Ask students how they define the term citizenship.
Then, ask them how they would define the term refugee. What is the difference between someone who is a citizen, and someone who is a refugee? Is the distinction meaningful in terms of their status as a human being? If not, why are they treated so differently?

Read through the resource, The Expulsion of Polish Jews From Germany by holocaust.cz as a class. Ask students to write down any questions they have about the text.

Divide the class into groups of three and provide them with the following instructions:

1. Go through all members’ questions about the text and help one another understand the document.
2. Address the discussion questions below. Have group members take notes on their responses.
3. Lastly, come up with an additional question that comes out of your reflections. This question should attempt to generate conversation between you and your classmates.

Discussion Questions:

1. What was the significance of what Herschel did?
2. Germany first tried to expel the Jews from Germany. A devastating amount of countries closed their borders to Jewish refugees, forcing them to fall victim to Nazi Germany’s next move: The Final Solution. Do you think the Holocaust could have been avoided if countries opened their borders to allow for Jewish refuge?
3. Should nations have an obligation to take in refugees fleeing violence?
4. What message did closing their borders send to the Jews?
5. Does the refugee crisis the Jews faced make you think of connections that resonate in today’s world?

Prepare students what they will be reading the work of a victim.

Elie Wiesel famously speaks of the importance of memory and writing down one’s story. Offer the following quote from Wiesel to your students:

“History is a bridge. We are naturally afraid of our memories. We try to forget, and in truth, some things we must forget a little bit, simply in order to function. And yet…if we truly allow ourselves to forget, history may well return to us.”

Give students a few minutes to consider the quote before asking them what it means to them. Specifically pursue the question of how history is a bridge?

Read through the poem The Memoirs of Cantor Joseph Cysner edited and published by Key Documents of German-Jewish History.

Before moving on to the Output section, ask students what they think is happening during the poem, what is the context?

Have students pick a line or two from this poem that resonates the most with them. Tell students to write down the answers to the questions below on a piece of paper as they focus on their selection.

1. Why did you choose the line that you did?
2. Describe the image you see when you read through it.
3. What do you think is going through the author’s mind during this time?

Give students 1o minutes to create their answers; then ask for volunteers to share what they wrote down.

Finally, return to the quote by Elie Wiesel about memory.

How does the existence of this poem bridge the reader to history?