Unit: The Holocaust Lesson: Oskar Schindler

1. Unit: The HolocaustLesson: Oskar Schindler OGT Social Studies at ISUS There are no grades at ISUS, so it would be for 17-22 year olds.

2. Table of Contents • Objectives • Materials • Web Sites • Student Activities • Presentation Slides

3. Objectives • This lesson would be taught after general units on WWII and the Holocaust • Bring the horrors of the Holocaust to life through film. I do not think any amount of lecture can show what film can. • Give the students a deeper understanding of the Holocaust through the relationships between the Germans and the Jews in the movie Schindler’s List • Show the students that some Germans helped the Jewish people during the Holocaust • Introduce new vocabulary and concepts to the students, which will more than likely appear on the OGT

4. Materials • Note worksheet (provided by the teacher) • Pen/pencil • The Movie Schindler’s List • Permission slips to show the movie since it is rated R ( I don’t believe that the film would be a problem at ISUS, but at other schools, I would more than likely only show clips) • Post-test on the presentation and the movie

5. Websites • http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/schindler.html • http://www.auschwitz.dk/id2.htm • http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Holocaust/steinhouse.html • http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/schindler.html • http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/schindler/

6. Note on Student Activities • The students where I’m teaching, ISUS, are not typical of the type of students you would see at “normal” high schools. Their academic skills are much lower, and therefore my activities reflect this.

7. Student Activities • Ask the students, “What would you do if you were a German with power during the Holocaust?” This would bring up discussion on the topic, which would lead me into the presentation. • Follow along on their note handouts with the PowerPoint lecture. (There will be blanks on the notes so they have to write and follow along. The blanks will be in green font on the PowerPoint) • Ask questions • Watch Schindler’s List and follow along with the note handout. • Ask the introductory question again to see if anyone changed their mind based on the movie • Study • Take the test

8. Student Activities • Discussion on the topic “What would you do?” • Get the students engaged in discussion • Make them think and critically use previously learned information on the Holocaust and WWII

9. Student Activities • Follow along in note handout • I will prepare a note handout that is an outline of the notes. There will be blanks on the handout that correspond to highlighted words in the PowerPoint. This will help the students follow along and practice note taking skills. It will also provide them with a study sheet for the post test.

10. Student Activities • Ask questions • The students should ask and respond to the questions I ask them as they follow along in the PowerPoint. • I know this seems simple, but at ISUS, it is a huge step to be able to get the students engaged, involved, and asking questions

11. Student Activities • Watch Schindler’s List and follow along with the questions in the note handout • The students should be able to pick out key points from the movie and gain a better understanding of the Holocaust

12. Student Activities • Follow up discussion to the movie • Ask the students if the movie had changed their view or their initial opinion of the Holocaust or Germans during the WWII period

13. Student Activities • Study and review • I will give the students 20 minutes to review their notes before the post test because I know that most ISUS students will not study at home. • Allow the students to ask me questions on the movie and handout

14. Student Activities • Post test • Give the students a post test out of 100 points that reflects key points from the handout and the movie

15. Oskar Schindler February 7, 2008

16. Life Before WWII • Born on April 28, 1908 in Zwittau, which is now located in the modern day Czech Republic. • Was a charming playboy. Womanized, drank, and gambled • As a businessman, used WWII as an opportunity to make money

17. During WWII • Became a member of the Nazi Party • Used his charm, black market connections, and influence to become friends with the higher ups in the Nazi Party • Through his Nazi connections, and motivated by profit, Schindler gained control of an enamelware factory in Krakow, Poland

18. During WWII Schindler with Prominent Nazi Officers

19. During WWII Poland

20. During WWII Enamelware

21. During WWII Schindler’s enamelware factory

22. During WWII • Krakow contained one of many Jewish ghettos, which was a small area of town where the Jews were forcibly relocated by the Nazis • Schindler used Jewish labor from the ghetto because it was the cheapest form of labor available

23. During WWII • For reasons unknown, during this time, Schindler transformed from a profiteering Nazi, to a protector of his Jewish workers. • His workers were called the Schindlerjuden • He often referred to them as “my children”

24. During WWII • Quotes from Schindler • "I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism. I just couldn't stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. That's all there is to it. Really, nothing more."

25. During WWII "The persecution of Jews in the General Government in Polish territory gradually worsened in its cruelty. In 1939 and 1940 they were forced to wear the Star of David and were herded together and confined in ghettos. In 1941 and 1942 this unadulterated sadism was fully revealed. And then a thinking man, who had overcome his inner cowardice, simply had to help. There was no other choice."

26. During WWII • Measures taken to protect his workers • Bribed guards and Nazi higher ups in order to gain provisions such as proper food and medicine • Lied about workers ages and occupations so that they would be deemed necessary to the war effort, and kept in his factory and out of death camps • Beatings and shooting of his workers were prohibited

27. During WWII • In 1943 the ghetto was liquidated and the Jewish residents were transferred to Plazsow, a concentration/work camp. • Through bribes, and his connections with Amon Goeth, the German commander over the camp, Schindler was able to establish a branch of his factory outside of the camp.

28. During WWII • In 1944, Schindler created his now famous list of workers, and had them transferred to a munitions plant in Czechoslovakia, where they stayed for the remainder of the war. • The plant never made usable munitions • Schindler had spent millions of dollars of his own money to help save his Jewish workers from Hitler’s Final Solution

29. Schindler’s List • A link to the entire list: http://www.auschwitz.dk/Schindlerslist.htm

30. After WWII • Schindler fled to Argentina penniless • His marriage failed • He returned to Europe, and the survivors from his factory helped him financially • He died in 1974 in Germany • He was proclaimed “righteous” by the Jewish people • He was eventually laid to rest in Israel

31. Schindler’s Grave

32. The Movie

33. Movie Questions • How would you describe Schindler at the beginning of the movie? • Describe the conditions in the Krakow Ghetto. • What were some of the things Schindler did to ensure the safety of his workers? • How would you describe Amon Goeth? • Why do you think Schindler’s munitions plant never produced a working weapon? • Why do you believe Schindler was crying at the end of the movie?

34. The End