In their Shoes: Teaching the Holocaust through the Journey of a Chain of Witnesses, Survivors and Rescuers

In their Shoes: Teaching the Holocaust through the Journey of a Chain of Witnesses, Survivors and Rescuers is an inquiry-based unit that challenges students to take action. The specific action they are asked to take is to become a link in the chain of witness by analyzing film, closely reading historical fiction, poetry, and listen and respond to survivor’s testimonies. While reading, reflecting upon, and responding to real people whose lives were changed (survivors) and those that changed lives (rescuers) students will begin to bear witness…by sharing their own traumatic events and the stories of Holocaust survivors. The concluding activity of this unit is for students to listen to a live survivor, write the survivors biography, and share their story with many others. The actual sharing of the survivors’ testimony is crucial for their story to continue into the future.