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Friday January 28, 2005
Intermediate +

THE ARTICLE

“We know we can trust no-one but ourselves.” These are the words of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Israel and the world marked the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust and the six million tragic souls who lost their lives in it. Leaders from all around the world gathered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to remember the horror and evil that befell the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two. In Israel itself the day is one of reflection, with no special commemorative events. Mr. Sharon gave a somber speech in his parliament. His solemn, yet powerful words reminded his people of the fact that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust and the world did nothing to prevent it. "The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that Jews were being murdered ... This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us." He admonished the ‘civilized’ world, saying, "The allies knew of the annihilation of the Jews. They knew and did nothing, … did everything in their power to avoid dealing with the problem.” His reminder to Israelis and Jews is that history has taught them the lesson that still strongly exists today, that Jews can only rely on themselves for protection. “The state of Israel learned this lesson and since its establishment, it has done its utmost to defend itself and its citizens, and provide a safe haven for any Jew, wherever he may be. We know that we can trust no one but ourselves. … We must always remember that this is the only place in the world in which we, the Jews, have the right and the power to defend ourselves with our own strength, this we will never surrender. … The lesson is that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves." He warned of the continuing Anti-Semitism around the world, "Sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the evil that begat the horror still exists, and still poses a threat.”

Lesson & plan in Word.doc          Example Class Handout in .pdf

POSSIBLE WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS

1. RESPECT:  Start the class with one minute’s silence in memory of the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.

2. CHAT:  Talk in pairs or groups about WWII / Nazism / Auschwitz / concentration camps / Anti-Semitism / Jewish people / Israel / racism / civilization / never forgetting …
To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class.

3. AUSCHWITZ BRAINSTORM: Take a quick poll to see how many students have heard of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Treblinka … Tell students that more than 60% of British under-twenty-year-olds had never heard of Auschwitz. Ask students to tell you any words they associate with the Auschwitz or the Holocaust. Put these words on the board and leave as a springboard for student conversation / chat.

4. EVIL IS REAL: US Vice President Dick Cheney said, "The story of the camps remind us that evil is real and must be called by its name and must be confronted.” Talk in pairs / groups about the evil and horror that still exists in the world today, and why evil does not disappear. Put on the board the following reminders:

5. ANTI-SEMITISM: British Prime Minister reminding the world, "we must remember above all that the holocaust did not start with a concentration camp. It started with a brick through the shop window of a Jewish business, the desecration of a Synagogue, the shout of racist abuse on the street.” Talk about this comment, and about the racism that exists around you today. How do we eradicate Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism?

6. WHY JEWS?: One thing the writer of this material has never understood is why Jews have been persecuted throughout history. Students discuss this. Write on the board the following reminders of just a few injustices:
the Christian Roman Empire, the medieval Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian Pogroms, Nazism and the ‘Final Solution’.

7. OPINIONS: Discuss the following with your partner / group. Find out which are the most commonly held opinions:
(a)  Evil will never disappear.
(b)  Another Holocaust will happen.
(c)  Israel is a monument to the human spirit.
(d)  The Holocaust should be taught in every school in the world..
(e)  The world should also have a day of remembrance for the far greater number of African slaves murdered in times of Slavery.
(f)  The world has forgotten the Holocaust because it allowed Rwanda and Kosovo to happen.
(g)  One day we will treat everyone equally.
(h)  Religion is the cause of the world’s wars and problems.
(i)  Everyone has racist feelings. Everyone has one ethnic group they hold negative feelings towards.


 
 

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘anniversary’, and ‘remember’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements about the article are true or false:
(a)  The world marked the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust yesterday (today).  T / F
(b)  Six million tragic souls lost their lives in the Holocaust.  T / F
(c)  A great evil befell the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two.  T / F
(d)  America, Britain and the allies did nothing to stop 6,000,000 Jews from being murdered in concentration camps.  T / F
(e)  The American and British armies did everything in their power to deal with the problem of the annihilation of Jews.  T / F
(f)  The state of Israel provides a safe haven for any Jew around the world.  T / F
(g)  Israel has many friends it can rely on. T / F
(h)  Anti-Semitism has disappeared today. T / F

3. SYNONYM MATCH: Students match the following synonyms from the article:

(a) trust scolded
(b) marked depend
(c) tragic commemorated
(d) at the hands of protect
(e) somber catastrophic
(f) admonished give up / quit
(g) annihilation believe
(h) defend by
(i) surrender sad
(j) rely obliteration

 

4. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a) we can trust no-one but a threat
(b) the world marked the 60th the Nazis
(c) the six million tragic souls who lost anniversary of the Holocaust
(d) at the hands of dealing with the situation
(e) the world did nothing to power
(f) no one cared haven
(g) did everything in their ourselves
(h) to avoid prevent it
(i) safe that Jews were being murdered
(j) evil still poses their lives

 

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

1. GAP-FILL:  Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

Sharon remembers Holocaust

“We know we can __________ no-one but ourselves.” These are the words of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Israel and the world marked the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust and the six million tragic __________ who lost their lives in it. Leaders from all around the world gathered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to remember the horror and evil that __________ the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two. In Israel itself the day is one of reflection, with no special commemorative events. Mr. Sharon gave a somber speech in his parliament. His solemn, yet powerful words reminded his people of the __________ that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust and the world did nothing to prevent it. "The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that Jews were being murdered ... This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us." He admonished the ‘__________’ world, saying, "The allies knew of the annihilation of the Jews. They knew and did nothing, … did everything in their power to __________ dealing with the problem.” His reminder to Israelis and Jews is that history has taught them the lesson that still strongly exists today, that Jews can only rely on themselves for protection. “The state of Israel learned this lesson and since its __________, it has done its utmost to defend itself and its citizens, and provide a safe haven for any Jew, wherever he may be. We know that we can trust no one but ourselves. … We must always remember that this is the only place in the world in which we, the Jews, have the __________ and the power to defend ourselves with our own strength, this we will never surrender. … The lesson is that we cannot __________ on anyone but ourselves." He warned of the continuing Anti-Semitism around the world, "Sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the evil that begat the horror still __________, and still poses a threat.”

 

 

fact
establishment
avoid
trust
exists
civilized
souls
befell
rely
right

2. TRUE/FALSE:  Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. SYNONYMS:  Students check their answers to the synonyms exercise.

4. PHRASE MATCH:  Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise.

5. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

6. VOCABULARY:  Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.


 
 

POST READING IDEAS

1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise.

2. QUESTIONS:  Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share.

3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above.

4. STUDENT-GENERATED SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class.

5. ‘ANNIVERSARY’/ ‘REMEMBER’: Students make questions based on their findings from pre-reading activity #1.

6. DISCUSSION:  Students ask each other the following questions:
(a)  What does Auschwitz mean to you?
(b)  How much do you know about the Holocaust?
(c)  How much do you know about Nazism?
(d)  How much do you know about Anti-Semitism?
(e)  Is your country a racist place?
(f)  Do you hold any racist feelings towards other people?
(g)  Will the world remember the lesson of the Holocaust?
(h)  Have you ever seen movies of the Holocaust, for example Schindler’s List, or  The Piano Player?
(i)  Has anything evil ever happened to your country or people?
(j)  What is your image of Israel?
(k)  Do you think we’ll all love each other one day?
(l)  Should all schoolchildren learn about the Holocaust?
(m)  Why are people evil?
(n)  Why is Anti-Semitism still so prevalent in the world?
(o)  Teacher / Student additional questions

HOMEWORK

1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the Holocaust. Share your findings with your class next lesson.

3. HOLOCAUST POSTER: Create a poster about the horror of Auschwitz.

4. LETTER TO ANNE FRANKE: Write a letter to Anne Franke telling her about the world today.

(Anne Frank was a Jewish girl in her early teens who described both the joys and torments of daily life, as well as typical adolescent thoughts, throughout two years spent in hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Her diary is famous).

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

(a)  The world marked the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust yesterday (today).  F
(b)  Six million tragic souls lost their lives in the Holocaust.  T
(c)  A great evil befell the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two.  T
(d)  America, Britain and the allies did nothing to stop 6,000,000 Jews from being murdered in concentration camps.  T
(e)  The American and British armies did everything in their power to deal with the problem of the annihilation of Jews.  F
(f)  The state of Israel provides a safe haven for any Jew around the world.  T
(g)  Israel has many friends it can rely on. F
(h)  Anti-Semitism has disappeared today. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

(a)

trust

believe

(b)

marked

commemorated

(c)

tragic

catastrophic

(d)

at the hands of

by

(e)

somber

sad

(f)

admonished

scolded

(g)

annihilation

obliteration

(h)

defend

protect

(i)

surrender

give up / quit

(j)

rely

depend

PHRASE MATCH:

(a)

we can trust no-one but

ourselves

(b)

the world marked the 60th

anniversary of the Holocaust

(c)

the six million tragic souls who lost

their lives

(d)

at the hands of

the Nazis

(e)

the world did nothing to

prevent it

(f)

no one cared

that Jews were being murdered

(g)

did everything in their

power

(h)

to avoid

dealing with the situation

(i)

safe

haven

(j)

evil still poses

a threat

 

GAP FILL:

Sharon remembers Holocaust

“We know we can trust no-one but ourselves.” These are the words of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Israel and the world marked the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust and the six million tragic souls who lost their lives in it. Leaders from all around the world gathered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to remember the horror and evil that befell the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two. In Israel itself the day is one of reflection, with no special commemorative events. Mr. Sharon gave a somber speech in his parliament. His solemn, yet powerful words reminded his people of the fact that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust and the world did nothing to prevent it. "The sad and horrible conclusion is that no one cared that Jews were being murdered ... This is the Jewish lesson of the Holocaust and this is the lesson which Auschwitz taught us." He admonished the ‘civilized’ world, saying, "The allies knew of the annihilation of the Jews. They knew and did nothing, … did everything in their power to avoid dealing with the problem.” His reminder to Israelis and Jews is that history has taught them the lesson that still strongly exists today, that Jews can only rely on themselves for protection. “The state of Israel learned this lesson and since its establishment, it has done its utmost to defend itself and its citizens, and provide a safe haven for any Jew, wherever he may be. We know that we can trust no one but ourselves. … We must always remember that this is the only place in the world in which we, the Jews, have the right and the power to defend ourselves with our own strength, this we will never surrender. … The lesson is that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves." He warned of the continuing Anti-Semitism around the world, "Sixty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the evil that begat the horror still exists, and still poses a threat.”

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