Voices of Hope and The HERO Center are committed to helping educators teaching the Holocaust and genocide in their classroom. We know it can be an overwhelming subject and, with so much material and questionable resources online, we want to make sure you have the best resources available to you at no cost. Below, you will find some of our favorite lesson plans, short documentaries and other recommendations. For further recommendations, do not hesitate to contact us!
The Holocaust
Lesson Plans:
From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
- Timeline Activity (grades 7-12)
- Featured lesson on teaching with Nazi Propaganda (grades 8-12)
- Why Didn’t They Just Leave? (grades 8-12)
From Echoes and Reflections (all lesson plans are aimed at grades 6-12, though educators should use their own discretion when teaching more sensitive material):
- The Ghettos
- Jewish Resistance
- Rescuers and non-Jewish Resistance
- The Children and Legacies Beyond the Holocaust (we recommend this for older students)
From Facing History and Ourselves:
- Pre-War Jewish Life (grades 6-12)
- Dismantling Democracy (grades 6-12)
- Responding to a Refugee Crisis (grades 6-12)
- Analyzing and Creating Memorials (grades 6-12)
Suggested Films:
- The Number on Great-grandpa’s Arm (grades 5-8), 18 minutes
- Pigeon (grades 6-12), 11 minutes
- The Forger (grades 8-12), French with English subtitles, 16 minutes
- Gisela’s Legacy (grades 8-12), documentary about local West Hartford survivor, 38 minutes
- A Night At The Garden (grades 9-12), 7 minutes
Other recommendations:
- Eva.Stories (grades 8-12) Instagram account following the diary of a young girl in 1940s Hungary
- Students’ Toughest Questions – Echoes and Reflections
- Interactive Timeline of the Holocaust – Echoes and Reflections
- Guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust – USHMM
- Museum of Jewish Heritage Holocaust Curriculum
OTHER RECOMMENDED BOOKS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Resources and Materials for Other Genocides
Armenia:
Useful websites and lesson plans – compiled by Mari Firkatian, Professor of History, University of Hartford
The Genocide Education Project:
- Human Rights and Genocide: A Case Study of the First Modern Genocide of the 20th Century
- Finding A New Life: The Armenians of Watertown (grades 9-12)
- The Promise, Exploring Resistance: Concepts of Revenge and Nonviolent Protest
- …and so much more! GenEd is your source for Armenian Genocide Education
Rwanda:
- Ghosts of Rwanda, PBS and Frontline film and teaching guides.
- From USC Shoah Foundation: Resources for Teaching About the Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda (IWitness requires registration but is free and is an invaluable resource)
- One Million Bones, an interdisciplinary curriculum