Lesson 16

The Sounds of Silence: World Responses

Lesson Objectives:

As a result of this lesson, students will:

• Differentiate between the Holocaust and World War II
• Explain what the Allies knew about the Holocaust and how they responded
• Describe what the Vatican and other churches knew about the Holocaust and how they responded

Key Glossary Terms:

The following glossary terms are used in Lesson 16.
1. Bermuda Conference on Refugees
2. Birkenau
3. Bund
4. Extermination Camps
5. Final Solution
6. Gas Chamber
7. Genocide
8. Judenrein
9. Kristallnacht
10. Lebensraum
11. Pope
12. Propaganda
13. Refugee
14. Third Reich
15. Underground
16. Vatican
17. War Refugee Board
18. World Jewish Congress

Instructional Materials:

• Reading 16A, “Suicide Note of Shmuel Zygelboim”
• Reading 16B, “The Holocaust and World War II”
• Lecture, “The Sounds of Silence: World Responses to the Holocaust”
• Reading 16C, “Outline: Sounds of Silence: World Responses to the Holocaust”
• Reading 16D, “Aftermath and Liberation”
• Map: The Railways and Deportation Routes

Teaching Sequence:

Reading: Reading 16A, “Suicide Not of Shmuel Zygelboim” (5 minutes)

•  Read “Suicide Note” aloud

Reading: Reading 16B, “The Holocaust and World War II” (5 minutes)

• Read “The Holocaust and World War II” aloud

Lecture: “The Sounds of Silence: World Responses to the Holocaust” (35 minutes)

• Pass out copies of the blank “Outline: Sounds of Silence: World Responses to the Holocaust”
• Have students take notes to fill in the “Outline” during the lecture. Students should not copy the lecture verbatim but highlight important points

Homework Assignment:

Assign Reading 16D, “Aftermath and Liberation”

• Have students read “Aftermath and Liberation”
• Have students write the answer to the question preceding the reading
• This assignment is due at the beginning of Lesson 17

Assign the following essay question to be collected and graded some time after the completion of the unit. The breadth and scope of this essay will be determined by the teacher. “Based on what you have learned in this unit, what are some reasons for studying the Holocaust?”

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