Survivor Voices: Bearing Witness from the Holocaust to Today (film)

"Survivor Voices: Bearing Witness from the Holocaust to Today" is a 25-minute educational documentary produced by the Holocaust Center for Humanity. This video weaves the testimonies of local Holocaust survivors with contemporary issues racism, genocide, and the difference each one of us can make. Through personal stories, "Survivor Voices" illustrates the escalation of the Holocaust from racist attitudes to genocide. It is through these stories and through this history that we confront the past and work to build a world free of racism and hatred in all its forms.  For grades 7 and up. 

Timeline Activities

US Holocaust Memorial Museum Timeline Activity

• Lesson Plan (PDF)

This activity can be done in a single class period or spread out over three days, allowing students to see the timeline evolve in “layers.” You will need a dedicated wall in your room.

Timeline Cards (to use with activity above, pdf version)

• Years, 1933-1945 (PDF)
• Individual Profile Cards (PDF)
• Laws and Decrees (PDF)
• Historical Events (PDF)

Lesson was created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Additional profiles of local survivors added by the Holocaust Center for Humanity. 

Teachers may use the pdf of the original lesson (above) to support this online version of the USHMM timeline activity.  It is also available on Learning Management Systems.

Echoes and Reflections Timeline of the Holocaust 

This Echoes and Reflections digital timeline includes proposed lessons and activities, and is amenable to remote instruction.
 

Universe of Obligation

Students are introduced to the concept of "universe of obligation" and prompted to illustrate circle of individuals who they feel a responsibility to care for and protect.

Exploring Identity - Secondary

with Exploring Identity Handouts

The question “Who am I?” is especially critical for students during adolescence. The goal of this lesson is to prompt students to consider how the answer to this question arises from the relationship between the individual and society

Exploring Identity - Elementary

In this lesson, students will consider and describe aspects of their identities and note how they are similar and different from others in their class and beyond.

Terrible Things

A highly engaging lesson using Eve Bunting’s short allegory, Terrible Things. The lesson is adaptable from grades 6-12 and includes an animated retelling of the allegory.  Enduring understandings: 

• Whether or not you are personally affected, stand up for what you believe.
• Those who fail to stand up to injustice of any type, allow it to happen.

"I Am A Witness": Exploring the Survivor Encyclopedia

The Survivor Encyclopedia project features survivors who live or have lived in Washington State. These survivors, with their history and stories, have shaped our community, contributing to its richness and diversity. They challenge us to understand history through personal narrative - to see complex human beings behind the facts. Their stories inspire us to recognize human fragility and resilience and the difference that each one of us can make. Two activities guide students to work in pairs or individually to explore survivors in the encyclopedia, looking for common themes, artifacts, mapping their journeys, and finding areas where they could research more deeply. 

The Holocaust - Animated Map (1:57)

A map showing Nazi Germany's expansion throughout Europe and the deportations of Jews and non-Jewish victims. Map is created by the USHMM. The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Mass killings began in June 1941 with the shooting of Jewish civilians during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the end of 1941, the Germans began deporting Jews to killing centers in occupied Poland. By May 1945, about two out of every three Jews in Europe had been murdered.

Speakers Bureau

Request a speaker from the Holocaust Center for Humanity's Speakers Bureau. The Holocaust Center Speakers Bureau consists of almost 30 active speakers who share their stories throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our Speakers Bureau includes Holocaust survivors and Legacy Speakers. Legacy Speakers are children and grandchildren of survivors, children of liberators, and children of rescuers (Righteous Among the Nations).

The mission of the Speakers Bureau is to provide a personal connection to the Holocaust for students of all ages, and show them a human face and story that listeners can reflect upon to confront bigotry and intolerance today. Hearing speakers give testimony helps students find their own voice, and helps teach them to be responsible citizens in our community, our nation, and our world.

Speakers are available for virtual presentations via Zoom. In-person presentations will be arranged when COVID-19 reopening guidelines allow. More Info & Request a Speaker

Artifact Activity

This highly engaging activity connects students to replica artifacts of survivors, the originals of which are housed in the Holocaust Center for Humanity. The lesson and replica artifacts come in the Holocaust Teaching Trunks, which are free to borrow.