Echoes & Reflections
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
The purpose of this unit is for students to explore the concepts of justice, trauma, memory, memorialization, and human behavior. With a firm understanding of the events of the Holocaust, students are now tasked to understand the lasting effects the Holocaust has had on our understanding of human actions and how the way we remember the Holocaust impacts how we comprehend its meaning. This unit challenges students to find value in the study of the Holocaust and empower them to contribute to its memory today and in the future.
Learning Objectives:
Investigate the concept of justice through the lens of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and the effects of subsequent trials in the codification of crimes against humanity and genocide.
Analyze the response to justice by Nazi perpetrators through the transcript and memoir of Nazi perpetrator Rudolf Hoess.
Acknowledge the effect that trials had on motivating survivors to share their experiences of the Holocaust.
Examine the effect of trauma through the artistic expressions of survivors in artwork and poetry.
Interpret visual history testimony and other primary sources to foster empathy and gain understanding of these victims of trauma.
Recognize the tremendous impact of the Holocaust on all facets of human life, from academic studies in psychology and sociology to culture and our understanding of human nature.
Encounter various ways in which the Holocaust is remembered and how that memory shapes how we understand this catastrophic event.