The U.S. and the Holocaust
A documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein
The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six-hour series that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Americans consider themselves a “nation of immigrants,” but as the catastrophe of the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, the United States proved unwilling to open its doors to more than a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of desperate people seeking refuge. Through riveting firsthand testimony of witnesses and survivors who as children endured persecution, violence and flight as their families tried to escape Hitler, this series delves deeply into the tragic human consequences of public indifference, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive quota laws in America. Did the nation fail to live up to its ideals? This is a history to be reckoned with.
The Golden Door (Beginnings -1938)
Reversing a history of open borders, a xenophobic backlash prompts Congress to restrict immigration.
Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)
As World War II begins, Americans are divided over whether to intervene against Nazi Germany.
The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942-)
As World War II begins, Americans are divided over whether to intervene against Nazi Germany.
LearningMedia
U.S. and The Holocaust Streaming Video
Series Website
Additional Middle and High School Holocaust and Genocide Resources
Below are some additional media resources from PBS LearningMedia and NHPBS Video that you might find useful in meeting the new requirements for New Hampshire schools.
Lessons of the Holocaust - Grades 6-12, Professional Development
This collection from Kentucky, one of the states that requires teaching the holocaust in schools, is made up of three collections that offer educators a detailed exploration of different ways to approach the topic in the classroom. Murals of the Holocaust describes a summer program that offers an art-integrated history course on Germany and the Holocaust. Juliek’s Violin focuses on three pieces of classical music, including music from the scene in Elie Wiesel’s Night where Juliek plays the violin in the concentration camp. Teaching the Holocaust explores how two middle school educators approach the teaching of Holocaust history to their students.
Holocaust - Grades 6-12 Available in Spanish
This collection features recollections from soldiers about the holocaust.
Murals of the Holocaust - Grades 6-12, Professional Development
For over 20 years, a summer program for gifted adolescents at Western Kentucky University has offered an arts-integrated history course on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The course concludes with students working as a group to create a large mural on the Holocaust. In this video collection, hear the stories of a Holocaust survivor and the son of a Holocaust survivor who are involved with the program, learn how students in the program decided on a theme for their mural, and learn how one teacher incorporates the arts into Holocaust history lessons.
Holocaust in Plunge - Grades 9-12
This video from the PBS series The Story of the Jews examines the effects of the brutal occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany in 1941 through the lens of a survivor and the last Jew in the town of Plunge, Jakovas Bunka.
The Holocaust - Grades 9-12
Veterans of World War II Ray Leopold, Burnett Miller, and Dwain Luce discuss the horror of the Holocaust, liberating the camps, and witnessing the horrors that still haunt them.
Remembering the Holocaust - Grades 9-12
Watch and listen as Holocaust survivor Kaethe Schohl Wells and war crimes reporter James Hall reflect on their experiences during and following World War II.
Harbor From the Holocaust - Grades 6-12
Harbor from the Holocaust explores the extraordinary relationship between these Jews and their adopted city of Shanghai, even through the bitter years of Japanese occupation from1937-1945 and the Chinese civil war that followed. It was a relationship that produced some exceptional artists, statesmen and authors, as well as ‘ordinary’ people who survived to carry on their Jewish religion and traditions that would have otherwise been consigned to oblivion.
Holocaust Escape Tunnel: Testamant to Courage - Grades 9-12
Discover the questions that scientists set out to answer about the Holocaust and the fate of Jews in the “killing pits” of the Ponar forest outside Vilna, Lithuania.
The Holocaust Through Children's Eyes: The last Survivors - Grades 9-12
Follow the firsthand testimony of the last generation of Holocaust survivors, as they recount the haunting memories of being sent to Nazi concentration camps, in these videos excerpted from The Last Survivors: FRONTLINE. As camp survivor Ivor Perl and his family take part in a modern-day tour of Auschwitz, fellow survivors recall arriving at the camp as children and the unimaginable horror and loss that awaited them.
My Survivor: Who Will Tell the Story When the Last Holocaust Survivor Is Gone
- Grades 6-12
Launched in the Spring of 2004, The University of Miami's Holocaust Survivor Student Internship Program paired university students with Holocaust survivors to create a core of young adults committed to learning about the Holocaust while providing friendship and support to this singular but aging population.
Spokane's Voices of the Holocaust - Grades 6-12
Holocaust survivors in Spokane recount their WWII experiences avoiding capture or death at the hands of the Nazis. Eva Lassman was captured in Warsaw and forced into slave labor. Carla Peperzak joined the Dutch resistance and helped hide Jewish children. Cora Der Koorkanian escaped fascist Romania for Israel. Second-generation survivors describe their parent's fight for survival.
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NHPBS VIDEO
You can access thousands of hours of online video anytime and from anywhere. You will find both free video available to anyone and PASSPORT video available to NHPBS members. Email sadams@nhpbs. org to find out how schools can become a member and use a single NHPBS membership to access video. >> NHPBS ONLINE VIDEO
PBS LEARNING MEDIA
Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards. >> Explore!
Grade 4-12 News Quiz
This weekly 15-minute current events program from KET includes news segments, a current events quiz, opinion letters, and an Extra Credit report.
Granite State Challenge
Weekly quizzes for elementary, middle and high school students from the NHPBS high school quiz show.
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