Ghetto

Ghetto• A street or section where only Jews lives• During WWII, the Jews of Eastern Europe were forced to

leave their homes and move to Ghettos where they were essentially held as prisoners

Survivor Testimony• Video Clip Part 1

Survivor testimony• What kind of things does Ellis talk about? What about

Joseph?

• How were ghettoes during the Holocaust different from your understanding of what a ghetto is today?

• What visual picture has begun to emerge for you after listening to these two testimonies?

• How do you think Ellis & Joseph felt about sharing these memories? How do you feel listening to them?

Jews Crossing the Bridge at the Łódź Ghetto

Jews Crossing the Bridge at the Łódź Ghetto

• What do you remember from Joseph’s testimony about this bridge?

• What were people thinking as they looked down on the street below?

Next Step…Occupation• What does it mean for a country to occupy another?

• After conquering Poland in 1939 (and already after controlling Austria & parts of Czechoslovakia), Germany sought to conquer the whole world and arrange it in a “new order” based on Nazi racial ideology.

• The people living in Poland were mostly Slavs who were considered inferior and were treated as such.

Germany, 1935

Germany, after Anschluss(March 1938)

Germany, after Appeasement(September 1938)

Germany, after invasion of Poland(Sept 1, 1939)

THE GHETTOSRead together as a classQuestions

ŁÓDŹ GHETTONext part of the lesson is about one specific Ghetto

Łódź Ghetto• Primary source documents• Survivor Testimony

• As a class, read The Łódź Ghetto1. Why did the Nazis completely seal the Łódź ghetto?2. Why did Chaim Rumkowski encourage the people in the Łódź

ghetto to work and produce war supplies for the Nazi troops?3. What was the reasoning behind having children work in the

workshops?4. Why were the city inhabitants hostile to Jews in the Łódź ghetto?

In Groups• Two Documents

• Photograph from the ghetto• Poems by Children in the Łódź ghetto

• Discuss the photograph and poems using the questions on the handout

Poem by Unknown GirlChildhood, precious days,Alas, how few they were!I will remember them as if in a fog.Only in dreams at night can IIdentify days long gone.Brief, brief is the happiness of a person in this world of ours.

A Dream: Avraham KoplowiczWhen I grow up and reach the age of 20,I’ll set out to see the enchanting world.I’ll take a seat in a bird with a motor;I’ll rise and soar high into space.I’ll fly, sail, hoverOver the lovely faraway world.I’ll soar over rivers and oceansSkyward shall I ascend and blossom

A cloud my sister, the wind my brother.

I’ll marvel at the Euphrates and the Nile,I’ll see the Pyramids and the SphinxOf ancient Egypt, where the goddess Isis reigned.I’ll fly over Niagara FallsAnd immerse myself in a searing Sahara dune.I’ll drift over the cloud-strew cliffs of TibetAnd the mysterious land of the wizards;And once I extricate myself

From the scorching, terrifying wave of heat,I’ll meander over the icebergs of the north.By wind I’ll cross the great kangaroo islandAnd the ruins of Pompeii,And the Holy Land of the Old Testament,And over the land of the renowned HomerI’ll fly slowly, slowly, hovering lazily.And thus, basking in the enchantments of this world,Skyward shall I soar and blossom

A cloud my sister, the wind my brother.

WHY WERE JEWS SENT TO THE GHETTO?Jews were sent to the Ghetto to control, confine, and weaken Jews

Take out a piece of paper• Divide into 3 columns (control, confine, weaken)• Listen to testimonies, write examples of each in the correct column

• Leo Berkenwald lived within the confines of what would eventually become the Lodz ghetto. Even though he was still living in the same city, how did his life change once the ghetto was created?

• What was Milton Belfer’s testimony add to your picture of life in the ghetto? What does Leo’s add?

• What role did food play in George Shainfarber’s experience in the ghetto?

Now…in groups• I’m putting you in groups

• Each group will read ONE PORTION of Dawid Sierakowiak’s diary• 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943• Highlight/underline specific examples that illustrate that the Nazi’s

goal was to control, confine, & weaken the Jews

Now…in groups (period 3/4)Push your desks together. I want EVERYONE doing this• 1939

• Alicia A• Laci

• 1939• Mike• Grace

• 1941

• Ben• Erin

• 1941• Shannon • Dan• TJ

• 1942• Brian• Eric

• 1942• Christine• Christine• Alanna

• 1943

• Danko• Alyssa

• 1943• Denman• Ferrante• Samantha

Now…in groups (period 5/6)Push your desks together. I want EVERYONE doing this

• 1939• Michelle• Denos• Matt

• 1939• Kevin• Steve

• 1941• Evan• Vince

• 1941• Bugge• Lily• Jason

• 1942• Kate• Taylor• Sarto

• 1942• Ben• Veronica

• 1943• Will• Megan

• 1943• Jake• Erin• Ryan

Still in groups• Create 3 columns

• Control, confine, divide• Combine your individual charts and put it on your poster paper

• Share with the class

Survivor Testimony• What are some specific things that you learned about

what life was like for children in the Ghettos from Eva Safferman, Ellis Lewin, and George Shainfarber?

• How was their behavior uncharacteristic for most children?

DIARY ENTRY FROM THE ŁÓDŹ GHETTO

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