Begin by asking students what they know about ghettos. Ensure students know the basics, that ghettos were typically closed off parts of a city where Jews were forced to live.

Ask if they can list off any health or emotional challenges that could be faced by living in one.

Read through the resource, Life in the Ghettos by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum as a class. Scroll through the images and videos in the left hand corner to show the class. Find the video titled, “Gerda Weissmann Klein describes her birthday celebration in the Bielsko ghetto” and watch that as a class.

Ask the students how their initial list matches up to the reality of what they learned from life in the ghettos.

Have the students list some examples of how people tried to maintain “normal” life in the ghettos.

Tell the students they will now have the chance to go back into the reading and write down a few notes using the 3Ps method- writing down something they find a) Powerful b) Puzzling and c) Propelling.

In order to familiarize yourself, and your class with this model, please look over this guide: 3Ps: A Critical Reading Guide.

Allow the students to pair up in groups of two or three to go over what they wrote down for their 3Ps. As they do so, provide them with the following instructions:

Go over your notes from the reading, try to answer one another’s puzzling sections.

Then discuss the following questions:

1. What were the Nazis’ intentions in closing Jews in the ghettos?
2. The Germans wanted to concentrate Jews into the larger cities and establish ghettos near railroad junctions. What do you think was the purpose of gathering the Jews in certain central locations? Why did the Germans want to establish ghettos near railway transports?

If time permits, come back together as a class to share what was discussed. Make sure to let students know that if they are unable to find clarity for something in the ‘puzzling’ notes to bring it up to you to be discussed.

Write the word “ghetto” on the board. Have students share what they know about the word and record their responses. Follow this discussion by sharing the history of the word.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia states that the term “ghetto” originated from the name of the Jewish quarter in Venice, Italy. In 1516, Venetian authorities compelled the city’s Jews to live in this quarter. Following Italy’s example, local authorities and even the Austrian emperor ordered the creation of Jewish ghettos in Frankfurt, Rome, Prague, and other cities.

This lesson is adapted from The Ghettos by Echoes & Reflections, the full unit can be found here.

Play the video testimonies for Joseph Morton and Ellis Lewin. While they watch, encourage your students to listen for specific examples of how ghettos during the Holocaust differ from their understanding of what is referred to as a “ghetto” today. It could be beneficial to take students to the resource, Life in the Ghettos by USHMM and scroll through the photos and watch a few of the brief videos.

Open up into a class discussion with the questions below:

1. In their testimonies, Ellis Lewin and Joseph Morton share some of their early feelings and experiences in the ghetto. How does Ellis say his life changed after being forced into the ghetto? What does Joseph share about his observations of life in the ghetto?
2. Based on the testimonies you just watched, how were ghettos during the Holocaust different from your understanding of what a ghetto is today?
3. How do you think Ellis, Joseph and other ghetto survivors would feel about the use of the term today?
4. What images have begun to emerge for you about ghetto life after listening to these two testimonies?
5. How do you think Ellis and Joseph felt sharing these memories? How did you feel listening to them?

Lastly, divide the class into groups of three to five to discuss the following questions:

1. Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi head of the SIPO (security police) writes, “For the time being, the first step toward the final solution is the concentration of the Jews…” What do you think Heydrich meant by “for the time being”?
2. Discuss the difference between physical and economic segregation.
3. When people describe a neighborhood today as a “ghetto,” how is it different from the Nazi ghettos? Are there any similarities?

If time permits, open into a class discussion.

Ask the students if any of them have ever read Diary of Anne Frank or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. What sort of things do people write in diaries?

Watch the 16 minute video, The Ghettos by Yad Vashem. Take about 5 minutes having students go around and give examples of what sort of challenges people faced. Then ask, how did people try to maintain a sense of dignity or humanity?

Ask students to reflect on what they just watched and discussed. How did hearing the testimonies and diary entries help paint a picture of what life was like in the ghettos? Provide 10 minutes for students to write and reflect.

If time permits, have students share their reflections.