CLIL History

M3 The Holocaust The Righteous among the Nations Moshe Bejski was one of the Jews that during World War II was saved by Oskar Schindler. He was the German industrialist who saved hundreds of Jews by employing them in his factories in Poland, Bohemia and Moravia. Bejski devoted his life to the research of those persons who had taken great personal risks to save Jews that were condemned to death camps. The Righteous among the Nations are now commemorated in Jerusalem, in Yad Vashem, which is The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. During the Holocaust the mainstream watched what was happening in their cities and villages with indifference, many collaborated with the Nazis, but a small minority, with extraordinary courage, became rescuers. They helped Jews in many different forms: hiding them in their homes, providing them with false papers, assisting them to escape, and taking in abandoned children. The commission for the Designation of the Righteous established some rules by which a righteous action is recognized. The rescue act had to be carried out by a non-Jew to save Jews during the Holocaust, it had to prevent their death or deportation, the saviour had to risk his or her life and did not receive any advantage, neither economic nor of any other type, from his or her action. Up to now more than 26,000 people have been recognized as being Righteous among the Nations and are commemorated in the Garden of the Righteous, in Jerusalem. Common people such as peasants, doctors, priests, nuns, teachers and simple labourers have had trees planted in their honour as a symbol of their Righteousness. Many Italians stood by the victims side and have been recognized as belonging to the Righteous. ACTIVITY 4.G After reading the text The Righteous among the Nations follow the instructions given below to do some further research. Go to the following website: www.yadvashem.org. Select the Righteous section. In the section you can find popular feature stories of the Righteous. Choose one of the stories or, if you prefer, you may select a different country or topic. Read your chosen story and then prepare a brief summary, to be orally presented to your classmates. Explain who the person was and what he or she did in order to be considered Righteous. ACTIVITY 5 General revision 1. What have the motivations for biases against the Jews been in history? 2. Why was the Wannsee Conference considered to be a turning point in the Nazi policy against the Jews? 3. What groups of people were persecuted, deported and killed by the Nazis? 4. What was the aim of the anti-Semitic racial laws in Italy? 5. Who are the Righteous among the Nations? FINAL TASK CASE STUDY Individual work You are planning a class visit to Anne Frank s house in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Create a PowerPoint presentation of a guided tour of the museum for your teacher. Illustrate some interesting facts about this site and include the following details: exactly where the museum can be found who Anne Frank was and when she lived in the house what was happening in the Netherlands during the years she lived there what happened to Anne and her family why her story can be told what the museum houses why it is important to visit the museum today. In your presentation include an introductory slide, at least 5 pictures with relevant information about the historical context of Anne Frank s existence, and conclusive slide. 31