Holocaust unit a real eye-opener
for Presque Isle Middle School students
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Despite its sensitive — and even gruesome — nature, seventh-graders at Presque Isle Middle School gained a real appreciation for what the Jews went through as they recently studied the Holocaust in teacher Marianne Dyer’s classroom.
“Probably the only reason that I would tell the story of the Holocaust to seventh-graders is to change peoples’ views about prejudice and discrimination, and to teach tolerance and justice,” said Dyer. “Because it is so horrific and graphic — even though students are very interested — I don’t think there would be enough reason to bring that up unless it were to make a difference in the future.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
STAR OF DAVID — Seventh-graders in Marianne Dyer’s class at Presque Isle Middle School recently learned about the Holocaust. The culminating event was for the students to create a Star of David out of a 12-inch by 12-inch sheet of yellow construction paper and decorate it with symbols of their learning. The stars were displayed in the hallway. Pictured with their creations are, from left: Parker Lambert and Kellsey Michaud.
Dyer, who teaches social studies/English, said she was able to present a “seamless unit” to her class.
“They were very curious about it, so I think it’s good that they were able to learn about the Holocaust in an environment that is factual and not biased,” she said. “We covered poetry. Each student read a novel — either individually or in groups of three — and had discussions about the novel, then they did PowerPoint presentations, dioramas, book reviews, designed book jackets … different things that they were able to do to respond to their reading of the novel.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
A WAGON OF SHOES — As part of a recent Holocaust unit, seventh-graders in Marianne Dyer’s class at Presque Isle Middle School read the poem, “A Wagon of Shoes” by Abraham Sutzkever. The poem is about the shoes of the dead that were piled on carts. Dyer borrowed a cart from a local business and kids brought in old shoes as a symbol and as a reminder of the Holocaust. Pictured with the shoes are, from left: Joseph Boone and Shaye McHatten.
Seventh-grade teacher Kevin Sipe showed slides of the death camps that he has visited to the students, while Dyer taught elements of literature to his class.
“We watched the movie ‘Escape from Sobibor,’ which details the story of the largest prisoner escape from a WWII Nazi death camp,” said Dyer, “and the culminating event was for the students to create a Star of David. I gave each student a 12-inch by 12-inch sheet of yellow construction paper cut into the shape of the Star of David. Students had to take that star and decorate or show symbols of their learning on that star and we displayed those out in the hall. They did name poems, and had different symbols of hatred like fire, Nazi emblems, and some even created a barbed wire edge to their star. I was very impressed.”
The students also read the poem “A Wagon of Shoes” by Abraham Sutzkever written in 1943.
“It’s about the shoes of the dead that were piled on carts,” said Dyer. “We read that and made a large copy of it and put it out in the hall. I also borrowed a cart from a local business and kids brought in old shoes as a symbol and as a reminder of the tragedy that was the Holocaust.”
The Holocaust unit also served as a springboard for students to write essays about prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, apathy, social injustice, cliques, teen suicide and more.
Student Shaye McHatten said she learned a lot from the Holocaust unit.
“I learned that not everything in the world is fair, and that Hitler showed hatred to the Jews which no one should be part of,” she said. “It surprised me that not only the Jews were killed, but homosexuals, gypsies and many other different kinds of people were killed because they were different. There were quite a few times during different slides and videos that I had to look away because it was so terrible.
“I think the Holocaust should be taught to everybody because it’s one of the most important events in our history,” said McHatten. “The Holocaust was basically people bullying each other and that’s a problem that’s in our school, but it’s not very severe. If you can be nice to one person a day, it could create a chain and you could help make more than 100 people happy.”
Parker Lambert said the graphic nature of the Holocaust was a real eye-opener.
“Personally I’ve had some teachers that would briefly go over it … it was almost like some people were trying to smokescreen just how horrific it really was,” he said. “This unit was far more graphic and showed you what the Nazis did and why they thought what they did was right.
“It almost needed to be graphic because you need to understand that it wasn’t just people fighting and killing … these were average people just walking along and were taken to these camps to be killed for no apparent reason. I was surprised at how severe the Nazis were … they had a big system and knew how much money it would cost to kill the Jews and how much money they could get from them. It was very systematic,” said Lambert. “There were some parts in the movie that we watched where the scenes were so graphic that it brought me to tears. If you think about it, that could have been your sister, brother, father or mother. It was very moving.”
Lambert read the novel “The Devil’s Arithmetic.”
“It was about a Jewish girl who didn’t really understand why they celebrated surviving the Holocaust so she got transported back in time and lived through the Holocaust with family members,” he said. “I learned that someone can tell you that something was bad, how it hurt or how it felt, but it really doesn’t hit home until it happens to you or someone you know.”
Dyer said she will teach the unit again next year.
“I think this [unit] is worthwhile … it builds character,” said Dyer. “Kids don’t build character by just being told things; we have to involve the students as much as we can emotionally. Subjects such as the Holocaust help put things into perspective for them and that’s what it’s all about.”
