1. What did the survivors face upon liberation: search for family, safety, well being, healthcare, etc?
2. What social structures helped support survivors upon liberation?
3. How was the immigration/emigration process difficult for survivors?
4. How have memorials and museums shaped the memory of the Holocaust?
5. How and why did people decide to become upstanders?

1. Responsible actions by citizens in a democracy can influence the government during war and humanitarian crises.
2. Social structures are necessary for any functioning democracy.
3. Understand that human rights protections have been established as as result of the Holocaust. 
4. Memorials and museums can shape the memory and view of historical events. 
5. An upstander is an individual who stands up for what is right even in the face of adversity

Non-Fiction

1. My Hundred Children by Lena Kuchler-Silberman (1987)
2. Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen by Luba Tryszynska-Frederick (2003)
3. Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived WWII by Marisabina Russo (2005)
4. Liberation: Teens in the Concentration Camps and the Teen Soldiers Who Liberated Them by E. Tina Tito (1998)
5. Survivor’s Club by Debbie Bornstein Holinstat and Michael Bornstein (2017) - Teacher Resources
6. Chocolate: A Taste of Freedom by Maud Dahme (2015)
7. The Train Near Magdeburg (Young Adult Edition) Matthew Rozell (2020)

Fiction

1. Rebekkah’s Journey: A World War II Refugee Story by Ann E. Burg and Joel Iskowitz (2006) - Teacher's Guide
2. One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of WWII by Lita Judge (2007) - Discussion Guide
3. One More Border: The True Story of One Family’s Escape From War-Torn Europe by William Kaplan and Shelley Tanaka (1998)
4. The Girl in the Haystack by Bryon MacWilliams (2019)
5. After the War by Carol Matas (1997)  - Teacher's Guide
6. After by Morris Gleitzman (2012) - Teacher Resources
7. Refugee by Alan Gratz (2017) - Discussion and Writing Prompts

1. Voices of Survivors Post Holocaust  - an adaptable lesson from Facing History and Ourselves that features powerful accounts of the Holocaust, told by survivors, rescuers, and witnesses, selected from USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive.
2. Liberation and Legacy Units - an adaptable lesson from Echoes and Reflections that explore these realities and the incredible will to live of the Jewish people as they embraced a “return to life.” and examines the role of the liberators following the defeat of the Nazis at the end of World War II.
3. Living with the Memory of the Holocaust - an adaptable lesson from Echoes and Reflections that challenges students to find value in the study of the Holocaust and empower them to contribute to its memory today and in the future.
4. “Liberation and Survival” - a lesson from Yad Vashem examining primary resources including testimonies and photographs relating to liberation and survival. Can be used in conjunction with the video “Liberators and Survivors: The First Moments” 
5. Teaching with Holocaust Survivor Testimony - USHMM lesson examining Holocaust survivor testimonies as both personal memories and as deliberately-created historical records, and will evaluate how the Holocaust affected the lives of individuals, as well as the role of memory in our understanding of history
6. “The Holocaust: The Range of Responses” Lesson plan from Facing History and Ourselves allowing students to deepen their examination of human behavior during the Holocaust by analyzing and discussing the range of choices available to individuals, groups, and nations.
7. “How Should We Remember?” Lesson plan from Facing History and Ourselves allowing students to respond to and design Holocaust memorials as they consider the impact that memorials and monuments have on the way we think about history.
8. “Liberation and Aftermath” Lesson plan from the Museum of Jewish Heritage that uses artifacts, photographs, and survivor testimony to explore the unique conditions and needs of Jewish survivors at the end of World War II.
9. “Jewish and World Response” Lesson plan from the Museum of Jewish Heritage that explores a letter written by a Jewish teenager asking for refuge and consider the world’s response to the refugee crisis during the Holocaust.

1. Word Wall - to define key terms related to understanding prejudice and discrimination
2. Create a found poem - a strategy best used with diaries or memoirs
3. Create an identity chart - a strategy to analyze the characteristics of individuals by creating an identity chart
4. Analyze Images - Use images in the text to provide deeper understanding and encourage meaningful conversation
5. KWL Charts - helps students identify previous knowledge and create inquiry based questions
6. “Holocaust Timeline Activity” A USHMM lesson adaptable for grades 7-8 analyzes a multi-layered timeline that encourages critical thinking about the relationship between Nazi policy, World War II, historical events, and individual experiences during the Holocaust.
7. Investigate artifacts through use of the United States Holocaust Museum Curators Corner video series
1. We Long for a Home: The Henry Baigelman Collection
2. A Father’s Search: The Marokus Collection
3. The Fake Diamond Ring That Helped Save Three Lives
4. The Survivors’ Haggadah
5. From Refugee to Officer: The Manfred Gans Collection
6. A Survivor’s Contribution to the US War Effort: The Joseph Eaton Collection
8. PBS Documentary “Worse Than War” helping students to understand genocide so that they do not grow up to become bystanders with an accompanying Teacher’s Guide
9. My Hundred Children: Lena’s Story (1987 film)
10. Oral history interview with Tatiana Benharbone describing her post-war experiences in an orphanage run by Lena Kuchler-Silberman (famous for her efforts to provide new homes for orphans in Israel), her adoption by an American family, and subsequent disruptions during her childhood and adolescence
11. On Educating Upstanders - Facing History and Ourselves 
12. Life Lessons from Holocaust Survivors - Jewish Family Services of San Diego
13. Video Testimony: Henry Greenbaum on his Experience of Liberation during the Holocaust
14. Video Testimony: Holocaust Survivor Lilli Silbiger on the Legacy of the Holocaust

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Student Friendly Version
2. iWitness - provides access to more than 1,500 full life histories, testimonies of survivors and witnesses to the Holocaust and other genocides for guided exploration 
3. History Unfolded - USHMM project that looks at what was possible for Americans to have known about the Holocaust as it was happening and how Americans responded. 
4. The Holocaust: History and Memory Take A Virtual Field Trip through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
5. USHMM Holocaust Encyclopedia
6. Zachor Holocaust Commission -a free resource and interactive teaching tool that focuses on the Eastern European section of World War II. The unique curriculum includes stimulating lesson plans, videos, and historical interactive timeline that will provide a lasting impact on participants.
7. Memoirs of World War II - a short film series dedicated to preserving the history of the Second World War and the memory of those who served.
8. Matthew Rozell Books - Additional books associated with the topics of liberation and legacy which includes The Train to Magdeburg Young Adult edition.

Correlating New Jersey Student Learning Standards:

• English Language Arts
• Social Studies
• Comprehensive Health & Physical Education
• Career Readiness, Life Literacies and Key Skills

Supporting Legislative Mandates:

•  Diversity and Inclusion Law (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.36a)
•  LGBT & Individual with Disabilities Law (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.35-6)
•  Holocaust & Genocide Instruction (N.J.S.A. 18A:35-28)

English Language Arts

RH.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. 

RH.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

RH.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. 

RH.6-8.5. Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally). 

RH.6-8.6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

RH.6-8.7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. 

RH.6-8.8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. 

RH.6-8.9. Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

RH.6-8.10. By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Social Studies

6.1.5.CivicsDP.2: Compare and contrast responses of individuals and groups, past and present, to violations of fundamental rights (e.g., fairness, civil rights, human rights).

6.1.5.CivicsPD.3: Explain how and why it is important that people from diverse cultures collaborate to find solutions to community, state, national, and global challenges.

6.1.5.HistoryUP.6: Evaluate the impact of different interpretations of experiences and events by people with different cultural or individual perspectives.

6.1.5.HistoryUP.7: Describe why it is important to understand the perspectives of other cultures in an interconnected world.

6.1.5.CivicsHR.4: Identify actions that are unfair or discriminatory, such as bullying, and propose solutions to address such actions.

6.1.12.HistoryUP.11.b*: Compare the varying perspectives of victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers, and perpetrators during the Holocaust.

*By the end of grade 12 performance expectations may be taught in the middle grades.

Career Readiness, Life Literacies and Key Skills

9.4.5.GCA.1: Analyze how culture shapes individual and community perspectives and points of view.