Download
1 / 41
410 likes | 422 Views
The Educational Concept of the International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem. The B iographical Approach – Teaching the Shoah age-appropriately. First Encounter with the Topic Shoah. Educational Aim:
E N D
The Educational Concept of the International School for Holocaust Studies, Yad Vashem TheBiographicalApproach – TeachingtheShoah age-appropriately
First Encounter with the Topic Shoah Educational Aim: • Provide students with a set of toolstodealwiththetopic Holocaust (while it is not yet dealt with in the formal education system) • Establishing an empathic learning attitude • Teaching basic historical key concepts about the Holocaust in order to avoid the formation of false or distorting pre-conceptions Method: • Personalisation of History: „Never teach history without telling a story“ (Yehuda Bauer) • Teaching history through stories: biographical narrative
Criteria for Age Appropriate Source Material: • The Perspective: • Authentic Source from a Survivor’s perspective • Emotional safety • Clear distinction between facts and fiction • Making the perspective transparent: Who tells the story? When? From which perspective? (Source critical reading!) • Personalisation of history: The source enables students to relate to the surivor as a person, not as a victim only. He/she had a life before persecution started, and also after liberation.
Perspective: How is the story transmitted? 1. BedrichFritta creates a book for his son Tommy For Tommy to his third birthday in Theresienstadt, 22. Januar 1944 2. Tommy, as a grown up, addresses the readers of this book today After two years in that awful place, my third birthday was approaching. Daddy said, “Now I want to make a picture book for my boy, Tommy.” When the war was over, my Mommy and Daddy were not alive anymore. Leo Haas, who had been Daddy’s friend, and his wife, Erna, adopted me as their son. The book was saved in my new house. (…) Now that you are familiar with the book that Daddy made for Tommy, I want to wish you a life without wars and soldiers, in which children never suffer. After all, without children’s laughter the world is a very, very, sad place. Yours, Tommy (now a big Tommy)
2. Empathic Learning Attitude • Supporting an empathic learning attitude through • Covering the period before persecution Now I will tell you about myself. (…) I was born far away in the city of Prague, now in the Czech Republic. It is a pretty city with a large river and many bridges. Lots of old houses and synagogues line the city streets. To me, Prague is like a city in the story-books. The Fritta family – my family – lived happily in Prague. My grandmother and grandfather, my father Bedrich, my mother Hensi, and I had a nice house until German soldiers captured the city.
Supporting an empathic learning attitude through • Sources rich in details (universal language)
3. The Individual in its Historical Context • Providing basic historical concepts of the Shoah: discrimination, isolation, ghettoization, etc. • Theresienstadt: basic historical characteristics as transfer camp (Durchgangslager), location: north-eastern of Prague • Education and Culture • Nazis used Theresienstadt as „Model“ ghetto in order to decieve the West • Life conditions • Resistance (Bedrich Fritta) Scene from the Nazi propaganda film Monopoly Game, made in Theresienstadt, 1943 Pen and ink drawing on paper, signed lower left: Fritta, no date (Jewish Museum, Prague)
4. The Learner • The source must not overwhelm • Young children must not be confronted with the realization of genocide • Talking about loss without details of violence • Involving the element of help, rescue, solidarity • Leading in – Leading out! And for 1944 I wish you healty (raspberry juice, California fruit), etc.! Your Bedudu Uncle
Supporting an Empathic Learning Attitude • Empathy versus Identification (Avoid methods that encourage identification) • „Cognitive empathy“: „Cognitive empathy makes us understand how the other feels. Emotional empathy makes us feel how the other feels.“ (Ekman, Paul (2007): Gefühle lesen. Translation N.M.) • Juxtapose „Then“ and „Now“ by pointing out differences/similarities: Childhood before the war vs. Childhood today (games, friends, school, family, etc)
Groupwork Revisit Bedřich Fritta’s paintings, and discuss: Where can you find hints of the daily hardship of life in Theresienstadt? What messages for his son Tommy does Fritta place in his paintings?
All of this and twice as much wishes you for your next birthday – Bedudu!
We are off on our travels – somewhere cold or somewhere warm?
And for 1944 I wish you healty (raspberry juice, California fruit), etc.! Your Bedudu
