VOICES OF THE

HOLOCAUST
Perfection Learning
V oices of the H olocaust

Pe r f e c t i o n L e a r n i n g
E ditorial D irector Julie A. Schumacher
S enior E ditor Terry Ofner
E ditors Michael McGhee
Cecelia Munzenmaier
P ermissions Laura Pieper
R eviewers Jacqueline Frerichs
Claudia A. Katz
Sue Ann Kuby
Ann L. Tharnish

D esign and P hoto R esearch William Seabright and Associates,

Wilmette, Illinois

C over A rt WARSAW 1952 Ben Shahn The Hebrew text

incorporated into the painting is taken from the “Ten Martyrs’ Prayer”
said on the Day of Atonement: “These I remember, and my soul melts
with sorrow, for strangers have devoured us like unturned cakes,
for in the days of the tyrant there was no reprieve for the [ten] martyrs
murdered by the government.” Shahn omitted the word ‘ten’
(which referred to martyrs killed by the Romans) to make the quote
applicable to the Holocaust.

A cknowledgments
“An Anti-Semitic Demonstration” by Gail Newman. Reprinted from
Ghosts of the Holocaust: An Anthology of Poetry by the Second Generation,
edited by Stewart J. Florsheim, by permission of the Wayne State University
Press. First appeared in Eva Poole-Gilson et al., eds., Thread Winding in
the Loom of Eternity: California Poets in the Schools State-wide Anthology,
1987 (California Poets in the Schools, 1987).
“The Ball” from Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter, translated by Edite Kroll.
Copyright © Leonore Richter-Stiehl. Reprinted with permission of Leonore
Richter-Stiehl. continued on page 151

Copyright © 2006 by Perfection Learning Corporation

1000 North Second Avenue, Logan, Iowa 51546-0500
Tel: 1-800-831-4190 • Fax: 1-800-543-2745

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced

in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America

14 15 16 17 18 19 PP 13 12 11 10 09 08

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-7891-5050-9

Paperback ISBN-10: 0-7891-5050-6
RLB ISBN-13: 978-0-7807-9024-7
RLB ISBN-10: 0-7807-9024-3
 Could a Holocaust
Happen Here?

T he question above is the essential question that you will consider

as you read this book. The literature, activities, and organization
of the book will lead you to think critically about this question and to
develop a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.
To help you shape your answer to the broad essential question,
you will read and respond to five sections, or clusters. Each cluster
addresses a specific question and thinking skill.

Cluster One How could the Holocaust happen? analyze

Cluster two How were victims oppressed? compare /contrast

Cluster three Was there resistance? generalize

Cluster Four Why should we remember? synthesize

Cluster five Thinking on your own

Notice that the final cluster asks you to think independently about your
answer to the essential question—Could a holocaust happen here?

p r e fa c e 3
 Voices of the

F irst they came for the Jews

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Jew.

T hen they came for the Communists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a Communist.

T hen they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out

because I was not a trade unionist.

T hen they came for me

and there was no one left

to speak out for me.

—Pastor Martin Niemöller

(who spent seven years in concentration camps

after protesting the Nazi mistreatment of Jews)

4
Holocaust

memoir 5
 Table of Contents

Prologue “F irst th ey c a me for th e J ews . . .” 4

Creating Context 9
Anti-Semitism • Map • Faces of the Holocaust
Timeline • Concept Vocabulary

Cluster One How Could the Holocaust happen? 15

Thinking Skill Analyzing

The Ball
H ans P e t e r R i c h t e r short story 17

Serving Mein Führer

E le ano r A ye r biography 21

Family Album
A mos N e ufeld poem 28

An Anti-Semitic Demonstration
G ail N e wman poem 30

Broken Glass, Broken Lives

A rn ol d G e ier autobiography 32

Crystal Night
L yn L if s hin poem 38

Address Unknown
K re s s m a n T ay l o r fictional correspondence 40

Responding to Cluster One

Writing Activity Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust 54

6
Cluster Two How Were Victims Oppressed? 55
Thinking Skill comparing / contrasting

A Spring Morning
I da F in k short story 56

The Little Boy with His Hands Up

Y ala K o r w in poem 62

Shipment to Maidanek
E phim F o gel poem 65

A Survivor Remembers
B e rek L atar u s oral history 66

Responding to Cluster Two

Writing Activity contrasting war and everyday life 70

Cluster Three Was There Resistance? 71

Thinking Skill generalizing

Saving the Children

F rie da S i ng e r poem 72

Rescue in Denmark
H a ro l d F le n d e r historical account 75

The White Rose: Long Live Freedom

J aco b G. H o r nb e rg e r essay 81

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

R e ub e n A i n sztein diary 86

Responding to Cluster three

Writing Activity generalizing about holocaust resistance 90

7
Cluster Four Why Should We Remember? 91
Thinking Skill synthesizing

Letter from Dachau

1 s t L t . W il l iam J. C ow lin g letter 93

Reunions
B e rnard G ot f ry d short story 99

Return to Auschwitz
K i t t y H ar t autobiography 109

The Survivor
J oh n C. P in e poem 116

The Power of Light

I s aac B as h e v i s S ing e r short story 119

Responding to Cluster Four

Writing Activity why we remember —a synthesis 124

Cluster Five Thinking on Your Own 125

For the Dead and the Living

E lie W i e s e l speech 127

The Test Case

S imo n W i e senthal personal account 131

Hitler’s Heirs
G re g S t e i n metz article 136

Genocide in Bosnia
M ary A nn L ick tei g article 138

Race
K are n G e rshon poem 141

Responding to Cluster Five 142

Author Biographies 143
Additional Reading 148

8
 C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

Anti-Semitism:
A History of Hate

A nti-Semitism means prejudice against Jews. People who are anti-Semites

don’t want their children to marry or even be friends with Jews. Anti-
Semites don’t like to buy from Jewish businesses. Some anti-Semites burn crosses
on the lawns of Jewish homes and paint swastikas on their temples. They blame
Jews for everything that’s wrong and believe Jews are too smart or too rich or
own too much land.
If you were a Jew in ancient times, you might have been enslaved by the
Egyptians. You couldn’t be a citizen in the ancient Roman Empire. If you were a
Jew, Christians sometimes called you “Christ killer,” an allegation so inflammatory
that it became the rallying cry of anti-Semitism for centuries.
If you were a Jew in the Middle Ages, you were often forced to live in a walled
ghetto. Non-Jews didn’t want you to influence them or their children and
merchants didn’t want your businesses competing with theirs. Outside the gates
of your ghetto, you were required to wear an identifying badge.
At the outbreak of the plague called the Black Death (1348), you might have
been accused of poisoning the water. If you were a Jew in 15th-century Spain,
the Inquisition, a series of religious trials, could have expelled you or worse.
If you were a German Jew in 1879, you would have been a target of Wilhelm
Marr who taught that Germans belonged to the Aryan “master race,” while Jews
were by nature a “slave race.” Marr founded the League of Anti-Semitism to
keep Germany from being “taken over” by Jews.
If you were a Russian Jew in 1881, pogroms, or organized attacks, might have
caused you and hundreds of thousands of others to emigrate to the United
States or to establish colonies in Palestine.
In 1923, an embittered, young soldier named Adolf Hitler was jailed for his
part in a failed government coup. Hitler used his prison time to write Mein Kampf
(My Struggle), a book filled with his plans for the creation of the Nazi party and
world domination, his belief in Aryan superiority, and, most ominously, his fanatical
anti-Semitism.
Upon release from prison, Hitler and a group of devoted followers began to
preach the philosophy of Nazism. An explosive combination of economic depres-
sion in Germany and Hitler’s powerful blend of treachery and inflammatory

anti-semitism 9
C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

speechmaking led to his appointment as Chancellor in 1933. In 1934 he was

elected president and named himself Führer or supreme leader.
Once in power Hitler turned anti-Semitism into an official government policy.
Within a decade that policy had led to the murder of nearly 6 million European
Jews as well as gypsies, intellectuals, homosexuals, handicapped Marxists, and
other “enemies of the state.” While millions were murdered outright through the
use of gas chambers and other methods of extermination, hundreds of thousands
of others died from disease, starvation, and slave labor.

Concentration Camps and Killing Centers

Finland

N o r w ay Sweden
Estonia

U. S. S. R .
denmark
latvia

Lithuania

Netherlands East
Prussia
Bergen-Belsen
Stutthof
Ravensbrück Treblinka
Mittelbau Chelmno
Sobibor
Sachsenhausen Poland
Belgium
Buchenwald
Lux. Auschwitz- Maidanek
Gross-
Germany Rosen Birkenau
Theresienstadt
Natz- Flossenbürg Belzec
weiler Czechoslovakia

France Dachau

switzerland Austria
Hungary

Romania
I t a ly

Yugoslavia

Concentration Camp Killing Center

10 anti-semitism
 C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

Faces of the Holocaust

Allied leaders meet at Yalta, in Russia. (From left) Winston Churchill (1875-1965)
British Prime Minister; Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945) U.S. President;
Josef Stalin (1879-1953) Dictator of Soviet Russia

Oskar Schindler
(1908-1974) Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
German businessman Führer und
who first profited Reichskanzler.
from the war but He promised glory for
later became a hero the Germans and
by saving 1300 destruction
Jewish workers from for the Jews.
the gas chambers.

Simon Wiesenthal (1908-)

Anne Frank (1929-1945) A Holocaust survivor,

Her diary, written while hiding he gave up a career in

from the Nazis, brought architecture to

the horror of the Holocaust become a relentless

to the world. Nazi hunter.

C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

M ajor E vents of W orld W ar II

and the H olocaust
1933
January
 dolf Hitler appointed
A
Chancellor of Germany
March
 achau concentration
D 1935
camp opens
May
April Jews barred from serving
 ne-day boycott of Jewish
O in German army
shops and businesses;
September
Gestapo (German internal
“Nuremberg Laws”
security police) established
passed. As a result, Jews
May no longer considered
P ublic burnings of books German citizens; Jews
1937
written by Jews, political could not marry Aryans; July
dissidents, and others not nor could they fly the Buchenwald concentration
approved by the state German flag camp opens

1934 1936 1938

August March March
Hitler proclaims himself Jewish doctors barred Hitler annexes Austria
Führer und Reichskanzler from practicing medicine
August
(Leader and Reich in German institutions
Italy enacts sweeping
Chancellor)
August anti-Semitic laws
Juden Verboten (No Jews)
October
signs displayed outside
Germans mark all
many towns are
Jewish passports
removed during
with a
the Olympic Games
large J
in Berlin
to restrict
Jews from
leaving the
country
September
Munich Agreement:
Britain and France accept
German takeover of part
of Czechoslovakia
October
17,000 Polish Jews
expelled from Germany
November
Kristallnacht (9 –10)
Decree forces all Jews
to transfer retail businesses
to Aryan hands. All Jewish
pupils expelled from
12 timeline German schools
 C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

1941
June
Germany invades the 1945
Soviet Union April

July
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler appoints Reinhard May
Heydrich to implement V-E (Victory in
the “Final Solution of Europe) Day:
the Jewish Question” Germany
September
surrenders;
1939 34,000 Jews massacred end of Third Reich
September at Babi Yar outside
1943 August
Germany invades Poland; Kiev, Russia April First atomic bomb
World War II begins Warsaw Ghetto dropped on
December
revolt begins Hiroshima, Japan
November Japanese attack
Jews in German-occupied Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; August September
Poland forced to wear an United States declares war Revolt at death camp Japan surrenders;
arm band or yellow star on Japan and Germany in Treblinka, Poland end of World War II

1940 1942 1944

April
Germany invades
Denmark and Norway
May
Germany invades Holland,
Belgium, and France;
concentration camp
established at Auschwitz
June
France surrenders
August
Battle of Britain (Germany’s
attempt to bomb Britain
into submission) begins
January
Heydrich outlines plan
to murder Europe’s Jews;
German 6th Army
surrenders at Stalingrad
October
Armed revolt in Sobibor
extermination camp
June
D-Day: Allied invasion
at Normandy, France
July
Group of German
officers attempts
to assassinate Hitler;
Russians liberate
Maidanek killing
center
October
Revolt by inmates
at Auschwitz

timeline 13
C r e ati n g C o n t e x t

Concept Vocabulary
You will find the following terms and definitions useful as you read and discuss
the selections in this book.
Aryan race “Aryan” was originally applied to people who spoke any Indo-European
language (in India, western Asia, and Europe). The Nazis, however, primarily
used the term to refer to people of Northern European racial ancestry—especially
those with blue eyes and blonde hair.
concentration camp Upon their ascent to power on January 30, l933, the Nazis
established concentration camps for the imprisonment of all “enemies” of their
regime: political opponents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, and
other “asocials.” Beginning in 1938, Jews were targeted for internment solely
because they were Jews.
Final solution The cover name for the plan to destroy the Jews of Europe—
the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” It began in December, l941.
Jews were rounded up and sent to extermination camps in the East. The program
was deceptively disguised as “resettlement.”
genocide The deliberate and systematic destruction of a religious, racial, national,
or cultural group of people.
ghetto The Nazis revived the concept of medieval ghetto in creating their
compulsory “Jewish Quarter.” The ghetto was a section of a city where all Jews
from the surrounding areas were forced to reside, surrounded by barbed
wire or walls.
Nazi From the German words for Na(tional-so)zi(alist). A nazi was a member
or supporter of the National Socialist Party in Germany led by Adolf Hitler.
propaganda ideas or claims spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage
an opponent’s cause.
scapegoat a person or group that bears the blame for others. Scapegoating is the
process of blaming others for one’s problems.
Third Reich the German state during the Nazi period.

14 c o n c e p t vo c a bu l a ry
 Cluster One

How Could the Holocaust Happen?

Thinking Skill analyzing

memoir 15
Boy in front of a synagogue. Mukachevo (Ukraine), 1937.
 The Ball

H ans P eter R ichter

W e ran along the street. Friedrich kept close to the houses; I

stayed on the curb. I threw the little rubber ball I’d been given
in the shoe store. It hit the center of the sidewalk and bounced
high. Friedrich caught it and threw it back to me.
“My father will be home any moment!” he called to me. “I must get
back soon. We’re going shopping today. Maybe someone’ll give me a
ball, too!”
I nodded and jumped over a manhole. I waited until a pedestrian had
gone by, then hurled the ball back to Friedrich.
Friedrich hadn’t been watching.
There was a crash.
The ball rolled harmlessly back to me.
Friedrich stared openmouthed at the smashed shop window. I bent to
pick up the ball, not yet believing what had happened.
Suddenly the woman stood before us. She grabbed Friedrich’s arm
and began to screech.
Doors and windows opened. A crowd gathered.
“Thieves! Burglars!” the woman shouted.
Her husband stood by the shop door, hands in his pockets, smoking
a pipe.
“This good-for-nothing Jewboy here broke my shop window,” she told
everyone who cared to listen. “He wants to rob me.” She turned to
Friedrich. “But you didn’t quite make it this time, did you. Because I’m
always watching. I know you, you won’t get away from me. You pack of
Jews, they should get rid of you. First you ruin our business with your

s h o rt s to ry 17
Voices of the Holocaust

department stores, then you rob us on top of it! Just you wait, Hitler will
show you yet!” And she shook Friedrich violently.
“But he didn’t do it!” I yelled. “I threw the ball, I broke your window.
We didn’t want to steal!”
The woman looked at me, eyes large and stupid. Her mouth dropped
open.
Her husband had swept the broken glass into the gutter. He collected
the rolls of thread, the stars of black and white yarn, the balls of colorful
embroidery yarn from the display case and carried them into the shop.
The woman’s eyes grew very small. “How dare you interfere? What
are you doing here anyway? Away with you! You don’t think you have to
protect this rotten Jewboy because you’re living in the same house, do
you? Go on, beat it!”
“But I threw the ball!” I said again.
The woman lunged at me, without letting go of Friedrich. Friedrich
cried. He wiped his tears on his sleeve, smearing his whole face.
Someone had called the police.
Out of breath and sweating, a policeman arrived on a bicycle. He
asked the woman to tell him what had happened.
Again she told the story of the attempted burglary.
I tugged at his sleeve. “Officer,” I said, “he didn’t do it. I broke the
pane with my ball.”
The woman looked at me threateningly. “Don’t you believe him,
Officer!” she said. “He only wants to protect the Jewboy here. Don’t you
believe him. He thinks the Jew’s his friend just because they live in the
same house.”
The policeman bent down to me. “You don’t understand this yet,
you’re too young still,” he explained. “You may think you’re doing him a
favor by standing up for him. But you know he’s a Jew. Believe me, we
grownups have had plenty of experiences with Jews. You can’t trust
them; they’re sneaky and they cheat. This woman was the only one who
saw what happened, so . . .”
“But she didn’t see it!” I interrupted him. “Only I was there, and I did it!”
The policeman frowned. “You wouldn’t try to call this woman a liar.”
I wanted to explain, but he didn’t let me.
He took Friedrich’s wrist from the woman and led him toward our
house, followed by the woman and a long line of curious onlookers.
I joined the line.
Halfway there we ran into Herr Schneider.

18 s h o rt s to ry
 T he B all

Sobbing, Friedrich shouted, “Father!”

Astonished, Herr Schneider surveyed the procession. He came closer,
said hello, and looked from one person to another, obviously puzzled.
“Your son—” said the policeman.
But the woman didn’t give him a chance to go on. In one burst she
repeated her tales. The only part she left out this time was her insinuation
about Jews.
Herr Schneider listened patiently. When she had finished, he took
Friedrich’s chin in his hand and lifted his head so he could look into
his eyes.
“Friedrich,” he asked seriously, “did you break the shop window inten-
tionally?”
Friedrich shook his head, still sobbing.
“I did it, Herr Schneider. I threw the ball, but I didn’t do it on purpose!”
And I showed him my small rubber ball.
Friedrich nodded.
Herr Schneider took a deep breath. “If you can swear on oath that
what you just told me is the truth,” he told the woman, “go ahead and
register a formal complaint. You know me, and you know where I live!”
The woman did not reply.
Herr Schneider pulled out his purse. “Kindly release my son, Officer!”
he said sharply. “I will pay for the damage at once.” 

s h o rt s to ry 19
Responding to Cluster One
How Could the Holocaust Happen?
Thinking Skill Analyzing

 rom the selections in this cluster and what you already know, analyze the roots
1. F
of the holocaust. (Analyze means to break something into parts and study each
part.) You might use a chart such as the one below to record your analysis.

Selection Your Analysis

The Ball F riedrich didn’t break the shop window, but the owner blamed
him because he was a Jew. Many Germans hated Jews, so it
was easy for Hitler to blame them for the bad economy and
other major problems.

2. W
 hy do you think so many young Germans were attracted to the Hitler Youth
movement? Use examples from the selection(s) to support your answer.

3. In the poems “Family Album” and “Anti-Semitic Demonstration” which lines
did you find most powerful? Explain.

4. C
 ompare the poem “Crystal Night” with the autobiographical essay “Broken Glass,
Broken Lives.” What did you learn about Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) from the
poem that you did not learn from the essay?

5. In “Address Unknown” explain how Max Eisenstein gets revenge for the death
of his sister.

Writing Activity: Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust

Analyze the selections in this cluster, looking for specific attitudes and/or actions
that would allow the Nazis to take power and to commit the injustices that led
to the Holocaust. The chart from Question one above can help you organize your
ideas. Present your analysis in the format of your choice. You might present
a timeline or chart or discuss your opinions in an essay.

A Strong Analysis
◆ states the purpose for the analysis
◆ demonstrates careful examination of each part of the topic
◆ supports each point with evidence
◆ organizes information clearly
◆ ends with a summary of the ideas presented

54 r e s p o n d i n g to c l u s t e r o n e
VOICE S OF TH E HOL OCAU S T

T e a c h e r G u i d e

Perf e ction Learni n g

Editorial Director Julie A. Schumacher
Senior Editor Terry Ofner
Editor Michael McGhee

Permissions Laura Pieper
Reviewers Claudia A. Katz
Sue Ann Kuby
Jonathan R. Kahle

Cover Art WARSAW 1952 Ben Shahn The Hebrew text

incorporated into the painting is taken from the “Ten Martyrs’ Prayer”
said on the Day of Atonement: “These I remember, and my soul melts
with sorrow, for strangers have devoured us like unturned cakes,
for in the days of the tyrant there was no reprieve for the [ten] martyrs murdered
by the government.” Shahn omitted the word ‘ten’
(which referred to martyrs killed by the Romans) to make the quote
applicable to the Holocaust.

The purchase of this book entitles an individual teacher to reproduce

certain pages for use in the classroom. This permitted use of copy-
righted material does not extend beyond the building level.
Reproduction for use in an entire school system or for commercial use
is prohibited. Beyond the classroom use by an individual teacher,
reproduction, transmittal, or retrieval of this work is prohibited without
written permission from the publisher.

Copyright © 2000 Perfection Learning® Corporation

1000 North Second Avenue, Logan, Iowa 51546–0500
Tel: 1-800-831-4190 • Fax: 1-712-664-2392

78511
ISBN-13: 978-0-7891-5053-0
ISBN-10: 0-7891-5053-0

0 0 0 0 0 0 PP 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Table of Contents
Features of the Student Book: Voices of the Holocaust 4
Features of This Teacher Guide 5
Three Teaching Options for Voices of the Holocaust 6
Introducing the Theme
T he P r e fa c e • T h e P r ol ogue • W hat D o Y ou K no w ? ( an tici pation gui d e ) • C reat i n g C on t ext 8

Cluster One How Could the Holocaust Happen?

Teaching the Critical Thinking Skill Analyzing 10
Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust (Handout/Overhead) 11
Cluster One Vocabulary (Handout) 12
Cluster One Selections
The Ball H a n s P e t er R i c ht e r shor t st ory 13
Serving Mein Führer Eleanor Ayer biogra ph y 14
Family Album A m os N eufel d p oem 15
An Anti-Semitic Demonstration G a il N ewman p oem 16
Broken Glass, Broken Lives A r nol d G ei er au tobiogra phy 17
Crystal Night Lyn Lifshin p oem 18
Address Unknown K r essmann T ay l o r fic tional corres pond ence 19
Responding to Cluster One (Answer Sheet) 20
Writing Activity Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust (Handout) 21
Cluster One Vocabulary Test 22

Cluster Two How Were Victims Oppressed?

Teaching the Critical Thinking Skill Comparing/Contrasting 23
Contrasting Oppression and Freedom (Handout/Overhead) 24
Cluster Two Vocabulary (Handout) 25
Cluster Two Selections
A Spring Morning I da F i nk shor t st ory 26
The Little Boy with His Hands Up Y ala K or w in p oem 27
Shipment to Maidanek E p h i m F oge l p oem 28
A Survivor Remembers B er e k L ata r us oral h i st ory 29
Responding to Cluster Two (Answer Sheet) 30
Writing Activity: Contrasting War and Everyday Life (Handout) 31
Cluster Two Vocabulary Test 32

2 L i t e r at u r e and Thought Voices of the Holocaust

Cluster Three Was There Resistance?
Teaching the Critical Thinking Skill Generalizing 33
Generalizing About Holocaust Resistance (Handout/Overhead) 34
Cluster Three Vocabulary (Handout) 35
Cluster Three Selections
Saving the Children F r i eda S inge r p oem 36
Rescue in Denmark H ar ol d F l e nde r his torical accoun t 37
The White Rose: Long Live Freedom J acob G. H ornberger essay 38
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising R eub en A i n szt ei n d iary 39
Responding to Cluster Three (Answer Sheet) 40
Writing Activity: Generalizing About Holocaust Resistance (Handout) 41
Cluster Three Vocabulary Test 42

Cluster Four Why Should We Remember?

Teaching the Critical Thinking Skill Synthesizing 43
Why Should We Remember? (Handout/Overhead) 44
Cluster Four Vocabulary (Handout) 45
Cluster Four Selections
Letter from Dachau 1 s t L t . W il l iam J. C ow ling letter 46
Reunions B e r n a rd G ot f ryd shor t st ory 47
Return to Auschwitz K itty H a r t au tobiogra phy 48
The Survivor J ohn C. P i n e p oem 49
The Power of Light I s a a c B a s h e v i s S inger shor t st ory 50
Responding to Cluster Four (Answer Sheet) 51
Writing Activity: Why We Remember—A Synthesis (Handout) 52
Cluster Four Vocabulary Test 53

Cluster Five Thinking On Your Own

Teaching Cluster Five 54
Cluster Five Vocabulary (Handout) 55
Cluster Five Selections
For the Dead and the Living E l ie W iesel sp eec h 56
The Test Case S im on W iesen t hal p erson a l accoun t 57
Hitler’s Heirs G r e g S t einme t z ar ticle 58
Genocide in Bosnia M a ry A n n L ickt eig ar ticle 59
Race K a r e n G er shon p oem 60
Cluster Five Vocabulary Test 61
Research, Writing, and Discussion Topics (Handout) 62
Assessment and Project Ideas (Handout) 63
Essay Test (Prompt) 64
Rubric: General Standards and Criteria for Project Evaluation 65
Related Literature 66
What Do You Know? (Anticipation Guide) 67
Answers to Vocabulary Tests and Anticipation Guide 68

Voices of the Holocaust L i t e r at u r e and Thought 3

 Features of the Student Book

Introducing the Theme

Preface The Preface introduces the student to the Essential Question of the book. This question,
together with the cluster questions and thinking skills, will guide student reading throughout the
anthology. Use the Preface to set a purpose for reading.

Prologue The Prologue combines a strong visual image with a thematically relevant poem or quota-
tion. The Prologue is designed to stimulate discussion and to set the tone for study of the anthology.

Creating Context The Creating Context section contains several features such as an essay, map,
and timeline, as well as a concept vocabulary page. These features will create a framework for learn-
ing and provide an opportunity to access prior knowledge.

The Selections
Clusters The anthology is divided into four or five clusters of selections. The selections offer a mix-
ture of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

Cluster Questions and Thinking Skills The selections in all but the last cluster are grouped around
a cluster question and thinking skill, which are stated on the cluster opening page. Reading the
selections in the cluster will help students answer the cluster question as well as exercise the think-
ing skill.

Responding to the Cluster Rather than interrupting the flow of reading with questions after every
selection, Literature & Thought anthologies present discussion questions at the end of the cluster.
Many of these discussion questions address more than one selection, giving students the opportunity
to consider a group of literary selections as a whole rather than as unconnected parts. These ques-
tions can also be used as prewriting prompts for the writing activity that follows the cluster questions.

Writing Activity All but the last cluster end with a writing activity that integrates the cluster ques-
tion with the thinking skill.

The Final Cluster

The Final Cluster Having practiced several thinking skills and with a core of literature behind them,
students should be able to approach the final cluster of selections independently.

4 L i t e r at u r e and Thought Voices of the Holocaust

Features of This Teacher Guide

Planning and Scheduling Options Strategies for planning a 4- to 6-week unit, a 1- to 2-week unit, or
using the student book in conjunction with a novel.

What Do You Know? (anticipation guide) To assess your students’ prior knowledge of the Holocaust,
administer the anticipation guide on page 67.

Teaching Strategies for Introducing the Theme To set the purpose for reading, use the resources for
teaching the Preface; use the Prologue for setting the tone of the theme study; and use the Creating
Context section for setting the framework, or context, of the unit.

Teaching the Critical Thinking Skill Each cluster in the teacher guide begins with a lesson plan and
handout/overhead for modeling the cluster thinking skill.

Cluster Vocabulary Handouts and Tests Students can use the reproducible vocabulary sheet to
reference challenging words in each selection and to prepare for the Cluster Vocabulary Tests.

Selection Resources Every selection in the student book has the following teacher supports: selection
summaries, reading hints, thinking skills, extension activities, discussion questions with suggested
answers, and special focus sections that provide historical, literary, or bibliographical background on
the selections.

Responding to the Cluster This resource page provides sample answers to the cluster questions.

Writing Activity Reproducible Sheet This graphic organizer integrates the writing activity and the
cluster critical thinking skill.

Suggestions for Teaching the Final Cluster The final cluster provides an opportunity for students to
demonstrate their mastery of the content knowledge and thinking skills. Look for the following fea-
tures: a final cluster planning guide, cluster vocabluary, selection teacher support, and handouts to help
with research, writing, and project ideas.

The Essay Prompt This open-book essay prompt is based on the essential question of the anthology.
Use it as a culminating essay test. You may want to give extra credit to students who correctly use
Concept Vocabulary words and words from the Cluster Vocabulary Sheets.

Rubric Use or adapt the sample rubric prior to assigning, and while assessing, student writing.

Assessments
Discussing the Selection Use the discussion questions to assess student understanding of the
selections.
Responding to the Cluster The questions on the Responding to the Cluster pages can be used
as informal assessments of the cluster content as well as the thinking skill.
Cluster Vocabulary Tests These 10-point vocabulary tests assess student understanding of
key vocabulary words.
Writing Activities Writing activities are ideal for assessing student understanding of the con-
tent and thinking skills of each cluster.
Essay Prompt Use the final essay prompt to assess student understanding of the essential
question of the theme study.

Voices of the Holocaust L i t e r at u r e and Thought 5

 Three Teaching Options for Voices of the Holocaust

4- to 6-Week Unit
Page Numbers In
Student Book Teacher Guide
Introducing the theme (1 to 2 days)
Read and discuss the following sections
• What Do You Know?—Anticipation Guide.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 67
• Preface.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
• Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–5.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
• Creating Context.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–14.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Teaching the first four clusters (3 to 5 days per cluster)
• Introduce and model the cluster thinking skill
using overhead/handout.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 24, 34, 44
• Pass out cluster vocabulary sheet.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 25, 35, 45
• Set schedule for reading selections in first four clusters
• For each selection, use appropriate discussion
questions and extension activities
Cluster One.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15–53.. . . . . . . . . . 13–19
Cluster Two. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55–69.. . . . . . . . . . 26–29
Cluster Three. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71–89.. . . . . . . . . . 36–39
Cluster Four.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91–123.. . . . . . . . . . 46–50
• As a class or in small groups discuss the Responding
to the Cluster questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54, 70, 90, 124.. . . . . 20, 30, 40, 51
• Introduce Writing Activity with handout.. . . . . . . . . 54, 70, 90, 124.. . . . . . 21, 31, 41, 52
• Administer Vocabulary Test.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32, 42, 53
Teaching the last cluster (5 to 10 days)
The final section can be structured as a teacher-directed cluster or as independent learning.
Choose from the two models described below.
Teacher-Directed
• Pass out cluster vocabulary sheet.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
• Set schedule for reading selections
• For each selection, use appropriate discussion
questions and extension activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56–60
• Administer Vocabulary Test.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
• Assign research projects.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62–63
• Administer final essay test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Independent Learning
Have students
• respond to one or more of the questions or activities
on the Responding to Cluster Five page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
• plan and present a lesson over one or more of the
selections in the last cluster.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125–141
• conduct additional research on a related topic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62–63

6 L i t e r at u r e and Thought Voices of the Holocaust

 Three Teaching Options for Voices of the Holocaust

1- to 2-Week Unit
Shorten the 4- to 6-week schedule by using one or more of the following strategies.
• Assign complete clusters to literary circles. Have each group share what they learn and/or teach
the cluster to their classmates.
• Assign individual selections to groups. Have each group share what they learn and/or teach the
selection to the entire class.
• Choose 8–10 significant selections for study by the entire class. The following list would provide
a shortened exploration of the themes in Voices of the Holocaust.

Title Page Title Page

The Ball 16 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 86
Serving Mein Führer 20 Letter from Dachau 92
Address Unknown 40 The Power of Light 118
A Spring Morning 56 The Test Case 131
A Survivor Remembers 66 Hitler’s Heirs 136
The White Rose: Long Live Freedom 80 Race 141

Using Voices of the Holocaust with Related Literature

Related Longer Works
Before Reading the Related Work
Anne Frank: The Diary of a
• Introduce the theme and the purpose for reading using the Young Girl by Anne Frank.
Anticipation Guide (page 67 of this teacher guide). From
True story of a young
Voices of the Holocaust use the Preface (page 3), the Prologue
Jewish girl who lived with
(pages 4–5), and Creating Context (pages 9–14).
• Have students choose one or two selections and a poem to seven other people in
read from each cluster. Ask students to report on their selec- secret rooms in
tion and how it helped them answer the cluster question. Amsterdam.
Number the Stars by Lois
During Reading Lowry. An inspiring story of
• Ask students to relate the readings in Voices of the Holocaust a Danish girl’s bravery
to themes, actions, or statements in the longer work. when Nazis threatened her
• At strategic points, have students discuss how characters in best friend’s safety.
the longer work would react to selections in Voices of the
Summer of My German
Holocaust.
Soldier by Bette Greene.
After Reading This coming-of-age story is
• Have students read the last cluster and respond to the cluster set in Arkansas during
questions, drawing upon selections in Voices of the Holocaust World War II. Patti Bergen’s
as well as the longer work. Jewish family explodes
• Ask students to compare and contrast one or more selections over her friendship with a
in Voices of the Holocaust and a theme in the longer work. German prisoner of war.
• Allow students to choose a research topic from the options See page 66 of this guide for other
given in Research, Writing, and Discussion Topics (page 62) related titles.
or Assessment and Project Ideas (page 63).

Voices of the Holocaust L i t e r at u r e and Thought 7

 I n t r o d u c i n g t h e t h e m e

Teaching the Preface (page 3)

Could a Holocaust Happen Here?

The question above is the essential question that students will consider as they read Voices of the
Holocaust. The literature, activities, and organization of the book will lead them to think critically about
this question and to develop a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.
To help students shape their answers to the broad essential question, they will read and respond to
five sections, or clusters. Each cluster addresses a specific question and thinking skill.
Cluster One How could the Holocaust happen? analyzing
Cluster two How were victims oppressed? comparing/contrasting
Cluster three Was there resistance? generalizing
Cluster Four Why should we remember? synthesizing
Cluster five Thinking on your own

Notice that the final cluster asks students to think independently about their answer to the essential
question—Could a holocaust happen here?

Discussing the Preface Review the Preface with students. Point out the essential question as well as
the cluster questions addressed in each cluster. You may want to revisit the essential question after stu-
dents complete each cluster. The last cluster addresses the essential question directly.

Teaching the Prologue (pages 4–5)

About the Image This photo documents the forcible removal of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto in 1940.
The German army had earlier confined more than 400,000 Jews in the crowded ghetto. Many Jews
died from starvation and disease, and about 300,000 more were sent to concentration camps.
The boy with his arms raised is Tsvi Nussbaum. He was sent to Bergen-Belsen camp, where he
watched four generations of his family die. Tsvi survived the Holocaust and later emigrated to New
York and became a physician.
Discussing the Image
• What do you know about the Holocaust?
• There are two groups in the photo: people and soldiers. Describe the makeup of each group.
• Who do you think took this photograph?
• Why do the people have their arms raised?
• Where do you think the boy with his hands up is going?
About the Text Martin Niemöller, the author of the famous speech “First they came for the Jews . . . ,”
had originally welcomed the Nazi rise to power. But by 1934, he was disillusioned by Hitler and
became the main figure in the Evangelical Church’s opposition to the Nazis. Arrested for “malicious
attacks against the state,” he spent many years in the Dachau and Sachsenhausen camps. After the
war Niemöller became a pacifist and advocated a neutral, disarmed, and reunited Germany.

Discussing the Text

• What do you think the speaker means when he says “they came for” the Jews or other groups?
• Why does the speaker not “speak out”?
• Why do they come for a separate group each time?
• What do you think is the speaker’s point?

8 L i t e r at u r e and Thought Voices of the Holocaust

 I n t r o d u c i n g t h e t h e m e

What Do You Know? (Anticipation Guide)

Discuss the following true false statements with your students to assess their knowledge of the
Holocaust. The same questions are provided in reproducible form on page 67 of this teacher guide.
Suggested answers are provided on page 68.

True or False
��� Only Jews were victims of the Holocaust.
��� The persecution of Jews was the cause of World War II.
��� Adolf Hitler believed that people of northern European descent were
superior to other ethnic groups.
��� Nobody helped the Jews of Europe escape from the Nazis.
��� The Holocaust was the first time that the Jews were victims of oppression.
��� The Holocaust could never happen again.

Teaching the Creating Context Section (pages 9–14)

Use these Creating Context features to access students’ prior knowledge and build background about
the Holocaust.

Anti-Semitism: A History of Hate (pages 9–10) This essay briefly explains the history of anti-Semi-
tism in Europe. The essay culminates with a description of Hitler’s “Final Solution.” Use the
following discussion questions to introduce the topic of anti-Semitism.
• Define prejudice.
• What other forms of prejudice do you know about?
• What do you know about anti-Semitism today?

Map of Concentration Camps and Killing Centers (page 10) Have students study the map of the con-
centration camps and the killing centers. Use the following question to open discussion on the map.
• Why do you think the Germans placed the “killing centers” outside of Germany, mainly in occu-
pied Poland?

Faces of the Holocaust (page 11) Have students study the images and captions on the “Faces of the
Holocaust” page. Use the question below to open discussion on the individuals shown.
• Have you seen or heard of any of these people before? Tell what you know about them.

Timeline (pages 12–13) Students can use the timeline to get an encapsulated view of the Holocaust as
well as to gain perspective to the selections in Voices of the Holocaust. Use the following activities to
engage students in the content of the timeline.
• Prepare a classroom timeline to record the approximate time and place of the selections in
Voices of the Holocaust.
• Assign each student 1 or 2 months of a year and have them read what happened. Have students
record historical details in their journals throughout the unit study.

Concept Vocabulary (page 14) The terms on this page are important to understanding the Holocaust.
• Discuss terms that may be new to students.
• Have students record new concept words in a journal as they read the anthology.

Voices of the Holocaust L i t e r at u r e and Thought 9

 T e a c h i n g t h e c r i t i c a l T h i n k i n g s k i l l

Cluster One
Analyzing
I. Present this definition to students.
In analyzing you break down a topic or subject into parts so that it is easier to understand.

II. Discuss with students how they already use analysis by sharing the situations below.
You use analysis when
• you study the good moves of an outstanding athlete.
• you pick out a new hair style or go shopping for new clothes.
• you learn the rules for a new game or learn how to use new software.

You might invite students to suggest other situations where analysis would be used.

III. Explain to students that they will analyze the selections in Cluster One to determine the roots
of the Holocaust. Use the following steps to show how to analyze a selection.
A. Use the reproducible “Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust” on page 11 as an overhead
transparency or blackline master.
B. Show how a reader analyzed Model A to determine attitudes that were prevalent in
German society and that helped fuel the Holocaust.
C. Ask students to analyze Model B. Help students find the following passages, and share
how these passages reveal attitudes at the root of the Holocaust.

• Using the phrase “good-for-nothing Jewboy” stereotypes all Jews as “good-for-nothing.”

You might introduce the term stereotyping at this time.
• The sentence “First you ruin our business with your department stores, then you rob us
on top of it!” shows how the woman blames an entire group for her problems.
• The sentence “Just you wait, Hitler will show you yet!” shows how much appeal Hitler’s
anti-Semitism has for the German masses.

10 L i t e r at u r e and Thought Voices of the Holocaust

N a m e C l a s s D at e

Analyzing the Roots of the Holocaust

Cluster Question: How could the Holocaust happen?

Analysis: With analysis you break down a topic or subject into parts so that it is easier to understand.

Directions: Notice how a reader analyzed Model A and highlighted attitudes that helped fuel the
Holocaust. Notice also the way the reader explained the highlighted text. Analyze Model B for similar
attitudes and roots.

Model A Root: People are

Hitler’s hatred of Jews didn’t dampen his image in most people’s willing to put up
minds. Good Aryans paid little attention to their hero’s darker side. with unfair laws as
Few of them objected to the many unfair laws that were now long as the laws
being forced upon the Jews. One of the newest demanded that all don’t hurt them.
German Jews use only Jewish first names. If you were Jewish with a
common first name like Karl or Heidi, the Nazis said you must
change it to something “obviously Jewish” like Abraham or Root: Laws made
Sarah so you could be identified more easily. the “enemy” easier
All across Germany, the fate of the Jews was beginning to look to identify.
more and more bleak. Headlines like this one screamed off the
pages of the Völkischer Beobachter, the Nazi Party newspaper:
Root: Widespread,
JEWS, ABANDON ALL HOPE! public intimidation
OUR NET IS SO FINE THAT THERE IS NOT A HOLE of Jews
THROUGH WHICH YOU CAN SLIP.

from “Serving Mein Führer,” page 26

Model B
“This good-for-nothing Jewboy here broke my shop window,” she
told everyone who cared to listen. “He wants to rob me.” She turned
to Friedrich. “But you didn’t quite make it this time, did you. Because
I’m always watching. I know you, you won’t get away from me. You
pack of Jews, they should get rid of you. First you ruin our business
with your department stores, then you rob us on top of it! Just you
wait, Hitler will show you yet!” And she shook Friedrich violently.

from “The Ball,” pages 17–18

Voices of the Holocaust © 2000 Perfection Learning Corporation • R e p r o d u c i b l e 11

N a m e C l a s s D at e
Cluster One Vocabulary
Watch for the following words as you read the selections in Cluster One. Record your own vocabulary
words and definitions on the blank lines.
The Ball pages 16–19
Herr German term for Mr. or Sir
insinuation criticism; an indirect suggestion
meant to discredit someone
surveyed looked over
______________________________________
______________________________________
Serving Mein Führer pages 20–27
arrogant too proud; boastful
bleak cheerless; depressing
fleeting short-lived; soon gone
goose-stepping marching with stiff-kneed and
straight-legged steps
high mass an important religious service in which
main beliefs are celebrated
invincible unbeatable
punctuated broken or interrupted at intervals
swastika ancient cross-like symbol with four bent
arms. The Nazis reversed the direction of the arms.
______________________________________
______________________________________
Family Album pages 28­–29
cattle-cars railroad freight cars used to transport
livestock
composed calm; quiet
engraved fixed in the mind
precipice steep cliff
______________________________________
______________________________________
An Anti-Semitic Demonstration pages 30–31
blue number a serial number tattooed on all
concentration camp prisoners. This number was
a person’s only source of identification.
indistinct blurred; unclear
______________________________________
______________________________________
12 R e p r o d u c i b l e • © 2000 Perfection Learning Corporation
Broken Glass, Broken Lives pages 32–37
affidavit sworn statement
cajoled flattered; charmed
embassy offices of a nation’s official representative
to another country
furtive secret; clandestine
Gestapo Hitler’s secret police
quota portion; number of immigrants legally
allowed to enter the United States
spontaneous spur of the moment; unrestrained
trepidation fear; anxiety
tumult disturbance; chaos
______________________________________
______________________________________
Crystal Night pages 38–39
shards pieces or fragments of brittle substance
such as glass or pottery
synagogue Jewish place of worship
______________________________________
______________________________________
Address Unknown pages 40–53
abated trailed off; calmed down
baser lower; more evil
Jew-baiting abusing Jews
Junker member of the former aristocratic class in
Prussia. Junkers tended to hang on to their privi-
leges and to resist change.
pillage loot
pogrom systematic killing; massacre
predominate prevail; here, outnumber others
Prussian related to Prussia, a powerful military
nation that became part of Germany
quickening coming to life; awakening
regime government; administration
vogue popular; faddish
zealot person who gets carried away with enthusi-
asm for a belief or a cause; fanatic
______________________________________
______________________________________
Voices of the Holocaust
 C l u s t e r O n e S e l e c t i o n s

The Ball by Hans Peter Richter, pages 16–19 Short Story

Summary
Friedrich, a Jewish boy, and the narrator, a non-Jewish boy, are playing ball in the street. The nar-
rator throws the ball to Friedrich, who isn’t watching, and the ball breaks a storefront window.
Despite the narrator’s objections that he threw the ball, the woman owner of the store creates a
scene, accusing the “Jewboy” of planning to rob the store. While a policeman escorts Friedrich
away, Friedrich’s father happens along. After listening to the woman, Friedrich’s father offers to
pay for the broken window immediately.

Reading Hint Thinking Skill Extensions

Some students may have difficulty What does the author want Speaking and Listening: Have stu-
with German names. Tell them not you to learn from this piece? dents take the roles of the characters in
to worry about pronouncing the this story and create a short improvisa-
names correctly. tional play of the story.

Vocabulary 5. Do you think that the narrator and

Herr German term for Mr. or Sir Friedrich will remain friends? Why or why
not? (Analysis) Answers will vary. Some will
insinuation criticism; an indirect suggestion
say yes because the boys do not share the
meant to discredit someone
prejudice of the woman. Others may say no
surveyed looked over because the boys will grow up and take on
the prejudices of the greater society.
Discussing the Short Story
1. What does the woman call the boys? For Further Reading
(Recall) Thieves! Burglars! For your students that enjoyed this story, rec-
2. According to the woman, how are the Jews ommend the entire novel: Friedrich by Hans
ruining her business? (Recall) They are run- Peter Richter, Puffin: 1987. ISBN: 0140322051
ning department stores. [You may want to
explain to students that many people blamed
Teacher Notes
Jews when hard times came. They believed
that the Jews were getting rich at their
expense.]
3. The policeman arrives to find out the truth.
How does he use his authority? (Analysis)
He ignores the narrator’s testimony. He sup-
ports the woman’s prejudices. He implies
that the narrator will get into trouble if the
boy insists the woman is a “liar.”
4. Why won’t the woman take an oath that
what she says is true? (Analysis) She did not
see the incident. Her accusation is based on
prejudice alone.

Voices of the Holocaust L i t e r at u r e and Thought 13