Faces of the Past:
A Study of the Holocaust
A WebQuest for 8th Grade Social Studies
Designed by
Eileen Maffei and Jennifer Bourque
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits
In 1933, Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, rose to the most powerful position in the German government and quickly put an end to German democracy. The Nazis believed that the Germans were "racially superior" and put into practice their racial ideology that unfairly blamed Jews for Germany's defeat in World War I. The Holocaust, the systematic killing of European Jews by the Nazis, would ultimately result in the death of six million Jews - about two-thirds of all Jews living in Europe before the war. A large percentage of those killed during the Holocaust were children. What would your life have been like if you were a Jewish child growing up in Europe during this time period?
As a child of the Holocaust, you have chosen to document and share your life experiences during the time of Hitler's rise to power and World War II. Throughout the course of this project, you will read first hand accounts of children who lived during this time period. You will read, analyze, and summarize this information. This project will result in the designing of a scrapbook that will share this information with members of your class. As a child of the Holocaust, how did your life change throughout the duration of this tragic period in history?
1. You must first gather background information on the Holocaust. Using the sites below, write a one page typed summary of the history of the Holocaust. This will be the first page of your scrapbook.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005143 You will need to print the map called "European Jewish Population Distribution Map" (Click See Maps. Do not click print in the corner of the map, it will print too small. You may either copy the map into another program to print or save as a picture and print. If you are having difficulties, see your teacher.) Print this map in black and white. You will use this map for a future task.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html
2. Next, you must research the life of the person you have been assigned. Be sure to write down their name, birthdate, and country of origin. This information will go on the front of your scrapbook. You must also print a copy of the picture of your child for the front page of the scrapbook. To research your assigned person, click the website below. Scroll through the list of names until you find your assigned person and click on their name.
http://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm
3. In order to get a better understanding of the life of your person, it is important to research the history of their country. The second page of your scrapbook will be a one page typed summary of the country's history during World War II. To research the country, click here.
4. Now using the map that you have previously printed, color the country in which your child was born. This will be page 3 of your scrapbook.
5. Using the information that you have gathered to this point, write a typed journal entry describing your life prior to the Nazi invasion of your town/country. This entry will be the fourth page of your scrapbook.
6. According to your personal biography, you were either sent to a concentration camp or a ghetto. To understand what life was like in these places, you must research the place in which you were sent. Write a one-page typed summary of this place. This will be the fifth page of your scrapbook. To research your particular camp or ghetto, click here.
7. Using the information that you have gathered on the concentration camp or ghetto to which you were sent, write a second typed journal entry describing your life in the concentration camp or ghetto. This will be the sixth page of your scrapbook.
8. On the last page of your scrapbook write a brief epilogue that describes what ultimately happened to your child at the end of World War II.
Your project will be graded based on neatness, historical accuracy and creativity. It should clearly demonstrate your understanding of the Holocaust and the life of the child that you were assigned. To print the grading rubric click here.
This project has presented you with the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the Holocaust. You have presented this knowledge in the form of a scrapbook that depicts the life of a child during the time of Hitler's reign over Europe during World War II. Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Pictures and information utilized in the creation and development of this webquest was provided by the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
For questions or comments on this webquest, please email us at:
Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page