what did she find the “strength and courage,” according to Edna Friedberg?
  • Based on the clip, what type of childhood did Gerda have and how did this change in September of 1939?
  • According to Lindsay MacNeill, what happened to Gerda and her family in 1942?
  • How did Gerda call upon her “creativity” to celebrate Hanukkah while at the Bolkenhain forced labor camp?
  • Summarize what you hear in the excerpt of Gerda’s testimony.
  • What ultimately happened to Gerda and her family, according to MacNeill?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt on the last slide in their graphic organizers, citing evidence from the video clips: How can people still celebrate the holiday season despite experiencing horrifying conditions? Have your students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives.