ReadWriteThink: November 9, 2009: Kristallnacht occurred in 1938.

November 9, 2009

		In 1938, as Hitler began to dominate the lives of the Jewish population of Germany, Nazi soldiers were ordered to destroy Jewish stores and homes on what became known as Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. Image from National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Kristallnacht occurred in 1938.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

Many of the lessons associated with a study of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust focus on the incredibly vicious treatment of the Jews at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. It is difficult to get students to understand how it was possible for the leaders of Germany at the time to wreak havoc on a segment of the German citizenry without others coming to their aid or rescue. To facilitate students’ understanding, a journal prompt asking them to recall a time when they failed to come to the assistance of someone who needed help could be used at the beginning of the class period. An alternative would be to read “The Good Samaritan” from Rene Saldana’s story collection Finding Our Way, in which a young man wrestles with just this situation.

Lesson Plans

Fighting Injustice by Studying Lessons of the Past
Middle school students compare the experience of European Jews during the Holocaust to those of the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears and the Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Investigating the Holocaust: A Collaborative Inquiry Project
Students in grades 6–8 research the Holocaust, prepare responses to share orally, and produce a topic-based newspaper.

Dynamic Duo Text Talks: Examining the Content of Internet Sites
Using a variety of online texts about Anne Frank and the Holocaust, this lesson asks middle school students to critically examine Internet sites as a primary source of information.

Using Student-Centered Comprehension Strategies with Elie Wiesel’s Night
High school students use reciprocal teaching strategies as they read and discuss Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night.

Web Links

Kristallnacht: The Jewish Virtual Library
This resource discusses the events leading up to Kristallnacht. Links to books used as sources are included.

The History Place: World War II in Europe
Photographs and other historical documents about Kristallnacht detail the horror and destruction of that night.

Destruction of Synagogues on Kristallnacht
This map, from the Florida Center for Educational Technology’s A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust, provides information about the more than 200 synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht. Links to timelines and other pieces of information are also at this site.

Kristallnacht
This online text, from the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance, includes these hyperlinked sections: Fact Sheet, Personalities, Documents, and Eyewitness Accounts and Reminiscences.

Texts

Lowry, Lois. 1998. Number the Stars. Laurel Leaf.
Annemarie Johanssen and her family help her friend Ellie Rosen’s family to escape from Denmark before the Nazis have the chance to take the Jewish population away to concentration camps.

Bunting, Eve. 1996. Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust. Jewish Publication Society.
This allegory uses a tale of animals who learn that they must help one another in order to protect themselves from the “terrible things.”

Zullo, Allan, and Mara Bovsun. 2005. Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust. Scholastic Paperbacks.
This book tells the true stories of nine children who survived the Holocaust through escape, disguise, or hiding.

Wiesel, Elie. 1999. Night. Holt Rinehart and Winston.
Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s memoir of his experiences as a teenager in the death camps of Nazi Germany is one of the most respected books about the Holocaust.