Go through the beginning stages of the Holocaust, describing the Nuremberg Laws and the dehumanizing treatment of Jews. Next, describe the night known as Kristallnacht and the efforts of Jews to escape Germany. Introduce Gerda Weissmann Klein, a survivor of the Holocaust. Tell her story, then have students list 3 adjectives to describe what Greda may have felt as a lone survivor in her family.
After this, describe the ghettos in which Jews were forced to reside. Have students write a sentence explaining the significance of the words: “Aryan,” “Kristallnacht,” and “Ghetto.” Discuss Hitler’s “Final Solution” and his use of concentration camps to murder not only Jews, but also gypsies, Poles, Russians, the disabled, and homosexuals. Finally, students analyze Gerda’s quote, “Survival is both an exalted privilege and a painful burden.”