Adapted from a lesson by Laura Patton
Indian Woods Middle School
Overland Park, Kansas
Introduction
Many Holocaust survivors shared the memories of their experiences to help educate future generations. They are not historians, but rather
important eye-witnesses to what was happening to them at a given place, in a given time, in a given set of circumstances. By reading several
segments of different memoirs on a particular topic, the reader is able to piece together a broader view of what was happening across a spectrum of experiences during the Holocaust.
As it is written, this exercise examines various camp experiences in the Holocaust, but it can be adapted to look at any focused experience such as conditions in the ghettos, children or women in the Holocaust, etc. When choosing your memoir excerpts, consider what is age-appropriate for your audience.
Teacher Instructions
Materials for the lesson:
- Student Notetaking Sheet
- Notetaking Sheet KEY for Teachers
