How many adolescent readers today willingly choose a book from the shelves about the Holocaust? Wait…how many adolescents are reading today?
Whether or not adolescents are reading, especially in the secondary classroom setting, is a question a pre-service teacher like myself might ask. What they are reading, and why or why not is a whole different ballgame. Students need to be, in my own opinion, touched by pages in their academic experiences that leave a lasting imprint and carry with them wherever they may go. Texts that allow adolescents to make connections to the characters, improve literacy development by reading and writing in response to or about the texts and enjoy reading as a whole are rare these days. Holocaust education relies on precious resources, some that have been captured, and some that are fleeting. As each generation rolls around, the amount of Holocaust survivors alive today becomes limited. What many adolescents don’t learn in history textbooks, however, is that both victims and survivors of the Holocaust were no different than them. Inspired by an advertisement for MTV “The Holocaust Happened to People Like Us”, all of these texts introduce adolescents to young people who were just like them, their families or perhaps, what could have been. These texts are geared towards an audience of secondary students in an urban school setting, hoping that they can develop reading skills while finding connections between being faced with adversity, family relations, and academia.
Why should students be required to write endless social studies essays when their social studies teacher is not responsible for teaching them how to write? Bridging the gap between disciplines is one of the strongest arguments for teaching this topic. The Holocaust is sometimes overlooked, only mentioned in small details and put away. Pairing the teaching of the Holocaust with and English Language Arts classroom helps students to build content knowledge they can utilize in a multitude of ways. What can be taken away from these texts is the themes that will best help students in the classroom: stereotypes, race, poverty. These texts will propel all types of students into a database of knowledge that has been around for half a century. Because of the amount of texts available, it is convenient to find texts that appeal to all learners: graphic novels, picture books, short stories, poems, and diaries. Films such as Schindler’s List and outdated documentaries do not open students’ eyes to see the similarities between themselves and those we read and learn about. How does an adolescent male in an urban secondary school learn about himself, his abilities, or the Holocaust by reading the diary of Anne Frank? He probably doesn’t. Additionally, many of these texts can assist with English Language Learners, as they include various visual resources, are often published in many different languages, and sometimes deal with survivors being separated from their families in a new and unfamiliar country.
This bibliography can assist fellow teachers in expanding their horizons on the texts that have available, not just in this topic, but in others as well. The most famous Holocaust survivor is Anne Frank, and while her story should not be overlook, there are other stories to tell. The texts also range in reading ability and content, from the detailed accounts of young adults to a picture book that ask’s “what could have been?” so they are appealing to teachers of all levels. The descriptions in this bibliography also discuss cross-curricular techniques that can help other educators in making connections between their classes with other educators.
The genres in this bibliography are both fiction and non-fiction. Yes, Holocaust narrative is useful! It includes diaries, narrative prose, a graphic novel, a New York Times bestseller, a documentary that won’t put you to sleep, and art. If you are interested in teaching about the Holocaust, regardless of your discipline, this bibliography has a lot to offer.
Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust
Zapruder, A. (2002) Salvaged pages: Young writers’ diaries of the holocaust.
London, U.K. and New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
This collection of adolescent writer’s words during the Holocaust is a great non-fiction resource for students. Each diary entry is different, spanning from stories of young adults in the ghettos, camps such as Terezin, some in hiding and others as their town crumbles around them. The authors range from the age of 12 to 22. Some of the writers, such as Eva Ginz (now known as Chava Pressburger) went on to become renowned in their careers, while the majority of the authors perished. As a whole, this book put together by Alexandra Zapruder identifies the daily struggles young people faced during this time.
Although the Holocaust occurred over sixty years today, the themes and experiences of Salvaged Pages writers still exist. As one diarist, Mariam Korber, writes, “And incessantly, the same concern: what will we eat today?! What will we eat tomorrow? (257)”. Students can find connections in these texts in places they may never have imagined. How many young people in America today qualify for free or low-cost meals at school? How many young people know what it is like to go hungry? There is also the opposite: how many don’t? Young readers can still find a place for these words in their own lives and help put into perspective an experience unlike one they have ever had. Similarly, Eva Ginz expresses her love for her brother stating, “I was very pleased and U was very proud of him (176)”. If a text like this is used in the classroom, students will immediately be able to make connections to the writers and not only improve critical literacy skills but also build on historical content knowledge. While this may not be a go-to text for students to read outside of class, it can certainly change up curricular choices and be used in a wide variety of ways in the classroom. Because the book is written in chapters separated by author, it is a good way to assign jigsaw-reading activities or have students each read one chapter and share what they have read with one another. Salvaged Pages could be of particular use in an urban secondary school setting. Although the novel is long, because it is broken up into chapters it is easy to break up the book for students to read. It’s stories not only shed light on happy and fulfilling moments during times of despair, but also offer real tests of adversity that students can relate to. Many of the writers lose a family member, be it a brother or a sister, and spend time writing about their separation from their parents. However, deep within these thick facts and experiences lie young adults with goals, interests and aspirations just like high school students, who may sometimes overlook their overall potential.
Aside from being used in a jigsaw, Salvaged Pages can help bridge connections to Social Studies while also improving literacy development. The diary entries are easy to follow and read due to the short and precise style in which they are written. Historically, this text could be used to align ELA students with their World History class or even used in later years, building off of prior knowledge they might have learned about the Holocaust. With its wide range of writers, Salvaged Pages opens many different doors and paths for students to use and follow as they read this text.
I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust
Leikind, A. (Producer), & Lazin, L (Director). (2005) I’m still here: Real diaries of young people who lived during the holocaust (Motion Picture) United States: MTV.
I’m Still Here is the DVD that accompanies Salvaged Pages. Produced by MTV in 2005, it is documentary that follows the stories of the diarists in Zapruder’s collection. Voiceovers reading diary entries from the book include young actors in Hollywood today such as Elijah Wood, Ryan Gosling and brother and sister duo Kate and Oliver Hudson reading the parts of Eva and Petr Ginz. The films opening sequence begins with this, “Imagine…you are young…you go to school…you fall in love…you plan for the future” which is a true testament to the main theme of this DVD and what it can offer for students. How many second students cannot relate to those words? Very few. It’s a chilling message, but also one that gets students thinking immediately as they watch: what if this had been me?
When I was a high school student there was very little focus on Holocaust education, which was odd considering the liberal and progressive district I was a part of, and that the majority of my classmates were Jewish. What I do remember, is outdated documentary clips during AP European History and AP American History when we talked about World War II. What was on those clips? I’m not so sure of. A DVD such as this would be a phenomenal resource in either ELA or Social Studies classroom not only because of its ties to the book but because it is attention grabbing, evokes emotion and delivers knowledge. In the introduction, one diarist notes: “April 20th, today is that asshole Hitler’s birthday”…I mean, how many times will you see that in a textbook!
The visual resource is a great tool not only to bring the stories of Salvaged Pages to life but also for differentiating instruction. The visual addition to the book is a wonderful resource for all students, especially visual learners and English Language Learners. Using a DVD also allows for the option of closed captioning to aide hearing impaired students or ELLs. The choice of young actors also brings the DVD to a level students can relate to. How many high school girls will be seeing Kate Hudson star in Something Borrowed this May? Or recognize Elijah Wood’s voice from his Lord of the Rings Days? It’s not the same old boring documentary voiceover, and students will notice this. Students love watching movies. It’s a fact. I loved it when I was a student, especially on a rainy Friday afternoon! (We can hope, right?) Any time during my student teaching when I would have the projector running I would be bombarded with questions: “Are we watching a movie?” “What are we watching?” “What are you showing us today?”. It would be the perfect follow up to lessons involving Salvaged Pages or as a tool to start a memoir writing unit or as a prior knowledge technique for learning about the Holocaust. Students can become emotionally invested with the characters. I also think, after watching the teaser that can be found on YouTube as well as on the DVD that it would be an interesting teaching strategy to show the teaser, gauge interest and have students reflect in writing, before reading the book and save the movie for last. Just giving them a sneak peek can help sustain interest and incentive throughout the whole unit! (Watch the teaser above, and tell me you don't agree!...I dare you.)
Roth, S.L. (2011) 18 stones. Baltimore, MD: The Jewish Museum of Maryland
18 Stones combines fiction and non-fiction in an interesting way, pairing a Holocaust survivor’s family photographs turned portraits with narrative prose posing the question: what might have been? The portraits capture the color and life from black and white photographs that paint their own images of a family’s time spent together before the unthinkable occurs. The front cover displays all of the original copies of these photographs before the rest of the book introduces their painted versions done by artist and author, Nancy Patz, and poetry written by Susan L. Roth. What is also not to be missed, and one of the most incredible parts of the story, is the last page of the book. The photographs used come from the family archives of child survivor Chaja Verveer, and the last page describes not only her story of survival but how she was reunited with these pictures before lending them for the creation of this piece.
This book illustrates a culture, one that was savagely torn apart by war. For example, reading “Early One Morning on the Canal Boat with Papa” one might need a visual of the canals in Amsterdam, where the inspiration for the photographs once lived. Questions might arise, has anyone ever been to Amsterdam? Is anyone Dutch? Perhaps a student might inform the class via peer teaching about the beauty of this European city, or a student who has recently moved to the U.S. from Europe might have some information. (One of my students this spring visited Amsterdam over April vacation with the Varsity wrestling team). At first glance, this book may also seem like a picture book, however the writing skills that can be taken from its pages are well beyond what is typically associated with “picture books”. My experience tutoring a 7th grader at an urban middle school last fall helped me to see the true value in using shorter texts to teach mini-lessons or build on literacy and comprehension skills. The prose is thoughtful and challenging while its quantity is not too overwhelming for the struggling reader. Try passing out a book this thin in your classroom, the reaction will definitely be interesting!
In the purpose of furthering Holocaust education, what is essential is bridging gaps between different disciplines. 18 Stones is a great way to do just that. An easy opportunity for the English classroom and the Art classroom to work hand in hand, each student can produce an old photograph of their family, or even a recent photograph (as long as they aren’t in it!). Viola: we have a lesson on writing poetry and prose! Students can brainstorm ideas for a story they would create around the photograph, honing in on the faces in it. Art students can transform the photos into colorful works of art to be displayed in the school. A gallery walk has just been created, and you’re invited! Although Nancy Patz is a seasoned artist, talent is interpretive and age is nothing but a number- this activity can easily be used in any secondary setting. My experiences with spoken word poetry writing and participating in poetry slams where urban high school students participated has shown me that a book like this with prose that tells a story could be very useful. The poems can also be relatable to English Language Learners, such as “The Girl in the Big New Hat” that states “America was a foreign land, some big place, too big, and far across the ocean where they spoke a language I could not understand (12)”.
Spiegelman, A. (1986). Maus I: A survivor’s tale. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale reignited my passion for Holocaust education when I read it a few years ago. Since then, I have had a strong belief that this text can do so much in the English classroom. The graphic novel memoir is told by Art Spiegleman as he listens to his father Vladek’s account of life in Poland during World War II. With its powerful illustrations, Maus depicts what it was like for Vladek during the Holocaust using people depicted as different types of animals drawn by the author. Graphic novels are becoming increasingly popular among adolescent readers. Recently, my Professor’s daughter came in to do a presentation in one of our graduate classes and was carrying the book with her. She is 16 years old and autistic. Graphic novels such as Maus interest a wide variety of readers, and tells a rich, detailed account of what it was like for a Jew in Poland during the Holocaust. It also helps Art learn more about his parents’ experiences, which might interest students to do the same, sparking conversation among families. Although it is a graphic novel and might not be ideal for testing purposes, Maus provokes intelligent discussion and tells the story in a nontraditional way that can give adolescent readers a change of scenery in the classroom.
I can definitely see both adolescent male and females identifying with this text. Adolescents can be reminiscent of the comic book heroes they once (or still do!) read about and find the reading to be a nice change while also challenging. Adolescent girls might be hesitant at first (as I was) but can find their niche within the themes the novel addresses. Graphic novels are a great tool for English language learners because of their visual representation of the text. What is cool about Maus is that because part of it is told from Vladek’s perspective, there is clear recognition of his accent and use of Yiddish and Polish words. This is a great way for ELLs to make connections and identify with the text. Lastly, the novel also addresses stereotypes and identity- and which adolescent in high school today is not faced with these challenges? I’ll give you a second to think about that one…the use of the animals as symbols to represent different nationalities as well as Vladek disguising himself to escape the Nazi can have students talking about what stereotypes they might live by or conform to for one reason or another. This text can easily connect to Social Studies curriculum, foreign language (Excusez-moi Madame, mais pourquoi le francais ressemblent les grenouilles?), or an art class that will do a unit on graphic novels.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Boyle, J. (2006). The boy in the striped pajamas. Oxford, U.K.: David Fickling Books.
This fiction novel tells the story of Bruno, a young German boy living with his family during World War II. His father is a Nazi officer and moves their family to a house outside Auschwitz. Bruno is naïve and unaware of the current situation in his country or who the people in the “striped pajamas” outside his house really are. His sister, however, begins to take a stance on her feelings towards the Jews- that she hates them, too. Bruno eventually meets Shmuel, a young boy in the camps and bonds with him while talking to him from the other side of the fence. Bruno and Shmuel are very similar, their biggest difference being their circumstances in life. In the end, Bruno sneaks into the camp and is lead to his death. While this text might often be criticized for its inaccuracies and unlikely storyline, what is at the heart of the novel is a theme that secondary students can relate to: friendship. Bullying is everywhere in high schools, and is not going away. The differences between Bruno and his sister Gretel in their beliefs (she is essentially coerced into hating the Jews by biased characters such as her tutor) compare to modern prejudices students hold today. Where do these prejudices come from? This text also comes from a different perspective- that of a German boy and his family- which helps it to stand out amongst the other texts in this bibliography. Students may also enjoy that this popular text has been made into a major motion picture, which helps students visualize and personalize what they have read.
Urban students reading this text might address the significance of the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel and the boundaries it crosses. Are there any people we believe we aren’t “supposed” to like? This text could even be used in comparison to Romeo and Juliet to address dueling cultures, which definitely exists amongst adolescents today! The reading level of the novel can be used over a wide range of grades, starting earliest in late middle school even towards senior year of high school. While none of the students in these grades would be the same age as Bruno, I don’t think that would be a problem. What about young siblings? A friend? Could they be Bruno? What do we know at the age we are at now that we may have been naïve about at such a young age? How are we held responsible? These are questions any secondary teacher could use when teaching this text. At a higher level, teachers might choose to examine the comparisons between Holocaust fiction and non-fiction texts. What benefits does this narrative have over a memoir, if any? Students could even work in the history class towards identifying historical inaccuracies or unlikely events.
Bitton-Jackson, L. (1997). I have lived a thousand years: Growing up in the holocaust. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
Ellie Friedman was taken to Auschwitz when she was just thirteen years old and the Nazis invaded Hungary. The book chronicles Ellie’s experiences in the camps, mainly at Auschwitz with her mother and brother, Bubi. Ellie manages to make it through the Holocaust with her family, something very many survivors were unable to do.
This text highlights not only Ellie’s will to survive but also her relationship with her family members. Like the Ginz siblings in Salvaged Pages, readers with siblings can relate to the bonds between families shared in this text. This text counters, in a way, the theme of “It Happened to People Like Us”. In some sense, Ellie (now Livia Bitton-Jackson) was much luckier than the many orphaned by this horrific event. Again, not all students are the same. What does it mean to be “privileged”? Students might wonder if Ellie is considered privileged, if her pain is lessened her fortune at the end of the war. The reading level can also be taken into consideration in different ways for this text. Firstly, Ellie is thirteen years old making her easily relatable for students in grades 7-8. Choosing this text ensures that students are able to make that connection with her, regardless of their individualities, Ellie was once a 7th grader…could she have been sitting next to you? Additionally, students in early high school grades that struggle with reading may find the reading level more appealing. The biggest drawback to this text is that its narrator is a teenage girl, which might not cause young males to be the first in line to pick it up.
Teachers looking to use this text in the classroom can start with the cover, literally. The title “I Have Lived a Thousand Years” is a great starting point for student reflection. What does this mean? Can anyone live a thousand years? Probably not. Ellie’s desire throughout the novel to be a poet is also useful for students in the 7th-8th grade range. Students can examine their own aspirations, what obstacles lie ahead and compare these with Ellie’s. Reading this text in these earlier grades can also be a helpful way for students to gain prior knowledge as they move forward and give them background knowledge as they enter high school history classrooms. At this point in time, students are a little more vulnerable then they are once they get to high school. Challenging this text because of its narrator may happen internally, but perhaps not at first. For this reason, I think that the best way to incorporate all learners is to make the introduction to this novel interesting and engaging so that students want to read the book- not feel like it is being assigned. This is where the important literacy skill of making connections comes in- once students see that Ellie is just like them, they will be more interested in finding out more about her…or perhaps in proving you wrong!
Jablonski, C., & Purvis, L. (2010) Resistance: Book 1. New York, NY: First Second.
In the second graphic novel that is part of this bibliography, a brother and sister pair living in Nazi occupied France become involved in the Resistance movement in order to help save their Jewish best friend. Paul and Marie prove themselves to be worthy allies to the Resistance, while also acting like any normal teenager. What they witness and experience shows a different side to many Holocaust novels, as it does not come from the perspective of a Jewish family but rather two children not seeing religion as a barrier to saving their friends. This book is definitely appropriate for middle school students. While Amazon.com recommends that it is grades 7 and up, I think that this can definitely be debated and probably used in 5th or 6th grade depending on the students. It really captures the true essence of an innocent, naïve child much like the personality of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas especially when one of the main character’s, Marie, suggests that Henri, their Jewish friend, come stay with them when his parents are taken away by the Nazis. When Henri tells her that it would cause her family great trouble, Marie responds “I don’t understand”. There is also an important scene a few pages later where Henri sits with Marie and explains to her the differences between being Jewish and being Christian. This scene is interesting, and could be useful in middle school classrooms where students are predominantly non-Jewish and might be asking the same questions themselves, or might have heard of Jewish stereotypes. In a tale of adventure, history and the overarching theme of friendship, this would be a great text to introduce students to this topic at a younger age. There is less violence and graphic description, which is a bit of a drawback in the spectrum of what has truly happened in history, however it would be better to use a text like this at a young age than to avoid teaching the Holocaust because it might “scare” or “disturb” students. Teenagers living during this time period did not have the luxury of being too scared or disturbed to be faced with the experiences they had.
As far as teaching this to urban secondary students, there are a few things that stand out. First, unlike Maus’ colorless narrative, the age difference and use of white European characters may exclude students of color and high school students from getting the most of this text. However, students will be able to relate to the themes and build on their content knowledge of the Holocaust, especially in France. Before reading this book, and another novel that takes place in France (Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay) I knew little about the situation in occupied France. The book briefly touches upon one of the most major events, the Velodrome d’Hiver, which can offer a crossover between history or even a prior knowledge lesson before reading the book, so students are more familiar about what France is like. Doing this would also give students the advantage of knowing more about the country’s situation than one of its main characters, Marie, and be able to identify with her naivety and ignorance. Although it seems mainly identifiable for middle to junior high school students, this text could also be used in conjunction with Maus for literature circles, both focusing on graphic texts and the Holocaust.
Lastly, I would like to address this text as a text that students would be likely to choose from a classroom library. Graphic novels are increasingly popular amongst students these days, and Resistance: Book 1’s slim appeal and interesting cover artwork would definitely draw the attention of students. The image of a slingshot pointed at an S.S. Officer’s will definitely spark conversation!
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