Evidence Kit: Ghetto Life and Nazi Perceptions

Evidence Kit: Ghetto life and Nazi perceptions
This is a Holocaust themed evidence kit including the following

pieces of evidence:
Translation: Who is the blame for the war!
Source A
1
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (n. d.). poster Der Ist
Schuld am Kriege! By Mjolnir, 1943. Accessed 09/03/2016:
https://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/archive/poster-guilty-war/
Source B
Berenbaum, M. (n.d.). Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Encyclopaedia

Britannica: Polish History. Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Ghetto-Uprising
2
Source C
Webb, C. (2009). English translation of The Korherr Report 1943,

Richard Korherr. Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team.
Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/korherr.html
3
Source D
Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). English translation of Girl All Alone,

Miriam Ulinover. Poetry in Hell: Warsaw Ghetto Poems from the
Ringelblum Archives. Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://poetryinhell.org/ghetto-hunger-struggle-2/miriam-ulinover-girl-
all-alone/
4
Source E
Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). Unilover, Miriam: 1890-1944. Poetry in

Hell: Warsaw Ghetto Poems from the Ringelblum Archives. Accessed
09/03/2016: http://poetryinhell.org/appendix-b-brief-biographies-of-
authors/miriam-ulinover-1890-1944/
5
Source F
Hitler, A. (1925). Mein Kampf. Volume 1: Chapter 11 Race and

People. Image and quote translation taken from: Cox, D. (2015). The
Holocaust. Prelude to Genocide What do you already know about
the Holocaust? What caused it? Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://slideplayer.com/slide/9012208/
6
References for evidence kit:



Miriam Ulinover. Poetry in Hell: Yiddish Poetry in the Ringelblum
Archives. Accessed 09/03/2016: http://poetryinhell.org/ghetto-
hunger-struggle-2/miriam-ulinover-girl-all-alone/


7
Commentary: Ghetto life and Nazi perceptions
This evidence kit, aimed at a year 10 History class, is focussed
on the Jewish Holocaust of WWII, with two particular emphases: one
on ghetto life and the other on Nazi perceptions of the holocaust.
In the Australian Curriculum, it is found under the content
description ACDSEH107, as a depth study: WWII - Examination of
significant events of World War II, including the Holocaust and use of
the atomic bomb. Students will be asked to examine the kit in
groups, and then make notes, aiming to interpret the story the kit is
detailing. As there is no definitive story being told, but rather
themes, the kit has therefore been left open-ended, and can be
interpreted in many different ways.
Source A is a Nazi propaganda poster from 1943 stating: Who
is to blame for the war! Depicted is a finger, pointing at a
stereotypical Jewish man. This source follows the idea of a picture
telling a thousand words, and not only shows the propaganda used
by the Nazis on Germany, but also their perception of the Jewish
people. Students can use this piece as a reference to German and
Nazi attitudes towards the Jews, as well as the Jews being blamed
for the war, as this poster was released mid-WWII.
Source B follows a different line of thinking, however. It has no date,
but only shows Jews being captured in the Warsaw Ghetto, due to an
uprising. This begins to paint a narrative for the students, who may
8
be beginning to connect their understandings of what a ghetto is,
with what the Nazis implemented against the Jews.
Source C includes excerpts from the Korherr Report, a report
detailing the state of affairs of the Jewish populations for Heinrich
Himmler. The report was released the same year as the poster
(1943), although portrays Jews as an ageing population, and points
to age, suicide and emigration as reasons for population decline,
rather than ghettos, concentration camps and extermination. The
fact that Source C and Source A are both dated to 1943, allows
students to create interesting links between them.
Source D gives students a glimpse into ghetto life, as it is a poem
written in the Warsaw Ghetto by poet Miriam Ulinover. It shows the
desperation of people, especially children, in ghettos, and gives a
perspective that contradicts the Korherr Report. This connects
directly with Source E, which is a brief biography of Ulinover. Adding
a personal experience into the kit is a powerful tool as students are
able to create a human-based story of the time, rather than a
statistic- or fact-based one.
The final source, Source F, is a quote from Hitlers Mein Kampf. It
encompasses the Nazi view of the Jews, portrays how Jews were
treated, and gives reason for the existence of ghettos.
Culminated, these six sources will hopefully bring students,
through source analysis and examination, to an understanding of
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how this particular world view (or ideology) had an extremely
negative effect on the world by forcing millions of people into
ghettos, where they were later shipped off the concentration camps
and killed (as in the case of Ulinover). Students should have divided
the sources into two different areas, i.e. Nazi perceptions and
Jewish experiences. Inside these, they could divide the sources
further, for example, Nazi perceptions can be divided into
propaganda (Sources A and C) and views (Source F). Although it
isnt a difficult task to decipher, it is important that students
understand that the sources are pointing them in at least two
directions, and giving two opposing sides to one over-arching story.
This kit could be expanded with more sources, such as a quote
from Hitlers address to the Reichstag, on the topic of the Jews
(Lisciotto, 2011), which would give more light to either how Hitler
planned to deal with the Jews, the beliefs held by the Nazis, or the
way that the party portrayed the Jews as enemies of the state.
Another source that could be added could be deeper information on
the Warsaw Ghetto, in particular the uprising. Possibly even a video,
if the kit is delivered digitally (History.com, n.d.) or a newspaper
article from the time that discussed the event (The Hebrew
Standard, 1944). Overall, more sources would add more emphasis to
the distinction between the two sides being presented.
Formative assessment in regards to the kit can be carried out
in many ways. Teacher analysis of group work, by spending time
10
talking to each group and asking key questions relating to the
materials, can give a good idea of how certain individuals may be
coping with the task. Groups reporting to the class can also be a
good indicator of historical skills used and the level of higher-order
thinking and inquiry used, especially if the groups are small. Another
way is a collection of each students personal notes and ideas on
the topic at the end of the task. Students can be told at the
beginning that they should keep their own notes as they discuss
with their group, which will be collected. This can also be a forum for
them to express their own conclusions, if they do not particularly
agree with what their group has concluded. Each group (or student)
also can be asked to pose a further, open-ended question on what
they have uncovered, as part of their response (or notes). These
questions can be addressed later in the unit. This connects the idea
of evidence being an uncertainty with the open-endedness of the
task as a whole (Haydn, Stephen, Arthur, & Hunt, 2015, p. 31).
In essence, this kit has been designed to allow students to
exercise their historical skills, particularly of inquiry, analysis,
judgement and asking key questions, without providing them with a
definite answer (Haydn et al., 2015, p. 30). This also helps them to
understand the basic fundamentals of history, as well as begins to
create for them a big picture of the past (Haydn et al., 2015, p.
105) that is drawn from their own conclusions and discoveries,
rather than from a textbooks or a teachers conclusion.
11
1014 words.
12
References:
Australian Curriculum. Year 10 Content Descriptions: Historical

Knowledge and Understanding. Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-
sciences/history/curriculum/f-10?
layout=1#cdcode=ACDSEH107&level=10

Hayden, T., Stephen, A., Arthur, J., & Hunt M. (2015). Learning to
teach history in the secondary school: A companion to school
experience. 4th edn. New York: Routledge.
The Hebrew Standard of Australasia, (13 April 1944). Battle of the

Warsaw Ghetto, via Trove. Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120624664?
searchTerm=Warsaw%20Ghetto%20Uprising&searchLimits=
History.com (n.d.). Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Videos. Warsaw Ghetto

Uprising. Accessed 09/03/2016: http://www.history.com/topics/world-
war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising/videos

Lisciotto, C. (2011). English translation of Hitler speaks to the

Reichstag on the Jewish Question, Adolf Hitler. Holocaust Education
and Archive Research Team. Accessed 09/03/2016:
http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/jewishquestion
.html

Miriam Ulinover. Poetry in Hell: Yiddish Poetry in the Ringelblum
Archives. Accessed 09/03/2016: http://poetryinhell.org/ghetto-
hunger-struggle-2/miriam-ulinover-girl-all-alone/

13
14

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Evidence Kit: Ghetto life and Nazi perceptions

This is a Holocaust themed evidence kit including the following

Translation: Who is the blame for the war!

Berenbaum, M. (n.d.). Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Encyclopaedia

Webb, C. (2009). English translation of The Korherr Report 1943,

Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). English translation of Girl All Alone,

Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). Unilover, Miriam: 1890-1944. Poetry in

Hitler, A. (1925). Mein Kampf. Volume 1: Chapter 11 Race and

Berenbaum, M. (n.d.). Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Encyclopaedia

Hitler, A. (1925). Mein Kampf. Volume 1: Chapter 11 Race and

Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). English translation of Girl All Alone,

Traister Moskovitz, S. (2003). Unilover, Miriam: 1890-1944. Poetry in

Webb, C. (2009). English translation of The Korherr Report 1943,

This evidence kit, aimed at a year 10 History class, is focussed

on the Jewish Holocaust of WWII, with two particular emphases: one

on ghetto life and the other on Nazi perceptions of the holocaust.

In the Australian Curriculum, it is found under the content

description ACDSEH107, as a depth study: WWII - Examination of

the atomic bomb. Students will be asked to examine the kit in

detailing. As there is no definitive story being told, but rather

interpreted in many different ways.

Source A is a Nazi propaganda poster from 1943 stating: Who

is to blame for the war! Depicted is a finger, pointing at a

stereotypical Jewish man. This source follows the idea of a picture

by the Nazis on Germany, but also their perception of the Jewish

people. Students can use this piece as a reference to German and

for the war, as this poster was released mid-WWII.

Source B follows a different line of thinking, however. It has no date,

with what the Nazis implemented against the Jews.

Source C includes excerpts from the Korherr Report, a report

detailing the state of affairs of the Jewish populations for Heinrich

(1943), although portrays Jews as an ageing population, and points

to age, suicide and emigration as reasons for population decline,

rather than ghettos, concentration camps and extermination. The

students to create interesting links between them.

Source D gives students a glimpse into ghetto life, as it is a poem

written in the Warsaw Ghetto by poet Miriam Ulinover. It shows the

desperation of people, especially children, in ghettos, and gives a

perspective that contradicts the Korherr Report. This connects

directly with Source E, which is a brief biography of Ulinover. Adding

a personal experience into the kit is a powerful tool as students are

able to create a human-based story of the time, rather than a

statistic- or fact-based one.

The final source, Source F, is a quote from Hitlers Mein Kampf. It

treated, and gives reason for the existence of ghettos.

Culminated, these six sources will hopefully bring students,

through source analysis and examination, to an understanding of

negative effect on the world by forcing millions of people into

Jewish experiences. Inside these, they could divide the sources

further, for example, Nazi perceptions can be divided into

propaganda (Sources A and C) and views (Source F). Although it

isnt a difficult task to decipher, it is important that students

understand that the sources are pointing them in at least two

directions, and giving two opposing sides to one over-arching story.

This kit could be expanded with more sources, such as a quote

from Hitlers address to the Reichstag, on the topic of the Jews

Another source that could be added could be deeper information on

the Warsaw Ghetto, in particular the uprising. Possibly even a video,

if the kit is delivered digitally (History.com, n.d.) or a newspaper

Standard, 1944). Overall, more sources would add more emphasis to

the distinction between the two sides being presented.

Formative assessment in regards to the kit can be carried out

in many ways. Teacher analysis of group work, by spending time

materials, can give a good idea of how certain individuals may be