Wiesenthal: A Study Guide - Shea`s Performing Arts Center

Wiesenthal: A Study
Guide
This study guide has been especially prepared for teachers and educators when taking a group of students to see Tom Dugan’s produc:on of “Wiesenthal” and should be used as a supplement to Holocaust educa:on. 1 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Contents
Introduc:on …………………………………………………………………..…..3 The Play…………………………………………………………………………..….4 The Theatre……………………………………………………………………..….5 Who was Simon Wiesenthal?..............................................6-­‐8 Simon Wiesenthal Quotes……………………………………………………9 Meet Tom Dugan: The Writer…………………………………………….10 Meet Tom Dugan: The Actor………………………………………………11 Becoming Simon Wiesenthal……………………………………………..12 Why is Wiesenthal’s legacy important?.................................13 What was the Holocaust?: An:-­‐Semi:sm…………………………..14 What was the Holocaust?: The Camps……………………………….15 What was the Holocaust?: Timeline……………………………...16-­‐18 What was the Holocaust? Libera:on………………………………….19 Survivors of the Holocaust………………………………………………….20 Real Accounts: Anne Frank…………………………………………………21 Real Accounts: Anne Frank Ac:vi:es………………………………….22 Real Accounts: Anne Frank and Simon Wiesenthal……………..23 Ac:vi:es for the Classroom………………………………………………..24 Follow Up Discussion/Ac:vi:es…………………………………………..25 Middle School Further Reading…………………………………………..26 Theatre e:quebe………………..27 Glossary………………………….28-­‐36 Online Resources…………………37 2 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Introduction
“If we do not honestly try to understand how it happened then, it will happen now.” – Simon Wiesenthal Why teach about the Holocaust? For some, the Holocaust is s:ll in living memory. We have interviews with, books wriben by and photos taken of Holocaust survivors. They are real people with real stories – and these real memories need to be preserved if we ever want to prevent such an atrocious act against humanity happening again. We must understand and remember what happened during the Second World War to make sure that such an event never happens again. This couldn’t be more important in a world fraught with poli:cal turmoil. Genocide is a worldwide issue, it’s happened since and it can be prevented. As Francis Bacon famously said, “knowledge is power”. We can preserve the memory of the Holocaust, remember the dead, move forward and learn from what previous genera:ons have taught us. Only five states across America mandate Holocaust educa:on within the curriculum. Teaching the Holocaust gives students the awareness of discrimina:on, racism and exposes the dangers of remaining silent and apathe:c to the oppression of others. Holocaust educa:on also teaches about the use and abuse of power and the responsibili:es individuals, organiza:ons and na:ons have when confronted with human rights viola:ons and policies of genocide. Although it is important to be sensi:ve, students should understand the scale of the Holocaust to understand the ramifica:ons of prejudice. The Holocaust was a crime of yesterday, but denial is the crime of today. Sadly, there are some that deny that the holocaust ever happened. Students must be exposed to some of the documenta:on that remains revealing what went on in the concentra:on camps. This study guide aims to individualise the history of the Holocaust with the use of personal stories. In par:cular that of Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life aker libera:on to bringing Nazi war criminals to jus:ce. The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The new genera>on has to hear what the older genera>on refuses to tell it – Simon Wiesenthal in his book “ The Sunflower”. 3 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] The Play
“Wiesenthal” is a full-­‐length, one-­‐man play that chronicles the life of the Austrian-­‐Jewish Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, who became interna:onally famous aker World War II for his relentless pursuit of tracking down and bringing to jus:ce nearly 1,100 fugi:ve Nazi war criminals. Wriben by and starring Tom Dugan, “Wiesenthal” is set on the day of the famed Nazi hunter’s re:rement while packing up his files, Wiesenthal, nicknamed “ The Jewish James Bond,” recounts how, aker chea:ng death at the hands of Hitler’s dreaded S.S. he dedicated his life to the pursuit of notorious Nazi villains, including Franz Stangl, the Treblinka death camp commandant; Karl Silberbauer, the S.S. officer who imprisoned Anne Frank; Franz Murer, “ The Butcher of Wilna”; and the infamous “Architect of the Holocaust” Adolph Eichmann. With warmth, wit and surprising humor, veteran actor and playwright Tom Dugan, the son of a decorated WWII veteran, portrays the aging Wiesenthal as he welcomes his final group of students to The Jewish Documenta:on Center in Vienna, Austria. Wiesenthal, formerly en1tled Nazi Hunter – Simon Wiesenthal, is an extremely popular touring produc1on about one man’s fight against Holocaust amnesia, is an important theatrical event not to be missed. Tom Dugan playing Simon Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 4 The Theatre
The Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row Theatre Row on West 42nd Street in New York City is a complex of five theatres. The Acorn Theatre is the largest theatre in the building, with a maximum capacity of 199. THINK: Why has a sunflower been used on publicity images? What does a sunflower represent? How is it used in the play? 5 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Who Was Simon
Wiesenthal?
Simon Wiesenthal was a survivor of the Nazi death camps, and aker the libera:on of concentra:on camps at the end of the Second World War, dedicated his life to documen:ng the crimes of the Holocaust and bringing the perpetrators to jus:ce. Nicknamed the “Jewish James Bond”, Wiesenthal, with the coopera:on of the Israeli, Austrian and former West German governments, discovered nearly 1,100 Nazi war criminals. Two of these criminals include Adolf Eichmann, the administrator for the slaughter of the Jews, and Erich Rajakowitsch, in charge of the death transports in Holland. Wiesenthal founded and was head of the Jewish Documenta:on Center in Vienna, where most of this research was undertaken. He has wriben his memoirs in “ The Murderers Among Us” and other books including “Sunflower” and “Sails of Hope”. Wiesenthal was born on December 31, 1908 in Buczacz, Ukraine. For a brief :me aker the death of Wiesenthal’s father in World War One, Wiesenthal and his mother lived in Vienna, Austria, un:l she remarried and the family moved back to Ukraine. Wiesenthal gained a degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Prague in 1932. He then began working in an architectural office in Lvov Ukraine and married Cyla Mueller in 1936. They lived happily together un:l 1939 when Germany and Russia signed a ‘non-­‐aggressive’ pact and agreed to par::on Poland between them. The Russian army soon occupied Lvov and began the Red Purge of Jewish merchants, factory owners and other professionals. The NKVD arrested his stepfather, who later died in prison, his brother was shot, and eventually Wiesenthal was forced to close his business. In fear, Wiesenthal managed to save his wife, mother and himself from deporta:on to Siberia by bringing a NKVD commissar. It was a very dangerous :me to be a Jew. Aker a ini:al deten:on at the Janowska concentra:on camp, Wiesenthal and his wife were sent to do forced labor in the Ostbahn Works, a repair shop for the Lvov Eastern railway. In August 1942 his mother was sent to Belzec death camp. By September, most of Simon and Cyla’s rela:ves were dead. A total of 89 members of both families had perished. To save his wife, Wiesenthal made a deal with Polish underground to take his wife to Warsaw with false papers, as she could easily pass as an Aryan due to her blonde hair. Cyla, under the false iden:ty of Irene Kowalska, lived in Poland for two years un:l she was eventually deported to the Rhineland and was forced to work as a laborer. Wiesenthal managed to escape the Ostbahn camp with the help of deputy director. In June 1944 he was then recaptured and sent back to Janowska, where he almost certainly would have been killed had the German eastern front not collapsed aker the advance of the Red Army. With only 34 living prisoners out of an original 149,000, the 200 guards joined the general retreat westward. 6 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Very few survived the westward trek through Plaszow, Gross Rosen and Buchenwald, which ended at Mauthausen in upper Austria. Weighing only 100 pounds, Wiesenthal was barely alive when Mauthausen was liberated by the 11th Armored Division of the Third U.S Army on May 5, 1945. As soon as his heath was sufficiently restored, Wiesenthal began gathering and preparing evidence on Nazi atroci:es for the War Crimes Sec:on of the United States Army. He also worked for the Army’s Office of Strategic Services and Counter-­‐Intelligence Corps and headed the Jewish Central Commibee of the United States Zone of Austria. In 1945, he and his wife, who had both thought the other to be dead, were reunited at last. Their daughter Pauline was then born in 1946. Over the course of his life, Wiesenthal painstakingly culled every per:nent document and record he got and listened to the many personal accounts told to him by survivors. With acumen, thoroughness and inves:ga:ve thinking, he pieced together the most obscure and incomplete data to build cases solid enough to stand up in a court of law. When authori:es failed to take ac:on, Wiesenthal would go to the press and media, as over the course of his career as a Nazi Hunter discovered that publicity and an outraged public opinion were powerful weapons. Youtube.com clip: Sir Ben Kingsley on portraying Simon Wiesenthal in "Murderers Among Us” -­‐ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hbps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SlOl5b_caXA Wiesenthal was oken asked to explain his mo:ves for becoming a Nazi Hunter. According to Clyde Farnsworth in the New York Times Magazine (February 2 1964), Wiesenthal once spent the Sabbath at home with a former Mauthausen inmate, now a well-­‐to-­‐do jewelry manufacturer. Aker dinner the host asked “Simon, if you had gone back to building houses, you’d be a millionaire. Why didn’t you?” “You’re a religious man”, replied Wiesenthal, “You believe in God and life aker death. I also believe When we come to the other world and meet the millions of Jews who died in the camps and they ask us, ‘what have you done?’ There will be many answers. You will say, ‘I became a jeweler’, another will say, ‘I have smuggled coffee and American cigarebes’, another will say ‘I built houses’, but I will say ‘I did not forget you’”. Wiesenthal died September 20, 2005 aged 96. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 7 Simon Wiesenthal pictured in 1923 with a group of Boy Scouts of which he was the leader in Buczacz, Poland. Only one of these boys survived the Holocaust.
A portrait of Simon Wiesenthal and his wife Cyla, 1936. Inmates of the Mauthausen concentra:on camp, where Wiesenthal was ul:mately liberated, sewed this flag in secrecy during the final days of World War II. It contains 56 stars (the inmates couldn't remember the exact number of states) and thirteen stripes.
The libera:on of Mauthausen by Allied forces in 1945. Simon Wiesenthal at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Simon Wiesenthal at the opening of the Museum of Tolerance, 1993.
© Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 8 Simon Wiesenthal Quotes
Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals. (Quoted in the introduc:on to The Sunflower) For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It is not a wriJen law that the next vic>ms must be Jews. It can also be other people. We saw it begin in Germany with Jews, but people from more than twenty other na>ons were also murdered. When I started this work, I said to myself, 'I will look for the murderers of all the vic>ms, not only the Jewish vic>ms. I will fight for jus>ce.' (Quoted in an interview in Penthouse Magazine, 1983) Survival is a privilege which entails obliga>ons. I am forever asking myself what I can do for those who have not survived. The answer I have found for myself (and which need not necessarily be the answer for every survivor) is: I want to be their mouthpiece, I want to keep their memory alive, to make sure the dead live on in that memory. From Jus1ce not Vengeance (London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989(p. 351) The history of man is the history of crimes, and history can repeat. So informa>on is a defense. Through this we can build, we must build, a defense against repe>>on. (Bal1more Jewish Times, February 24, 1989) 9 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Meet Tom Dugan: The Writer
Like most young kids who read comic books and jump around wearing capes, I was fascinated by the idea of heroes. And like most kids, my biggest hero was my father, Frank Dugan, a staunch Irish Catholic. He considered himself an ordinary man, and was the tall, silent, humble type, for whom pride was a sin. So it wasn’t un:l I was a teen that I learned (from my mother) that my father was, in fact, a real hero who was awarded the Bronze Bable Star and Purple Heart for his service in World War II. I began to pester him for more informa:on, and he slowly began to tell me of his experiences. Of all of the stories of his :me in Europe, the one that impressed me the most as a kid was when his unit (the 83rd Infantry) liberated the Langenstein concentra:on camp in Germany. I was riveted by the extremes of the situa:on -­‐-­‐ unfathomable cruelty vs. unexpected kindness; enormous courage vs. revol:ng cowardice. Feeling the thirty-­‐five year old shrapnel under his skin, I said to him, “Boy, Dad, you must really hate Germans.” His answer surprised me. “Nope, there are all types of people, good and bad. I don’t judge them by what group they belong to. I judge them by how they behave.” It was that rejec:on of collec:ve guilt that first drew me to Wiesenthal’s story. Simon Wiesenthal tracked down Nazi war criminals and brought them to jus:ce. He also defended a few German and Austrian officers who refused to par:cipate in “the final solu:on.” He not only fought for the rights of Jewish Holocaust vic:ms, but also for Soviet, Polish, Gypsy, Jehovah’s Witness and homosexual vic:ms. Simon tried to do what was right, but he was not a hero in the tradi:onal sense. Like many of us, he didn’t always know the best or most direct path. Some:mes he was afraid. Some:mes he had doubts. Some:mes it was all he could do to put one foot in front of the other; to survive. But he carried on, hoping to “fix the problem.” This ordinary person – this intelligent, funny, flawed, noble man – through “persistence and paperwork” brought 1,100 Nazi war criminals to jus:ce. He chose ac:on over self-­‐pity, jus:ce over revenge, and ul:mately made the hardest choice of all – to trust the future. If an ordinary man can do extraordinary things, perhaps we can, too. Perhaps that is true heroism. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 10 Meet Tom Dugan: The Actor
Tom Dugan (Simon Wiesenthal/Playwright) received the Los Angeles Drama Cri:cs’ Circle Award and three Ova:on nomina:ons for his portrayal of Simon Wiesenthal. Mr. Dugan’s Los Angeles and regional theatre credits include Amadeus, Misery, The Man Who Came To Dinner and On Golden Pond (starring Jack Klugman). His TV and Film credits include “Friends”, “Bones”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, Kindergarten Cop, Dave, The Naked Gun and his personal favourite Leprechaun III. He is also an accomplished playwright whose cri:cally acclaimed one-­‐man plays Oscar to Oscar, Robert E. Lee – Shades of Gray, The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln and Frederick Douglass – In The Shadow of Slavery (starring Broadway’s Mel Johnson Jr.) have been produced in over three dozen ci:es across the United States and Canada. 11 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Becoming Simon Wiesenthal
Whilst watching the play, think about how costume and hair is used to create Simon Wiesenthal. How is gesture and body language used to represent Simon Wiesenthal? What does the set look like? What does it communicate to the audience about Simon Wiesenthal? © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 12 Why is Simon Wiesenthal’s
Legacy Important?
World War Two – 1939-­‐1945 During the Second World War over 6 million Jews, gypsies, Soviet prisoners-­‐of-­‐war, trade unionists, homosexuals and Jehovah’s witnesses were mass murdered in interment camps in Germany and Eastern Europe, run by the Nazi party. Adolf Eichmann was a German Nazi SS lieutenant colonel, and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. He managed the mass deporta:on of Jews to ghebos and extermina:on camps throughout the war. In par:cular, he oversaw the deporta:on of the Jews in Hungary, most of whom were sent to Auschwitz concentra:on camp and killed on arrival. Towards the end of the war, Eichmann said that he would “leap laughing into the grave because the feeling that he had five million people on his conscience would be for him a source of extraordinary sa:sfac:on”. He fled the country aker Germany’s defeat in 1945 and eventually used false papers to escape to Argen:na in 1950 where he lived un:l he was discovered by Israel’s intelligence agency, which confirmed his loca:on in 1960. Aker a huge, media:sed trial, Eichmann was found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people, and was hung on May 31 1962. Simon Wiesenthal said “the world now understands the concept of ‘desk murderer’. We know that one doesn’t need to be fantas:cal, sadis:c, or mentally ill to murder millions; that it is enough to be a loyal follower eager to do one’s duty”. Wiesenthal and other survivors had dedicated their lives to bringing Nazi war criminals to jus:ce. Wiesenthal learned of a leber shown to him in 1953 that Eichmann had been spobed in Buenos Aires, and passed the informa:on on to the Israeli consulate in 1954. S:ll undiscovered, Wiesenthal ordered private detec:ves to secretly take photos of Adolf’s brother Obo at their father’s funeral in 1960, as it was supposed the two brothers had a very close resemblance, and no current photos of Adolf Eichmann existed. These photographs were then passed on to the Israeli agents in February and Eichmann was later discovered in May 1960, not far from his home in Buenos Aires. Aker Wiesenthal’s libera:on from Mauthausen-­‐Gusen concentra:on camp, Wiesenthal brought over 1,100 Nazi war criminals to jus:ce, dedica:ng his life to thorough research and inves:ga:on. Aker the capture of Eichmann, Wiesenthal reopened the Jewish Documenta:on Centre in Vienna, which he had previously established to assemble evidence of Nazi war criminals but had closed during the Cold War. This was a small office in the old Jewish quarter in Vienna, with open files on roughly 2000 cases. However, Wiesenthal es:mated that there were approximately 150,000 Nazis involved in war crimes and his archives were just “the :p of the iceberg”. The term “Holocaust” is problema:c as it refers to a biblical sacrifice, but there was nothing holy about the mass murder of the Jews. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 13 What Was The Holocaust?:
Anti-Semitism
An>-­‐Semi>sm In order to understand what the Holocaust was, first we must consider the founda:ons of an:-­‐Semi:sm. An:-­‐Semi:sm is the unfounded hatred of Jews as a na:onal, racial and religious group. Jewish communi:es had existed in Europe for over 2,000 years. As Chris:anity emerged as the dominant religion across Europe, Jews were rarely given ci:zen status, ostracized for not accep:ng the religion of the majority. Aker World War One, hos:lity towards Jews across Eastern Europe began to increase due to economic pressure, radical na:onalism, an upsurge in street violence and fear of communism. During Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s, Jews became seen as “outsiders” as a result of propaganda that amplified an:-­‐Semi:sm. In 1933, there were 600,000 Jews living in Germany: 80% German ci:zens, 20% immigrants from Eastern Europe. These Jews lived in urban middle class areas, were prosperous in business and had professions. Over the course of 6 years leading up to the outbreak of World War Two in 1939, the Nazi Party slowly excluded Jews from German life. They lost jobs, their ci:zenship and became isolated and cut off from society. The beginning of the Twen:eth Century was a dangerous poli:cal climate to be a Jew. The Holocaust was not inevitable. “During the :me of my struggle for power, the Jewish race received my prophecies with laughter when I said that I would one day take over the leadership of the state… and that I would then, among other things, seble the Jewish problem” – Adolf Hitler, January 30 1939 14 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] What Was The Holocaust?:
The Camps
From 1933, Nazi Germany established a number of deten:on facili:es to imprison and eliminate “enemies of the state”. Such vic:ms were German communists, Social Democrats, gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals and those accused of “asocial” behavior. These were named concentra:on camps, and were used for a range of purposes such a forced-­‐labor, transit or for mass murder. Hitler was trying to seize complete, totalitarian control over Germany. He would go to any extreme to do this. Genocide: The term genocide means the deliberate and systema:c extermina:on of a na:onal, racial, poli:cal or social group. Between the years 1933 and 1939, an:-­‐Semi:sm spread across Germany and surrounding countries. Nazi policies caused the degrada:on of the Jews. Laws were passed banning Jews from being German ci:zens, boycobs were ordered against Jewish businesses, and eventually Jews were forbidden to immigrate to Switzerland. Growing an:-­‐Semi:sm in Germany was spurred on by the state. Josef Goebbels, the Minister for Propaganda, designed ritual rallies, repeated oaths and rousing speeches for Hitler, to con:nually reinforce the message that the Jews were Germany’s “misfortune”. By 1939 around 50% of German Jews had fled to neighboring countries. Sadly, by the outbreak of the war, these Jews found themselves back under Nazi control. During the war, Nazi policy shiked from forced emigra:on to extermina:on. Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Nazis opened forced-­‐labor camps, where thousands of prisoners died from exhaus:on and starva:on. These camps were guarded by the German SS and were run in all German occupied countries including Poland. During WW2, these camps expanded rapidly. In some camps, Nazi doctors performed medical experiments on prisoners – another huge viola:on of human rights. To facilitate the “final solu:on” the Nazis ordered the genocide (or mass destruc:on) of the Jews. Concentra:on camps like Auschwitz in Poland were expanded to become killing centers, were prisoners would eventually be shot or gassed en masse. During the height of the deporta:ons to Auschwitz, up to 6,000 Jews and other prisoners were gassed there each day. By 1945, an es:mated 6 million Jews had been murdered, 1,500,000 of them children. Only a small number of those in the camps survived. Simon Wiesenthal was one. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 15 What Was The Holocaust?:
Timeline
January 30, 1933: President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler Chancellor of Germany. March 20, 1933: SS opens the Dachau concentra:on camp outside of Munich. April 1, 1933: Boycob of Jewish-­‐owned shops and businesses in Germany. April 7, 1933: Law for the Reestablishment of the Professional Civil Service. July 14, 1933: Law for the Preven:on of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases. September 15, 1935: Nuremberg Race Laws. March 16, 1935: Germany introduces military conscrip:on. March 7, 1936: German troops march unopposed into the Rhineland. August 1, 1936: Summer Olympics begin in Berlin. March 11-­‐13, 1938: Germany incorporates Austria in the Anschluss (Union). November 9/10, 1938: Kristallnacht (na:onwide pogrom in Germany). May 13, 1939: The St. Louis sails from Hamburg, Germany. September 29, 1938: Munich Agreement. August 23, 1939: Nazi-­‐Soviet Nonaggression Agreement. September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland, star:ng World War II in Europe. September 17, 1939: The Soviet Union occupies Poland from the east. October 8, 1939: Germans establish a ghebo in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland. April 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and Norway. May 10, 1940: Germany abacks western Europe (France and the Low Countries). July 10, 1940: Bable of Britain begins. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 16 April 6, 1941: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece. June 22, 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union. July 6, 1941: Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) shoot nearly 3,000 Jews at the Seventh Fort, one of the 19th-­‐century for:fica:ons surrounding Kovno. August 3, 1941: Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen of Muenster denounces the “euthanasia” killing program in a public sermon. September 28-­‐29, 1941: Einsatzgruppen shoot about 34,000 Jews at Babi Yar, outside Kiev. November 7, 1941: Einsatzgruppen round up 13,000 Jews from the Minsk ghebo and kill them in nearby Tuchinki (Tuchinka). November 30, 1941: Einsatzgruppen shoot 10,000 Jews from the Riga ghebo in the Rumbula Forest. December 6, 1941: Soviet winter counteroffensive. December 7, 1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and the United States declares war the next day. December 8, 1941: The first killing opera:ons begin at Chelmno in occupied Poland. December 11, 1941: Nazi Germany declares war on the United States. January 16, 1942: Germans begin the mass deporta:on of more than 65,000 Jews from Lodz to the Chelmno killing center. January 20, 1942: Wannsee Conference held near Berlin, Germany. March 27, 1942: Germans begin the deporta:on of more than 65,000 Jews from Drancy, outside Paris, to the east (primarily to Auschwitz). June 28, 1942: Germany launches a new offensive towards the city of Stalingrad. July 15, 1942: Germans begin mass deporta:ons of nearly 100,000 Jews from the occupied Netherlands to the east (primarily to Auschwitz). July 22, 1942: Germans begin the mass deporta:on of over 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghebo to the Treblinka killing center. September 12, 1942: Germans complete the mass deporta:on of about 265,000 Jews from Warsaw to Treblinka. 17 November 23, 1942: Soviet troops counteraback at Stalingrad, trapping the German Sixth Army in the city. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] April 19, 1943: Warsaw ghebo uprising begins. July 5, 1943: Bable of Kursk. October 1, 1943: Rescue of Jews in Denmark. November 6, 1943: Soviet troops liberate Kiev. March 19, 1944: Germans forces occupy Hungary. May 15, 1944: Germans begin the mass deporta:on of about 440,000 Jews from Hungary. June 6, 1944: D-­‐Day: Allied forces invade Normandy, France. June 22, 1944: The Soviets launch an offensive in eastern Belorussia (Belarus). July 25, 1944: Anglo-­‐American forces break out of Normandy. August 1, 1944: Warsaw Polish uprising begins. August 15, 1944: Allied forces land in southern France. August 25, 1944: Libera:on of Paris. December 16, 1944: Bable of the Bulge. January 12, 1945: Soviet winter offensive. January 18, 1945: Death march of nearly 60,000 prisoners from the Auschwitz camp system in southern Poland. January 25, 1945: Death march of nearly 50,000 prisoners from the Stubhof camp system in northern Poland. January 27, 1945: Soviet troops liberate the Auschwitz camp complex. March 7, 1945: US troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen. April 16, 1945: The Soviets launch their final offensive, encircling Berlin. April 29, 1945: American forces liberate the Dachau concentra:on camp. April 30, 1945: Adolf Hitler commits suicide. May 7, 1945: Germany surrenders to the western Allies. May 9, 1945: Germany surrenders to the Soviets. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 18 What was the Holocaust?:
Liberation
The first soldiers to liberate concentra:on camps were from the Soviet Union. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland. Later they entered Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, to find hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had fled, living behind vic:ms belongings such as 348,820 men’s suits, 836,255 women’s coats and tens of thousands of pairs of shoes. Bri:sh, American, Canadian and French troops also freed prisoners from camps. The Americans were responsible for libera:ng 20,000 prisoners in Buchenwald and for libera:ng other camps such as Dachau and Mauthausen. Although the Germans tried desperately to hide what they had been doing within the camps, the Allied soldiers came across thousands of dead bodies and hundreds of barely living survivors who lived to tell the tale. An American army journalist named Bill Barreb described what he saw when he arrived at Dachau: “there were about a dozen bodies in the dirty boxcar, men and women alike. They had gone without food so long that their dead wrists were brooms:cks :pped with claws. These were the vic:ms of a deliberate starva:on diet..." Despite the efforts by Allied troops to nurse the malnourished survivors, many died, too weak to digest the food. Half the prisoners discovered alive in Auschwitz died within a few days of being freed. Those who did survive had mixed feelings about their newfound freedom. Many had lost all or nearly all of their family members and many suffered survivors guilt. Survivors faced a long and difficult road to recovery. Only aker the libera:on of these camps was the full scope of the Nazi horrors exposed to the world. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 19 Survivors of the Holocaust
20 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Real Accounts: Anne Frank
Anne Frank was a young girl born into a Jewish family in Germany in 1929. By 1934 the Frank family had fled Germany and sebled in Amsterdam in fear of the Nazis and the growing an:-­‐Semi:sm spreading across the country. On her thirteenth birthday Anne received an autograph book and she decides to use it as a diary, documen:ng her experiences of growing up Jewish in the Second World War. Her elder sister Margot is shortly ordered by the Nazis to report to a work camp and in fear the Frank family go into hiding. Over the course of the next two years, Anne, Margot, their father Obo, mother Edith and the Van Daan family stay in a secret annex hidden in an office run by Miep Gies. The two families live their safely un:l 1944 when the annex is raided by German police. The Franks and the Van Daans are sent to Westerbork transit camp and then deported to the concentra:on camp, Auschwitz in September 1944. In October, Anne and her sister are sent to Bergen-­‐Belsen concentra:on camp, where Anne dies of typhus in March 1945, aged 15. On May 7 1945 the Germans surrender and the war ends. Anne Frank’s diary has been key to individualizing history and helping us understand the human cost of war. 21 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Real Accounts: Anne Frank
Activities
-­‐  Imagine you are Anne Frank. Write a diary entry as if you were in hiding. What rules and regula:ons would you have to follow? How would you obtain food? What deprava:ons would you face? How would you feel about your loss of independence and freedom? -­‐  What dangers did Miep Gies and others face when hiding Jews in their homes and offices? What would happen if they were discovered? How would you cope with this fear? -­‐  In what ways does looking at personal accounts of World War Two change your understanding of the war? -­‐  What items would you take if you went into hiding? -­‐  What impact can one person’s words have on the world? -­‐  What would a diary entry be like today? (Blog/Twiber/Social Media) What impact could this have? How could it be used? -­‐  How does Anne Frank present herself in her diary? Useful Extracts From Anne Frank’s Diary: Date of diary entry Theme or subject Suggested literacy ac>vi>es June 12 1942, June 14 1942 Anne receives the diary Recount June 21 1942 About wri:ng a diary and the crea:on of Kiby Leber wri:ng June 21 1942 Anne at school Recount or play-­‐script or wri:ng in a text/voice style July 9 1942 Descrip:on of the “Secret Annex” Descrip:on October 20 1942 Almost discovered Composi:on, summary (suspense) November 17 1942 Rules and regula:ons List or instruc:onal text November 19 1942 Life outside persecu:on Descrip:on or recount December 13 1942 Life outside Note taking, descrip:on or recount May 18 1943 Air raid Note taking, descrip:on, retelling in leber form, newspaper report or summary August 4 1943 A nigh•me rou:ne Recount September 16 1943 Fear and rela:onships Recount November 8 1943 Moods Descrip:on November 11 1943 A special thing is lost Recount, descrip:on or summary February 8 1944 Ge•ng on each other’s nerves Descrip:on or play-­‐script March 7 1944 Looking back Descrip:on or recount April 6 1944 Hobbies Descrip:on April 11 1944 Burglars Long extract, note taking, recount, retelling in leber form, composi:on or police report May 22 1944 An:-­‐Semi:sm Comment on an emo:ve issue, report on controversial issue or persuasive text © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 22 Real Accounts: Anne Frank and
Simon Wiesenthal
Karl Silberbauer The Annex Residents of the secret annex © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 23 Activities for the Classroom
• In groups, use the internet and books to research and present to the class one concentra:on camp. When was it built? How was it run and what did it look like? Students should consider the living condi:ons of the prisoners and viola:on of human rights that went on. • Think about what kind of music would be good for the play. How does music and sound effects change your understanding of the play and inform your knowledge of the se•ng/
:me period? •In an essay, discuss the work of Simon Wiesenthal. What did he do? Was his work born out of revenge or was he seeking jus:ce? Did his work have any impact on the rest of the world? What can be learnt from Simon Wiesenthal? How does he compare to other Holocaust survivors? • Look at other presenta:ons of Simon Wiesenthal in theatre, film, documentary and in books. How does this compare to Tom Dugan’s performance? • Find a present-­‐day example of genocide or an:-­‐Semi:sm. What are the roots of this situa:on? What steps should ci:zens and organiza:ons take to raise awareness and bring about change? What ways can we make a difference? How can we prevent it happening again? •In October 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Mabhew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Preven:on Act into law. Who were Mabhew Shepard and James Byrd, and in what ways were they targets of hate? What protec:ons does this new law provide? •There are a range of documentaries available on the Holocaust that can be shown to a class. For example: hbp://www.ushmm.org/learn/introduc:on-­‐to-­‐the-­‐holocaust/path-­‐to-­‐nazi-­‐genocide 24 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Follow Up Discussions/
Activities
How was design (set, costume, ligh:ng, sound) used and how did it improve your understanding of Wiesenthal’s story? Consider Tom Dugan’s performance of Wiesenthal. How may he have researched Wiesenthal’s movements, mannerisms and known what he might have said? Do you think it was a realis:c impression? Did you feel as if you were in the room with a Holocaust survivor? How did the play inform your knowledge of the Holocaust? Has the play encouraged you to reconsider events of the Holocaust? Has it made you think differently? What may have changed in your impressions of the theatre, of Simon Wiesenthal and has it encouraged you to study further into the events of the Second World War? How would you have staged the show differently? Design your own poster for the show. What would your publicity image be? What colors would you use? Make a set design for the play. If you were to write a play about the events of the Second World War, what would you write about? What characters would you include? Would they be based on real people and real events? Or would you create a fic:onal plot? How would design elements be used? © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 25 Middle School Further Reading
Number the Stars – Lois Lowry Ten-­‐year-­‐old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen oken think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. The Upstairs Room – Johanna Reis In the part of the marketplace where flowers had been sold twice a week -­‐ tulips in the spring, roses in the summer -­‐ stood German tanks and German soldiers. Annie de Leeuw was eight years old in 1940 when the Germans abacked Holland and marched into the town of Winterswijk where she lived. Annie was ten when, because she was Jewish and in great danger of being captured by the invaders, she and her sister Sini had to leave their father, mother, and older sister Rachel to go into hiding in the upstairs room of a remote farmhouse. Jacob’s Rescue – Malka Drucker and Michael Halperin Jacob Gutgeld lived with his family in a beau:ful house in Warsaw, Poland. He went to school and played hide-­‐and-­‐seek in the woods with his friends. But everything changed the day the Nazi soldiers invaded in 1939. Suddenly it wasn't safe to be Jewish anymore. In answer to his daughter's ques:ons, a man recalls the terrifying years of his childhood when a brave Polish couple, Alex and Mela Roslan, hid him and other Jewish children from the Nazis. This is based on a true story. The Devil in Vienna – Doriz Orgel This book is based on the author’s own experience in Vienna in 1937-­‐38. It is the story of a young Jewish girl, Inge, and her best friencd who is a member of Hitler’s Youth and how they try to maintain their friendship during this period. Friedrich – Hans Peter Richter This is the tragic story of a young Jewish boy in Germany in the 1930s, seen through the eyes of a friend. It tells of the destruc:on of an en:re Jewish family while tracing the history of an:-­‐Jewish laws and regula:ons from 1933-­‐1945. Torn Thread – Anne Isaacs Twelve-­‐year-­‐old Eva and her sister have been forced to leave their home in Poland and are imprisoned in a Nazi labor camp. There they must spin thread on treacherous machinery to make clothing and blankets for the German Army. As Eva struggles amid ever worsening dangers to save her life and that of her sick sister, readers witness how two teenagers strive to create home and family amidst inhumanity and chaos. Wriben in exquisite prose, this story of heartbreak and hope that is rich in detail and symbolism will deeply move readers of all ages. 26 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Theatre Etiquette
For your informa>on, the show runs at 85 minutes with no intermission. We kindly ask you to remind your students that the use of cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices during the performance are strictly prohibited. We encourage school par:es to arrive 30 minutes prior to a performance as no late admission is allowed. We suggest that teachers sit amongst students to ensure that they remain quiet during the show, in respect of actors and their fellow audience members. Please only bring bobled water into the theatre. Chewing gum is also prohibited. Please do not allow your students to use photography or video recording within the theatre. Before you arrive at the theatre, we suggest that you ask your students to think about what they would like to ask Tom Dugan in the “talkback” session. Help them focus ques:ons that are directly related to the play. Students may also be interested to know more about the technical and scenic elements of the performance. Thank you so much for bringing your students to see “Wiesenthal”. If you have any ques:ons or comments on how we can make this a beber experience for your students, please do not hesitate to contact me directly on [email protected] or on (805) 667-­‐2912 ex. 242. Sincerely, Katharine Farmer 27 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Glossary
Allies: During World War II, the group of na:ons including the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and the Free French, who joined in the war against Germany and other Axis countries. Anschluss: The annexa:on of Austria by Germany on March 13, 1938. An>-­‐Semi>sm: Opposi:on to and discrimina:on against Jews. Aryan: A term for peoples speaking the language of Europe and India. In Nazi racial theory, a person of pure German "blood." The term "non-­‐Aryan" was used to designate Jews, part-­‐Jews and others of supposedly inferior racial stock. Assimila>on: The process of becoming incorporated into mainstream society. Strict observance of Jewish laws and customs pertaining to dress, food, and religious holidays tends to keep Jewish people separate and dis:nct from the culture of the country within which they are living. Moses Mendelssohn (1729-­‐86), a German Jew, was one of the key people working for the assimila:on of the Jews in the German cultural community. Auschwitz – Birkenau: A complex consis:ng of concentra:on, extermina:on, and labor camps in Upper Silesia. It was established in 1940 as a concentra:on camp and included a killing center in 1942. Auschwitz I: The main camp. Auschwitz II (Also known as Birkenau): The extermina:on center. Auschwitz III (Monowitz): The I.G. Farben labor camp, also known as Buna. In addi:on, there were numerous subsidiary camps. Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan, signatories to a pact signed in Berlin on September 27, 1940, to divide the world into their spheres of respec:ve poli:cal interest. They were later joined by Bulgaria, Croa:a, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Babi Yar: A ravine in Kiev, where tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews were systema:cally massacred. Bar-­‐Mitzvah/Bat-­‐Mitzvah: A term referring to a religious "coming of age" in Judaism, when a Jewish boy or girl turns thirteen. On this day, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah leads the congrega:on in the service and righ•ully enters the congrega:on as an "equal" member. Beer Hall Putsch: On November 8, 1923, Hitler, with the help of SA troops and German World War I hero General Erich Ludendorff, launched a failed coup abempt in Bavaria at a mee:ng of Bavarian officials in a beer hall. Belzec: Nazi extermina:on camp in eastern Poland. Erected in 1942. Approximately 550,000 Jews were murdered there in 1942 and 1943. The Nazis dismantled the camp in the fall of 1943. Bergen-­‐Belsen: Nazi concentra:on camp in northwestern Germany. Erected in 1943. Thousands of Jews, poli:cal prisoners, and POWs were killed there. Liberated by Bri:sh troops in April 1945, although many of the remaining prisoners died of typhus aker libera:on. Blitzkrieg: Meaning "lightning war," Hitler's offensive tac:c using a combina:on of armored aback and air assault. Blood Libel: An allega:on, recurring during the thirteenth through sixteenth centuries, that Jews were killing Chris:an children to use their blood for the ritual of making unleavened bread (matzah). A red mold which occasionally appeared on the bread started this myth. B'richa: The organized and illegal mass movement of Jews throughout Europe following World War II. Bri>sh White Paper of 1939: Bri:sh policy of restric:ng immigra:on of Jews to Pales:ne. Brüning, Heinrich: Appointed by President von Hindenburg in 1930, he was the first chancellor under the new presiden:al system which ruled by emergency decree rather than laws passed by the Reichstag. Buchenwald: Concentra:on camp in North Central Germany. 28 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Bund: The Jewish Socialist Party founded in 1897. It aspired to equal rights for the Jewish popula:on. During World War II the Bund was ac:ve in the underground resistance and some Bund members were also part of some Judenrat councils. They took part in the Warsaw Ghebo Uprising. Bystander: One who is present at some event without par:cipa:ng in it. Cabaret: Large restaurant providing food, drink, music, a dance floor, and floor show. Cantor: Leader of chanted prayers in a Jewish service; the congrega:onal singer. Chancellor: Chief (prime) minister of Germany. Chamberlain, Neville (1869-­‐1940): Bri:sh Prime Minister, 1937-­‐1940. He concluded the Munich Agreement in 1938 with Adolf Hitler, which he mistakenly believed would bring "peace in our :me. Chelmno: Nazi extermina:on camp in western Poland. Established in 1941. The first of the Nazi extermina:on camps. Approximately 150,000 Jews were murdered there between late 1941 and 1944, although not con:nuously. In comparison to the other extermina:on camps, Chelmno was technologically primi:ve, employing carbon monoxide gas vans as the main method of killing. The Nazis dismantled the camp in late 1944 and early 1945. Collabora>on: Coopera:on between ci:zens of a country and its occupiers. Communism: A concept or system of society in which the collec:ve community shares ownership in resources and the means of produc:on. In theory, such socie:es provide for equal sharing of all work, according to ability, and all benefits, according to need. In 1848, Karl Marx, in collabora:on with Friedrich Engels, published the Communist Manifesto which provided the theore:cal impetus for the Russian Bolshevik Revolu:on in 1917. Concentra>on camp: Concentra:on camps were prisons used without regard to accepted norms of arrest and deten:on. They were an essen:al part of Nazi systema:c oppression. Ini:ally (1933-­‐36), they were used primarily for poli:cal prisoners. Later (1936-­‐42), concentra:on camps were expanded and non-­‐poli:cal prisoners-­‐-­‐Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and Poles-­‐-­‐were also incarcerated. In the last period of the Nazi regime (1942-­‐45), prisoners of concentra:on camps were forced to work in the armament industry, as more and more Germans were figh:ng in the war. Living condi:ons varied considerably from camp to camp and over :me. The worst condi:ons took place from 1936-­‐42, especially aker the war broke out. Death, disease, starva:on, crowded and unsanitary condi:ons, and torture were a daily part of concentra:on camps. Contra fact: A musical technique that places new lyrics into melodies of old songs. This technique was used during the Holocaust, when lyrics were being wriben faster than composers could generate the music. Dachau: Nazi concentra:on camp in southern Germany. Erected in 1933, this was the first Nazi concentra:on camp. Used mainly to incarcerate German poli:cal prisoners un:l late 1938, whereupon large numbers of Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, and other supposed enemies of the state and an:-­‐social elements were sent as well. Nazi doctors and scien:sts used many prisoners at Dachau as guinea pigs for experiments. Dachau was liberated by American troops in April 1945. Death camp: Nazi extermina:on centers where Jews and other vic:ms were brought to be killed as part of Hitler's Final Solu:on. Death marches: Forced marches of prisoners over long distances and under intolerable condi:ons was another way vic:ms of the Third Reich were killed. The prisoners, guarded heavily, were treated brutally and many died from mistreatment or were shot. Prisoners were transferred from one ghebo or concentra:on camp to another ghebo or concentra:on camp or to a death camp. Degenerate art (Entartete Kunst): Art which did not fit the Nazi ideal. Dehumaniza>on: The Nazi policy of denying Jews basic civil rights such as prac:cing religion , educa:on, and adequate housing. 29 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Desecra>ng the Host: Jews were accused of defiling the Host, the sacred bread used in the Eucharist ritual, with blood. The red substance that can grow on bread which has a blood-­‐like appearance is now known to be a mold. This allega:on was used as the reason for a series of an:semi:c abacks. Diaspora: From the Greek word meaning dispersion, the term dates back to 556 B.C.E. when Nebuchadnezzar exiled the Judeans to Babylonia and refers to the Jewish communi:es outside Israel. Displacement: The process, either official or unofficial, of people being involuntarily moved from their homes because of war, government policies, or other societal ac:ons, requiring groups of people to find new places to live. Displacement is a recurring theme in the history of the Jewish people. DP: Displaced Person. The upheavals of war lek millions of soldiers and civilians far from home. Millions of DPs had been eastern European slave laborers for the Nazis. The tens of thousands of Jewish survivors of Nazi camps either could not or did not want to return to their former homes in Germany or eastern Europe, and many lived in special DP camps while awai:ng migra:on to America or Pales:ne. Displaced Persons Act of 1948: Law passed by U.S. Congress limi:ng the number of Jewish displaced persons who could emigrate to the United States. The law contained an:semi:c elements, eventually eliminated in 1950. Drancy : The camp at Drancy was a transit camp not far outside of Paris. In 1939 the camp was used to hold refugees from the fascist regime in Spain. In 1940 these refugees were given over to the Nazis. In 1941 the French police, under the authority of the Nazi regime, conducted raids throughout France that imprisoned French Jews. Many vic:ms of these raids were taken to Drancy. Eichmann, Adolph (1906 -­‐ 1962): SS Lieutenant Colonel and head of the Gestapo department dealing with Jewish affairs. Einsatzgruppen: Mobile units of the Security Police and SS Security Service that followed the German armies to Poland in 1939 and to the Soviet Union in June, 1941. Their charge was to kill all Jews as well as communist func:onaries, the handicapped, ins:tu:onalized psychiatric pa:ents, Gypsies, and others considered undesirable by the nazi state. They were supported by units of the uniformed German Order Police and oken used auxiliaries (Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian volunteers). The vic:ms were executed by mass shoo:ngs and buried in unmarked mass graves; later, the bodies were dug up and burned to cover evidence of what had occurred. Eisenhower, Dwight D.: As Supreme Commander of the Allied Expedi:onary Forces, General Eisenhower commanded all Allied forces in Europe beginning in 1942. Euthanasia: Nazi euphemism for the deliberate killings of ins:tu:onalized physically, mentally, and emo:onally handicapped people. The euthanasia program began in 1939, with German non-­‐Jews as the first vic:ms. The program was later extended to Jews. Fascism: A social and poli:cal ideology with the primary guiding principle that the state or na:on is the highest priority, rather than personal or individual freedoms. Final Solu>on (The final solu>on to the Jewish ques>on in Europe): A Nazi euphemism for the plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe. Flossenburg: Bavarian camp established in 1938/39 mainly for poli:cal, par:cularly foreign, prisoners. Frank, Hans: Governor-­‐General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945. A member of the Nazi Party from its earliest days and Hitler's personal lawyer, he announced, "Poland will be treated like a colony; the Poles will become slaves of the Greater German Reich." By 1942, more than 85% of the Jews in Poland had been transported to extermina:on camps. Frank was tried at Nuremberg, convicted, and executed in 1946. Führer: Leader. Adolf Hitler's :tle in Nazi Germany. Gas chambers: Large chambers in which people were executed by poison gas. These were built and used in Nazi death camps. 30 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Generalgouvernement (General Government): An administra:ve unit established by the Germans on October 26, 1939, consis:ng of those parts of Poland that had not been incorporated into the Third Reich. It included the districts of Warsaw, Krakow, Radom, Lublin, and Lvov. Hans Frank was appointed Governor-­‐General. The Germans destroyed the Polish cultural and scien:fic ins:tu:ons and viewed the Polish popula:on as a poten:al work force. Genocide: The deliberate and systema:c destruc:on of a racial, poli:cal, cultural, or religious group. German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei): As the precursor to the Nazi Party, Hitler joined the right-­‐
wing Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP) in 1919. The party espoused na:onal pride, militarism, a commitment to the Volk, and a racially "pure" Germany. Gestapo: Acronym for Geheime Staatspolizei /ge haim e shtahts po li tsai/ , meaning Secret State Police. Prior to the outbreak of war, the Gestapo used brutal methods to inves:gate and suppress resistance to Nazi rule within Germany. Aker 1939, the Gestapo expanded its opera:ons into Nazi-­‐occupied Europe. GheJos: The Nazis revived the medieval term ghebo to describe their device of concentra:on and control, the compulsory "Jewish Quarter." Ghebos were usually established in the poor sec:ons of a city, where most of the Jews from the city and surrounding areas were subsequently forced to reside. Oken surrounded by barbed wire or walls, the ghebos were sealed. Established mostly in eastern Europe (e.g., Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna, Riga, or Minsk), the ghebos were characterized by overcrowding, malnutri:on, and heavy labor. All were eventually dissolved, and the Jews murdered. Goebbels, Paul Joseph (1897-­‐1945): Reich Propaganda Director of the NSDAP and Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Goering, Hermann (1893-­‐1945): Leading Nazi promoted to Reichsmarshal in 1940. Great Depression: A deep, worldwide, economic contrac:on beginning in 1929 which caused par:cular hardship in Germany which was already reeling from huge repara:on payments following World War I and hyperinfla:on. Guerrilla warfare: Figh:ng in which small independent bands of soldiers harass an enemy through surprise raids, abacks on communica:ons and the like. Gypsies: A collec:ve term for Romani and Sin:. A nomadic people believed to have come originally from northwest India. They became divided into five main groups s:ll extant today. By the sixteenth century, they had spread to every country of Europe. Alternately welcomed and persecuted since the fikeenth century, they were considered enemies of the state by the Nazis and persecuted relentlessly. Approximately 500,000 Gypsies are believed to have perished in the gas chambers. Hess, Rudolf: 1894-­‐1987) was the mentally unstable number three man in Hitler's Germany. He is best known for a surprise flight to Scotland in 1941. He was sentenced to life in prison at Nuremberg. He died in jail in 1987. Heydrich, Reinhard: 1894-­‐1987) was the mentally unstable number three man in Hitler's Germany. He is best known for a surprise flight to Scotland in 1941. He was sentenced to life in prison at Nuremberg. He died in jail in 1987. Himmler, Heinrich (1900-­‐1945): As head of the SS and the secret police, Himmler had control over the vast network of Nazi concentra:on and extermina:on camps, the Einsatzgruppen, and the Gestapo. Himmler commibed suicide in 1945, aker his arrest. Von Hindenburg, Paul: General Field Marshal who became a German na:onal hero during World War I and was Reich president from 1925 to 1934. Hitler, Adolf (1889-­‐1945): Nazi party leader, 1919-­‐1945. German Chancellor, 1933-­‐1945. Called Führer, or supreme leader, by the Nazis. 31 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Hitler Youth Hitler Jugend: was a Nazi youth auxiliary group established in 1926. It expanded during the Third Reich. Membership was compulsory aker 1939. Holocaust: Derived from the Greek holokauston which meant a sacrifice totally burned by fire. Today, the term refers to the systema:c planned extermina:on of about six million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazis between 1933-­‐1945. Homophobia: Fear of homosexuals. Interna>onal Military Tribunal: The United States, Great Britain, France, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics charted this court to prosecute Nazi war criminals. Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious sect that originated in the United States and had about 2, 000 members in Germany in 1933. Their religious beliefs did not allow them to swear allegiance to any worldly power making them enemies of the Nazi state. Judenrat: Council of Jewish "elders" established on Nazi orders in an occupied area. Judaism: The monotheis:c religion of the Jews, based on the precepts of the Old Testament and the teachings and commentaries of the Rabbis as found chiefly in the Talmud. Kapo : A concentra:on camp inmate appointed by the SS to be in charge of a work gang. Kippah: The skull cap worn by Jewish men. A Kippah is worn to symbolize that man exists only from his Kippah down; God exists above the Kippah. Korczak, Dr. Janusz (1878-­‐1942) : Educator, author, physician, and director of a Jewish orphanage in Warsaw. Despite the possibility of personal freedom, he refused to abandon his orphans and went with them to the gas chamber in Treblinka. Kristallnacht: Also known as “ The Night of the Broken Glass.” On this night, November 9, 1938, almost 200 synagogues were destroyed, over 8,000 Jewish shops were sacked and looted, and tens of thousands of Jews were removed to concentra:on camps. This pogrom received its name because of the great value of glass that was smashed during this an:-­‐Jewish riot. Riots took place throughout Germany and Austria on that night. League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel): Female counterpart of the Hitler Youth formed in 1927 but not formerly integrated by Hitler un:l 1932. Lebensraum: Meaning "living space," it was a basic principle of Nazi foreign policy. Hitler believed that eastern Europe had to be conquered to create a vast German empire for more physical space, a greater popula:on, and new territory to supply food and raw materials. Madagascar Plan: A Nazi policy that was seriously considered during the late 1930s and 1940s which would have sent Jews to Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa. At that :me Madagascar was a French colony. Ul:mately, it was considered imprac:cal and the plan was abandoned. Majdanek: Nazi camp and killing center opened for men and women near Lublin in eastern Poland in late 1941. At first a labor camp for Poles and a POW camp for Russians, it was classified as a concentra:on camp in April 1943. Like Auschwitz, it was also a major killing center. Majdonek was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944, and a memorial was opened there in November of that year. Marranos : Jews who professed to accept Chris:anity in order to escape persecu:on during the Spanish Inquisi:on. Marrano comes from the Spanish word "swine." Mein Kampf: Meaning "My Struggle," it was the ideological base for the Nazi Party's racist beliefs and murderous prac:ces. Published in 1925, this work detailed Hitler's radical ideas of German na:onalism, an:semi:sm, an:-­‐
Bolshevism, and Social Darwinism which advocated survival of the fibest. Mengele, Joseph (1911-­‐1979): Senior SS physician at Auschwitz-­‐Birkenau from 1943-­‐44. One of the physicians who carried out the "selec:ons" of prisoners upon arrival at camp. He also carried out cruel experiments on prisoners. Mitzvah: Hebrew word meaning "a good deed.” 32 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Muselmann: German term meaning "Muslim," widely used by concentra:on camp prisoners to refer to inmates who were on the verge of death from starva:on, exhaus:on, and despair. A person who had reached the Muselmann stage had lible, if any, chance for survival and usually died within weeks. The origin of the term is unclear. Napolas: Elite schools for training the future government and military leadership of the Nazi state. Na>onalism: A movement, as in the arts, based on the folk idioms, history, aspira:ons, etc., of a na:on. Na>onal Socialist Women's Associa>on: The NS Frauenschak /frou en shahk/ was an organiza:on intended to recruit an elite group of women for the Nazis. Na>onal Socialist Teachers' Associa>on: Established in 1929, it assumed responsibility for the ideological indoctrina:on of teachers. The Nazi (Na>onal Socialist German Workers') Party: The Na:onalsozialis:sche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei /
natsional sotsialis:she doiche abaita patai/ or NSDAP was founded in Germany on January 5, 1919. It was characterized by a centralist and authoritarian structure. Its pla•orm was based on militaris:c, racial, an:semi:c and na:onalis:c policies. Nazi Party membership and poli:cal power grew drama:cally in the 1930s, partly based on poli:cal propaganda, mass rallies and demonstra:ons. Neuengamme: Concentra:on camp located just southeast of Hamburg opened in 1940. Night of the Long Knives: On June 30, 1934, Hitler murderously purged the ranks of the SA. Nuremberg Trials: Trials of twenty-­‐two major Nazi figures in Nuremberg, Germany in 1945 and 1946 before the Interna:onal Military Tribunal. Nuremberg Laws: The Nuremberg Laws were announced by Hitler at the Nuremberg Party conference, defining "Jew" and systema:zing and regula:ng discrimina:on and persecu:on. The "Reich Ci:zenship Law" deprived all Jews of their civil rights, and the "Law for the Protec:on of German Blood and German Honor" made marriages and extra-­‐marital sexual rela:onships between Jews and Germans punishable by imprisonment. Opera>on Barbarossa: The code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union which began on June 22, 1941. Opera>on Reinhard (or Ak>on Reinhard): The code name for the plan to destroy the millions of Jews in the General Government, within the framework of the Final Solu:on. It began in October, 1941, with the deporta:on of Jews from ghebos to extermina:on camps. The three extermina:on camps established under Opera:on Reinhard were Belzec, Sobibór, and Treblinka. Pale of SeJlement: The area in the western part of the Russian Empire in which Russian Jews were allowed to live from 1835-­‐1917. Par>sans: Irregular forces which use guerrilla tac:cs when opera:ng in enemy-­‐occupied territory. During the Holocaust, par:sans operated secretly in their efforts to assist Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis. Passover: The Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jew's libera:on from slavery in Egypt. The holiday, which lasts for eight days, requires all Jews to place themselves spiritually in the shoes of their ancestors and remember the era of bondage in order to never allow such oppression to happen again. Perpetrators: Those who do something that is morally wrong or criminal. Plaszow: Concentra:on camp near Kracow, Poland opened in 1942. Pogrom: An organized and oken officially encouraged massacre of or aback on Jews. The word is derived from two Russian words that mean "thunder." Porrajmos: A Romani term referring to the Holocaust that means, "the devouring." Prejudice: A judgment or opinion formed before the facts are known. In most cases, these opinions are founded on suspicion, intolerance, and the irra:onal hatred of other races, religions, creeds, or na:onali:es. Propaganda: False or partly false informa:on used by a government or poli:cal party intended to sway the 33 opinions of the popula:on. © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Protectorate: Any state or territory protected and par:ally controlled by a stronger one. Rabbi: Leader of a Jewish congrega:on, similar to the role of a priest or minister. Ravensbrück /rah venz brook/ : Concentra:on camp opened for women in 1939. Reich /raikh/ : German word for empire. Reichskammern /raiks ka man/ : Reich government departments. Reichstag: The German Parliament. On February 27, 1933, a staged fire burned the Reichstag building. A month later, on March 23, 1933, the Reichstag approved the Enabling Act which gave Hitler unlimited dictatorial power. ReseJlement: German euphemism for the deporta:on of prisoners to killing centers in Poland. Revisionists: Those who deny that the Holocaust ever happened. Riefenstahl, Leni (b. 1902): Nazi film director chosen personally by Hitler to make propaganda films for the Nazi regime, which include The Triumph of the Will (1935), Olympia (1938), and Reichsparteitag (1935). Righteous Gen>les: Non-­‐Jewish people who, during the Holocaust, risked their lives to save Jewish people from Nazi persecu:on. Today, a field of trees planted in their honor at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, commemorates their courage and compassion. Roosevelt, Franklin Delano: Thirty-­‐second president of the U.S., serving from 1933-­‐1945. SA (Sturmabteilung or Storm Troopers) : Also known as "Brown Shirts," they were the Nazi party's main instrument for undermining democracy and facilita:ng Adolf Hitler's rise to power. The SA was the predominant terrorizing arm of the Nazi party from 1923 un:l "The Night of the Long Knives" in 1934. They con:nued to exist throughout the Third Reich, but were of lesser poli:cal significance aker 1934. Sachsenhausen: Concentra:on camp outside of Berlin opened in 1936. Scapegoat: Person or group of people blamed for crimes commibed by others. SD (Sicherheitsdienst or Security Service) : The SS security and intelligence service established in 1931 under Reinhard Heydrich. Hannah Sennesh: A Pales:nian Jew of Hungarian descent who fought as a par:san against the Nazis. She was captured at the close of the war and assassinated in Budapest by the Nazis. Shoah: The Hebrew word meaning "catastrophe," deno:ng the catastrophic destruc:on of European Jewry during World War II. The term is used in Israel, and the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) has designated an official day, called Yom ha-­‐Shoah, as a day of commemora:ng the Shoah or Holocaust. Shtetl: A small Jewish town or village in eastern Europe. Shull: Yiddish word for synagogue, or Jewish house of prayer. Siddur: The Hebrew name for the Jewish prayerbook. Sobibór: Extermina:on camp located in the Lublin district of eastern Poland. Sobibór opened in May 1942 and closed the day aker a rebellion by its Jewish prisoners on October 14, 1943. At least 250,000 Jews were killed there. Social Darwinism: A concept based on the idea of "survival of the fibest." Based on Social Darwinism, Nazis created a pseudo-­‐scien:fic brand of racism which was most virulent when directed against the Jews, but others, par:cularly Slavs, were not exempt. Socialism: A theory or system of social organiza:on that advocates the ownership and control of land, capital, industry, etc. by the community as a whole. In Marxist theory it represents the stage following capitalism in a state transforming to communism. Sonderkommando (Special Squad) : SS or Einsatzgruppe detachment. The term also refers to the Jewish slave labor units in extermina:on camps that removed the bodies of those gassed for crema:on or burial. 34 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] SS (Schutzstaffel or Protec>on Squad) : Guard detachments originally formed in 1925 as Hitler's personal guard. From 1929, under Himmler, the SS developed into the most powerful affiliated organiza:on of the Nazi party. In mid-­‐1934, they established control of the police and security systems, forming the basis of the Nazi police state and the major instrument of racial terror in the concentra:on camps and occupied Europe. Stalin, Joseph: Secretary General of the Communist party 1922-­‐1953 and Premier of the USSR from 1941-­‐1953 during the Second World War. Life under Stalin's brutally oppressive regime was hard and oken dangerous. Star of David: A six-­‐pointed star which is a symbol of Judaism. During the Holocaust, Jews throughout Europe were required to wear Stars of David on their sleeves or fronts and backs of their shirts and jackets. Stereotype: Biased generaliza:ons about a group based on hearsay, opinions, and distorted, preconceived ideas. Streicher, Julius: Hitler's friend and founder of the an:semi:c newspaper Der Stürmer. Stroop, Jurgen: (1895-­‐1951) was the SS major general responsible for the destruc:on of the Warsaw ghebo in 1943. Later that year, as Higher SS and Police Leader in Greece, he supervised the deporta:on of thousands of Jews from Salonika. He was sentenced to death and executed in Poland in1951. Der Stürmer: An:semi:c newspaper founded by Hitler's friend, Julius Streicher, which reached a peak circula:on of 500,000 in 1927. StuJhof: Concentra:on camp founded in 1939 in what is now northern Poland. Sudetenland: Formerly Austrian German-­‐speaking territories in Bohemia which were incorporated into Czechoslovakia aker World War I. Swas>ka (Hakenkreuz) : An ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis as their emblem. Synagogue: Jewish house of worship, similar to a church. Tallis: Jewish prayer shawl with fringes on four sides. These fringes represent the four corners of the world and symbolize God's omnipresence. Theresienstadt (Terezín): Nazi ghebo located in Czechoslovakia. Created in late 1941 as a "model Jewish seblement" to deceive the outside world, including Interna:onal Red Cross inves:gators, as to the treatment of the Jews. However, condi:ons in Terezín were difficult, and most Jews held there were later killed in death camps. Theresienstadt is the German name for the town; Terezín is the Czech name. Third Reich: Meaning "third regime or empire," the Nazi designa:on of Germany and its regime from 1933-­‐45. Historically, the First Reich was the medieval Holy Roman Empire, which lasted un:l 1806. The Second Reich included the German Empire from 1871-­‐1918. Torah: A scroll containing the five books of Moses. Treaty of Versailles: Germany and the Allies signed a peace treaty at the end of World War I. The United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy nego:ated the treaty at the Peace Conference held in Versaille beginning on January 18, 1919. The German Republic government which replaced the imperial administra:on was excluded from the delibera:ons. The treaty created the Covenant of the League of Na:ons, outlined Germany's disarmament, exacted massive repara:on payments from Germany, and forced Germany to cede large tracts of territory to various European na:on-­‐states. Treblinka: Extermina:on camp on the Bug River in the General Government. Opened in July 1942, it was the largest of the three Opera:on Reinhard killing centers. Between 700,000 and 900,000 persons were killed there. A revolt by the inmates on August 2, 1943, destroyed most of the camp, and it was closed in November 1943. Umschlagplatz: Place in Warsaw where freight trains were loaded and unloaded. During the deporta:on from the Warsaw ghebo, it was used as an assembly point where Jews were loaded onto cable cars to be taken to Treblinka. It literally means "transfer point.” © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] 35 Underground: Organized group ac:ng in secrecy to oppose government, or, during war, to resist occupying enemy forces. Volk: The concept of Volk (people, na:on, or race) has been an underlying idea in German history since the early nineteenth century. Inherent in the name was a feeling of superiority of German culture and the idea of a universal mission for the German people. Vught: Concentra:on and transit camp in the Netherlands opened in January 1943. Waffen-­‐SS: Militarized units of the SS. Raoul Wallenberg: A Swedish diplomat who deliberately sta:oned himself in Hungary during the war to save Hungarian Jews from their deaths. Wannsee Conference: On January 20, 1942 on a lake near Berlin the SS official, Reinhard Heydrich, helped present and coordinate the Final Solu:on. Warsaw gheJo: Established in November 1940, it was surrounded by wall and contained nearly 500,000 Jews. About 45,000 Jews died there in 1941 alone, as a result of overcrowding, hard labor, lack of sanita:on, insufficient food, starva:on, and disease. During 1942, most of the ghebo residents were deported to Treblinka, leaving about 60,000 Jews in the ghebo. A revolt took place in April 1943 when the Germans, commanded by General Jürgen Stroop, abempted to raze the ghebo and deport the remaining inhabitants to Treblinka. The defense forces, commanded by Mordecai Anielewicz, included all Jewish poli:cal par:es. The biber figh:ng lasted twenty-­‐eight days and ended with the destruc:on of the ghebo. Wehrmacht: The combined armed forces of Germany from 1935-­‐1945. Weimar Republic: The German republic, and experiment in democracy (1919-­‐1933), was established aker the end of World War I. Westerbork: Transit camp in the Netherlands Yiddish: A language that combines elements of German and Hebrew. Zionism: Poli:cal and cultural movement calling for the return of the Jewish people to their Biblical home. Zyklon B: (Hydrogen cyanide) Pes:cide used in some of the gas chambers at the death camps. Source: hbp://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/glossary.htm 36 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected] Online Resources
A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust – hbp://www.fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/:meline/:meline.htm Includes a range of archival video footage: www.fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/movies1.htm Simon Wiesenthal Archiv – hbp://www.simon-­‐wiesenthal-­‐archiv.at/index.html A gfowing archive of Simon Wiesenthal’s documents, which is s:ll in development due to Austrian copyright laws. Simon Wiesenthal Center – www.wiesenthal.com An interna:onal Jewish human rights organiza:on dedicated to genera:ng change through the Snider Social Ac:on Ins:tute and educa:on by confron:ng an:-­‐Semi:sm, hate and terrorism, promo:ng human rights and dignity, defending the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for future genera:ons. Teacher’s Resources – Simon Wiesenthal Center Mul:media Learning Center -­‐ hbp://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=394657 Resources for teaching the Holocaust to students with an extensive selec:on of videos, photographs, text files, biographies and ques:ons and answers on the Second World War and the events of the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – This website contains guidelines and resources for teaching about the Holocaust. hbp://www.ushmm.org/educators/teaching-­‐about-­‐the-­‐holocaust/general-­‐teaching-­‐guidelines “Wiesenthal Play” Promo:onal video – www.dropbox.com/s/nnxlaqbhp0ve1mm/hbp-­‐-­‐-­‐s3.amazonaws.com-­‐cineva:ve-­‐Rubicon-­‐
Wiesenthal-­‐11_20-­‐Wiesenthal_SizzleEdit_v04-­‐640_360%20%283%29.mov?dl=0 You Tube -­‐ www.youtube.com A range of interviews and documentaries on Simon Wiesenthal and other Holocaust survivors are available on Youtube.com. For example: “Simon Wiesenthal” by Louise Palanker is a short and accessible introduc:on to who Wiesenthal was. 37 © Katharine Farmer 2014 | Off-­‐Broadway Across America | [email protected]