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Activities for Schools: Survivors, Liberation and Rebuilding Lives

In learning about the past it is always best to start in an environment that is familiar. All children have some understanding of the world of today, which they can use as a point of reference to compare against historical events. It is important for children to view the world in which they live as a continuation of society in the 1940s, not as completely detached from it.

• It is very important that these lessons are set in the context of the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and the eventual horrors of concentration camps.They need to be taught after the historical context has been established. It is recommended that you read the outline of the aims of . (Please note: the 主播大秀 is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
• Lessons meet the skill and content requirements for the UK curriculum in history, English and citizenship (England and Wales).
• It may be possible to use some exercises to support RE classes at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4.
• The lessons could be adapted to use as part of centre-designed history coursework for Key Stage 4.
• Some topics will naturally fit into one lesson and others may run over a number of weeks.

This lesson plan includes:

• Lesson 1: Liberators (Key Stages 3 and 4)
• Lesson 2: Rebuilding (Key Stages 3 and 4)
• Lesson 3: Survivors (Key Stages 3 and 4)

How to use these lesson plans

• Use as a structured scheme of work on the British 主播大秀 Front, 1939-45.
• Use as generic lesson plans for the teacher, rather than material to be given direct to the pupils.
• Alter the plans and cut and paste questions in order to make resource sheets according to the ability and age of the pupils.
• The plans are for mixed ability groups, although the teacher may want to split groups and tasks according to ability.

The list of resources at the beginning of each lesson includes a reference to stories from the 主播大秀's WW2 People's War site, extracts from which are on the Story extracts page. You may find it useful to print out the full stories. There is also a guideline of preparation materials that are generally found in schools or can be provided by the teacher.

Lesson 1: Liberators

Key Stages - 3 and 4

Objectives - To begin to understand the experiences of the people in the concentration camps at liberation.

Extracts from the following WW2 People's War stories which can be found on the Story extracts page.

• 'Ich Habe Kranke!' (I Am Sick!)
• Letter from Lubeck:After Belsen
• D-Day and Belsen Concentration Camp
• The Liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp

Other resources needed for the class

• Photocopies of the relevant extracts from the Story extracts page
• Photocopies of Pupil Task Sheets
• IWB - Interactive White Board
• Internet access to research international aid organisations
• Highlighter pens

Teaching and Learning Activities

Starter Activity

Split the class into groups of three or four pupils and give them the following question to discuss: "Why should the past be remembered?"

Potential points to be suggested: we can learn from the past; we can try to ensure it will never happen again; it makes us reassess the attitudes and beliefs of society today.

The aim is for the class to use these points as well as their own suggestions.

Activity 1

Recap previous knowledge of why people were sent to concentration camps and what happened there, as well as the meaning of the terms 'Holocaust' and 'genocide'. The fact file on Liberation of Belsen (1945) in the Timeline might be useful.

Activity 2

Split the class into groups of four and ask them to read 'Ich Habe Kranke!' (I Am Sick!) and Letter from Lubeck: After Belsen.

Ask each group to discuss the questions below:

Feed back and discuss. As a class, ask pupils to begin to create a Charter for Tolerance and Peace by listing the things they can do to ensure that society remembers and learns from the past. They can add to this over the next couple of lessons. It would be good to do this on an IWB so that it can be saved for later lessons.

Activity 3

Split the class into pairs. Ask them to read the three extracts The Liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp, D-Day and Belsen Concentration Camp and Letter from Lubeck: After Belsen. These extracts can be found on the Story extracts page. They should use highlighter pens to pick out phrases that indicate that:

• The liberators were shocked
• They wanted to help but did not know what to do
• They did manage to do some things to help

Teacher notes - examples of points that could be highlighted:

The Liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp
At the time, some politicians and religious leaders criticized the British Army for not doing enough to relieve the suffering of the prisoners. As one who was there, the task before us was the like of which nobody had any knowledge or experience. Neither had we the slightest idea of what we were to discover. All of us were in a state of utter shock - young soldiers (most were in their 'teens or early twenties) as well as senior officers. What SHOULD you do when faced by 60,000 dead, sick and dying people? We were in the army to fight a war and to beat the enemy.What we were suddenly thrust into was beyond anyone's comprehension, let alone a situation which could have been organised and effectively planned for.

D-Day and Belsen Concentration Camp
It was so terrible we cried ourselves to sleep for many nights in our tents two miles away.We had been through the war but this was something so terrible that it took some time for us to come to terms with what we saw...

Letter from Lubeck: After Belsen
I shall make no excuse for saying something about our experiences there. I feel it is the duty of those who have actually witnessed these places to say out loud what they have seen - all the more necessary because the facts are almost incredible to those who have not witnessed them. ...

I could go on, but to describe the place properly would demand great detail. Let me say simply that Belsen is the most horrible thing I have seen and I hope that we shall see this thing can never happen again. I cannot help feeling that we bear a share of responsibility for these happenings. Remember the complacencies of the pre-war years? The job of helping to clean up the mess was perhaps the best job we have done since we came out here; certainly our most constructive job. It was very interesting and many-sided. One little job BHQ had to do was to mass-produce about 100 babies' cots! I had to switch the equipment repairer from mending vehicle canopies to producing little mattresses for these cots!

Activity 4

Split the class into groups of four. Ask the students to discuss the questions below.

Feed back and discuss as a class. For the final question students could mention the UN, the Red Cross and/or Red Crescent, and M茅dicins Sans Fronti猫res.You could set a research task on finding out more about these groups.

Plenary

Ask the class to return to the Charter for Tolerance and Peace and add points to it from what they have learned in the lesson.

Split the class into pairs. Ask them to use the ideas from the Charter to write one sentence to persuade a liberator why it is important that they record their story for posterity.

Lesson 2: Rebuilding Lives

Key Stages - 3 and 4

Objectives - To consider how refugees who came to England to escape persecution were treated.

Extract from the following WW2 People's War stories can be found on the accompanying Story extracts page.

• 'Ich Habe Kranke!' (I Am Sick!)
• Fleeing from East Germany to England

Other resources needed for the class

• Photocopies of the relevant extract from the Story extracts page
• Photocopies of Pupil Task Sheets
• IT room, or cooured card/paper

Teaching and Learning Activities

Starter Activity

Write the word 'refuge' on the board. Ask the class to write other words around it to show what it means.

As a class, discuss the words in order to create a class definition of 'refuge'. Split the class into pairs and ask them to discuss what the word 'refugee' means. Explain how it is linked to the meaning of the word 'refuge'.

Feed back and discuss.

Activity 1

As a class, discuss the reasons why people become refugees and come to live in the UK. Make a list on the board. Discuss which of these reasons might have been more prominent in World War Two.

Activity 2

Split the class into groups of four pupils. Read the extract Fleeing from East Germany to England. Ask the groups to answer the questions below.

Feed back and discuss as a class. Explain about the Kindertransport - see notes below.

Teacher Notes

In November 1938, following the night of brutal attacks on Jewish homes across Germany known as Kristallnacht ('night of broken glass'), British refugee organisations persuaded the British Government to permit Jewish children under 17 to come, temporarily, to Britain. Each child's keep, education and eventual emigration had to be paid for by private individuals. In return, the Government agreed to permit refugee children to enter the country on travel visas. Parents were not allowed to accompany their children. Between December 1938 and September 1939, when war began, the Kindertransport ('child transport') trains brought around 10,000 children to Britain. Many would never see their parents again.

Activity 3

Split the class into groups of four pupils. Ask each group to read the extract Fleeing from East Germany to England again and to make a list of problems that refugees faced - for example, separation from parents, language problems and previous persecution.

Feed back and discuss as a class.

Activity 4

Split the class into groups of four pupils. Ask each group to prepare a guide to help people to understand how difficult it is to be a refugee and be prepared for misunderstandings that could arise. They should use the problems that they listed in Activity 3 and attempt to think of solutions for them.The guide could be created in the classroom or using IT.

Plenary

Split the class into pairs. Ask each pair to discuss the questions below and then ask each individual pupil to give an answer to either one.

• Why is it important to remember these events and people?
• What can we learn from the extract Fleeing from East Germany to England?

Lesson 3: Survivors

Key Stages - 3 and 4

Objectives - To begin to understand the importance of survivors' stories.

Extracts from the following WW2 People's War stories. These, and links to the stories, can be found on the Story extracts page.

• A Holocaust Survivor's Search for the Truth
• Survival at Auschwitz

Other resources needed for the class

• Photocopies of the relevant extracts from the Story extracts page
• Photocopies of Pupil Task Sheets
• IT room, or plain paper
• Charter from Lesson 1, Activity 2

Teaching and Learning Activities

Starter Activity

Write the word 'survivor' on the board. Divide the class into pairs and ask them to look up the root of the word in a dictionary.The Latin root vivere means 'to live', so they can then look up similar words such as 'vivacity'.

Ask the class to feed back and discuss the ideas of living and how survivors' stories are also a part of them living and the people they knew continuing to survive.

Activity 1

Read A Holocaust Survivor's Search for the Truth. Split the class into groups of four pupils and ask them to read the extract and discuss the questions below.

Activity 2

Read the extract Survival at Auschwitz. Split the class into pairs and ask them to read the extract and then consider the questions below.

Activity 3

Ask the class to silently contemplate the following: 'The Nazi genocide must be remembered because...'

Ask each pupil to complete the sentence on a blank sheet of paper.They should then pass their sheet to their neighbour. The pieces of paper should be passed on until everyone has read everyone else's completion of the sentence.

Then ask all the pupils to write a paragraph about why the Nazi genocide must be remembered.

Activity 4

Split the class into groups of four pupils. Take the Charter that they had started in Lesson 1 and ask each group to produce their own version.This can be done either in the IT room or on paper. The pupils should produce a charter of practical things that they as a class can do to ensure tolerance and that people speak out against intolerance.

Each group feeds back and a charter is produced for the class.

Plenary

Split the class into groups. Ask each pupil to take one point from their charter and discuss with the rest of their group how they could apply the point to their life in some way by the end of the following week.

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