Pre-Activities

Pre-Activities
//Getting a feel for the magnitude of the Holocaust's carnage// Doing the Math: Why toothpicks?

//First Person testimony// Holocaust survivor Mr. Jay Sommer Holocaust survivor Ms. Anita Shorr Students will have the opportunity to meet and listen to the accounts of these amazing survivors.

//How can people let this happen?// Trying to understand how civilized people allowed and engaged in the carnage... Students are reading a number of books dealing with the Holocaust (including __Night__, by Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, and __The Boy in the Striped Pajamas__, by John Boyne) as well as researching official documents for the Nazi government that were translated for the Nuremburg Trials. In addition to this effort, the students are participating in several teacher-directed activities that simulate the dynamics of he political power structure in Germany during the 1930's and 40's. The discussions evolving from these activities center on how this could have happened. The students also ponder what the role of the citizens was or should have been.