"One of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human
beings that I have ever read."
—Eleanor Roosevelt in her introduction to The
Diary of a Young Girl
"So much has happened it's as if the whole world had
suddenly turned upside down."
—Anne Frank, June 8, 1942
Introduction
The United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum's online
introduction to Anne Frank states, "Anne Frank was one of the hundreds of
thousands of Jewish children who died in the Holocaust." In that sense, she is
not unique; however, through the very ordinary act of writing a diary, through
her youthful wisdom and budding literary talent, Anne remains today an extraordinary
"symbol for the lost promise of the children who died in the Holocaust."
This
lesson invites you to supplement your students' reading of The Diary of a Young
Girl by connecting the diary to the study of history and to honor the legacy of
Anne Frank, the writer, as she inspires your students to use writing to deepen
their insights into their own experiences and the experiences of others.
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons
in this unit, students will be able to:
Show on a map territorial changes
to Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.
Identify European
countries that came under German control before and during World War II.
Discuss
the various policies Germany implemented in occupied countries in Europe and particularly
in the Netherlands.
Guiding
Question:
What were the historical circumstances that led the Frank family to
go into hiding?
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
This lesson, Anne Frank: One of Hundreds of Thousands, helps
students put Anne Frank in a historical context. It begins with a broad overview
of the map of World War II in Europe, continues with a look at what happened to
a selection of countries, and ends with a lens on the Netherlands and Anne Frank.
Lesson
2, Anne Frank: Writer, concentrates on the diary with a look at Anne Frank
the adolescent and Anne Frank the writer. Students then practice one of Anne's
writing strategies—self-imposed rules about how she would compose a particular
entry--with material from their own lives.
A free online resource is available from the EDSITEment-reviewed
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website, Teaching
about the Holocaust: A Resource Book for Educators; this online resource provides
guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust, an historical summary and chronology,
and an annotated bibliography and videography on Holocaust-related topics. It
also describes information about programs offered by Museum educators and additional
resources for teachers. To view or print the entire resource book go to the page
"For Teachers." Part III lets teachers receive, at no charge, an introductory
packet of resources from the Education Resource Center; it also contains an extensive,
annotated bibliography with sections for middle school students, high school students,
and adults.
Though the web pages and other items specifically
featured in this lesson plan have been selected with care, they inevitably contain—as
they relate to the Holocaust—potentially disturbing material. Should students
explore the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website on their own, they
may come across material of a graphic nature. The teacher should set guidelines
for the class and be prepared to help students.
Background on World War II in Europe:
German pride had
been wounded by its defeat in World War I; moreover, Germans resented the forced
changes to their country's pre-World War I borders. According to the U.S
Holocaust Memorial Museum website, as a result of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles,
Germany had lost "13 percent of its European territory (more than 27,000 square
miles) and one-tenth of its population (between 6.5 and 7 million people)."
"At
the Lausanne Conference of 1932, Germany, Britain, and France agreed to the formal
suspension of reparations payments imposed on the defeated countries after World
War I. Thus, when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933, the
financial provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (the post-World War I peace agreement)
had already been revised. Hitler was determined to overturn the remaining military
and territorial provisions of the treaty and include ethnic Germans in the Reich
as a step toward the creation of a German empire in Europe." (From the EDSITEment-reviewed
U.S Holocaust Memorial
Museum website.)
In a series of diplomatic maneuvers, propaganda campaigns,
and, finally, devastating attacks using the blitzkrieg tactic, Germany rapidly
took control of a series of European countries. In each, Germany implemented a
particular set of governing policies. To each country, Germany attempted to export
its racial ideology.
Review the lesson plan. Download the chart, World War II in Europe (available as a PDF file), that will be used in this lesson. Prepare copies of the maps, articles, and chart, as necessary.
In
the class activity, students look at a series of maps to gain an idea of the territorial
changes in Europe after World War I up to the beginning of the defeat of Germany.
They complete a map intended to show the speed and reach of Germany's wartime
expansion. Then students share information about the German occupation in some
European countries, which they then compare to the situation in the Netherlands.
Lastly, students analyze a map of Anne Frank's movements in Europe.
Lesson 1:
Anne Frank: One of Hundreds
of Thousands
1Review with the class the territorial changes that were forced
on Germany after World War I as shown in the map German
Territorial Losses: Versailles Treaty 1919, available through the EDSITEment
resource U.S. Holocaust Museum.
2Provide each student with a map of pre-WWII
Europe such as the map
of Europe 1933, available from the U.S. Holocaust Museum website. Students
should record the month and date of each country's defeat by Germany. Germany's
occupation of European countries can be seen in a map
of Europe in 1942, and a timeline of occupation provided in the second paragraph
of the brief essay, World War
II in Europe, both available from the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Through this activity, students should
come to see the rapidity and extensiveness of Germany's wartime expansion.
3As Germany took control of any particular country,
it implemented policies relating to governance and racial ideology. Those policies
differed somewhat from country to country. Divide students into groups and assign
each an article about one country; from the information in the article (and any
other appropriate sources chosen), students should compose a news article that
adheres to the facts about the events that transpired. Students may elaborate
as desired as long as they do not stray from what is truly possible. Remind the
class about the Reporter's Formula (Who? What? When? Where?
and Why?); they should address these questions early in the article, as well as provide a headline and byline. Put the
articles together to create a news account of German wartime expansion.
Student
groups can use the following articles, available through the EDSITEment-reviewed
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website, for
their research:
Based on the information from each group, students will fill in a chart, World War II in Europe,
summarizing the information.
4Read with the class
the article "Netherlands,"
available from the EDSITEment-reviewed U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website.
In what ways did what happened to the Netherlands resemble and/or differ from
what happened in the countries on the chart?
5Lastly, students should review
a map tracing Anne Frank's movements
through Europe, available through the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum website. What can students deduce about her various movements?
In what ways do they relate to Germany's situation at the time?
Extending
the Lesson
1Students interested in learning more about The Holocaust
can explore The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's The
Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students: "Organized by theme, this site uses
text, historical photographs, maps, images of artifacts, and audio clips to provide
an overview of the Holocaust. It is the first step in a growing resource for middle
and secondary level students and teachers, with content that reflects the history
as it is presented in the Museum's Permanent Exhibition, The Holocaust."
2Students can read authentic stories of some Dutch citizens in Netherlands
Stories, from U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Included are four brief videotaped
accounts of eyewitnesses.
3Students can read and react to a contemporary
diary written by a young woman in a war torn part of the world through Zlata's
Diary, by Zlata Filipovic. (Viking Press, 1997. Grade levels: 6-12.)
4Students can use the resources of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
to research "Blacks
During the Holocaust," including learning about Joseph
Nassy: ". . . a black expatriate artist of Jewish descent. Nassy was living in Belgium
when World War II began, and was one of about 2,000 civilians holding American
passports who were confined in German internment camps during the war." The site
also includes examples of works by Nassy.
7Have students
read (or read to them from) Tales from the Secret Annex by Anne Frank (Doubleday
Books: 1983. Grade levels 9-12.).
8Students who want to learn more about
Anne Frank can view some photos of the rowhouse and the attic in which Anne spent
two years confined with her family and four other people , available from the
website Anne Frank House,
a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. As one recent visitor to the house described it:
"Amsterdam rowhouses are very tall, very narrow, with incredibly steep staircases.
You walk up the steep narrow stairs, go through the secret doorway behind the
bookcase, then all of a sudden there's this surprisingly large space.… From the
windows of the Anne Frank House… you can look out and see the windows of other
houses and of the street and canal below; for us this was a picaresque detail,
but for Anne and her family it presented an incredible danger, as their eventual
betrayal by a Dutch neighbor attests." Some editions of the diary include a sketch
that Anne herself made of the rooms in the house.
9Teaching
about the Holocaust: A Resource Book for Educators (available for free download
at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Outreach Page for Teachers) contains
an extensive, annotated bibliography of readings for middle school students wanting
to know more about World War II in Europe and/or the Holocaust.
EDSITEment
contains a variety of links to other websites and references to resources available
through government, nonprofit, and commercial entities. These links and references
are provided solely for informational purposes and the convenience of the user.
Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement. For more information, please
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