World History Holocaust Assignments

Instructions

For this assignment, select one of the following options.

Option 1: Poetry

Select any 2 poems about the Holocaust. You can select from the following list of poets/poems or conduct additional research on Holocaust poetry. Make sure to get approval from your instructor if you are selecting something not on the list. Click on the link to see the list:

Link: List of Poets/Poems

Bronislawa Wajs: Tears of Blood

Primo Levi: Buna

Chaim Nachman Bialik: After My Death; On the Slaughter

Martin Niemöller: First They Came for the Jews

Mary Elizabeth Frye: Do not stand at my grave and weep

Carl Sandburg: Grass

Miklós Radnóti: Postcard 1; Postcard 2; Postcard 3; Postcard 4

Bertolt Brecht: The Burning of the Books; Parting; The Mask of Evil

Ber Horvitz: Der Himmel [The Heavens]

Yala Korwin: Passover Night 1942; The Little Boy with His Hands Up

Michael R. Burch: Something

Paul Celan: Death Fugue; O, Little Root of a Dream

Write an analysis of each poem, including the following information:

Explain the background on the author, especially in relation to the Holocaust.

Explain the content of the poem – what story or message is it trying to tell?

How does the poem relate to the bigger picture of the Holocaust?

How effective is the poem in relating the Holocaust to readers?

Option 2: Art

Select any 2 of works of art about the Holocaust. You can select from the following list or conduct additional research on Holocaust art. Make sure to get approval from your instructor if you are selecting something not on the list. Click on the link to see the list:

Link: List of Artists/Artworks

Morris Kestelman: Lama Sabachthani [Why Have You Forsaken Me?]

George Mayer-Marton: Women with Boudlers

Bill Spira: Prisoners Carrying Cement

Jan Hartman: Death March (Czechowice-Bielsko, January 1945)

Edgar Ainsworth: Belsen

Leslie Cole: One of the Death Pits, Belsen. SS Guards Collecting Bodies

Doris Zinkeisen: Human Laundry, Belsen: April 1945

Eric Taylor: A Young Boy from Belsen Concentration Camp

Mary Kessell: Notes from Belsen Camp

Edith Birkin: The Death Cart – Lodz Ghetto

Shmuel Dresner: Benjamin

Roman Halter: Mother with Babies

Leo Breuer: Path Between the Barracks, Gurs Camp

Leo (Lev) Haas: Transport Arrival, Theresienstadt Ghetto

Jacob Lipschitz: Beaten (My Brother Gedalyahu)

Norbert Troller: Terezin

Anselm Kiefer: Sternenfall

Write an analysis of each artwork, including the following information:

Identify the title, artist, date completed, and medium used.

Explain the content of the artwork – what do the images show?

How does the artwork relate to the bigger picture of the Holocaust?

How effective is the artwork in relating the Holocaust to viewers?

Option 3: Video
Watch the following video:

• Link (video): The Holocaust (Links to an external site.) (35:00)
• If the link doesn’t work, the video is   called:
• The Holocaust

directed by Holly Faison, fl. 1994-2006; produced by Holly Faison, fl. 1994-2006, Jim Maguire, fl. 1976, Eve Cotton, fl. 1986 and Leslie Nathan, fl. 1985, Audio Visual Narrative Arts (Mount Kisco, NY: Guidance Associates, 1985), 35 mins

Write a paper on what you learned about peoples’ experiences and intentions during the Holocaust:

• What were the Nazis thinking of when they made these decisions?
• What were the otherwise good people of Germany thinking when they allowed it to go on?
• What were the victims of this genocide thinking and feeling as they went through this terrible process?
• Describe at least one part of the video that had the greatest impact on you.
• How effective are the writings/images in the video in relating the Holocaust to viewers?

Writing Requirements (APA format)

• Length: 2-3 pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page