Begin by asking students if they have ever heard of Auschwitz. Then ask if they have heard about Dachau. Do they know what they were? What was the difference between the two? You may find it helpful to pull up these maps of Dachau and Auschwitz by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Read through the resource, The Nazi Camp System: Terminology by USHMM with the class. Start at the top of the page with the overview and the three Key Facts before moving on.

After you go through the reading, ask students what is the importance is of using the correct terminology when talking about the Nazi camp system?

Then divide the class into groups of three or five and direct them to the resource, Killing Centers: In Depth by USHMM. Have groups read through it amongst themselves. They can all read silently or they can switch off reading out loud to their group. Once they finish reading, have the groups discuss and record their answers to the Critical Thinking Questions located at the bottom of the page.

Go over the Critical Thinking Questions with the class, giving students an opportunity to ask questions and clear up any confusion.

Finally, ask students why they feel it is important to differentiate and use the appropriate terminology when discussing the Nazi camp system. It may be worth pointing out that the term ‘concentration camp’ is used by some people in the U.S. to describe the Japanese American camps established during World War II, although the term used by the U.S. government was ‘Internment Camps’.

Have students think about the term “resistance” in the context of the Holocaust. Have them consider and respond to the question, “What are Jews resisting during the Holocaust?”

Explain to your students that despite the risk of harsh and fatal punishments, many Jews still chose to resist in any way they could. Ask students for possible reasons for why some Jews could not resist. (Hunger, sickness, isolation, lack of weapons, care for children, parents, or other family members). Record their answers on the board.

In addition to the term “resistance,” have students think of the term “survival.” Take a few minutes to discuss how these terms are similar and how they are different. Share the official definitions of resistance and survival with the class.

Resistance: the refusal to accept or comply with something: the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.
Survival: the state of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.

• Is survival a form of resistance?

Write down the heading, “Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust” and below write the subheadings “Cultural/Spiritual Resistance” and “Active/Armed Resistance.” Ask a student volunteer to write down key ideas for each form of resistance under the appropriate heading.

Explain that spiritual resistance can often be seen as an attempt to maintain one’s previous way of life and his or her unique identity. The terrible reality in which Jews lived was expressed by the teacher, Chaim Kaplan who lived in the Warsaw ghetto: “Everything is forbidden to us, but we do everything.”

Play the video testimonies for Roman Kent and Helen Fagin to the class. There will be a few questions specific to each testimony, so you may choose to play one at a time and have the students answer the questions corresponding to the video before moving on to the second one. Ask the questions in an open discussion with the class.

Questions on Roman Kent:

1. What are specific examples of resistance Roman Kent shares in his testimony?
2. Roman wants people to understand that contrary to what some may thing, Jews did resist the Nazis during the Holocaust in a variety of ways. Why do you think he feels it is important for people to understand this?

Questions on Helen Fagin:

1. How would you characterize the activities Helen Fagin initiated in the ghetto?
2. What purpose does the Gone with the Wind story serve for the students in Helen’s “clandestine school”?

Have the students take 10 minutes to reflect and write out how their understanding of resistance has changed over the course of the lesson.

Take the time you have left to ask students to share what they wrote down in response to the prompt.

Start by defining resistance for the class: “The refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.”

Next, ask students to work in groups of three to create a working definition for resistance. A working definition is one that builds in meaning as they receive information and gain clarity on the topic.

In these same groups, have students read through the poem “Resistance Is…” from Facing History and Ourselves. Ask the class if they would want to alter or add to their definitions of resistance after reading it. Give them a few minutes (no more than 5) to add to their working definitions.

Divide the class into groups of three to read through the Pronouncement by Abba Kovner from Echoes & Reflections. Let students know that Abba Kovner wrote this manifesto while at the Vilna ghetto in an attempt to stage an uprising.

Have one student from each group read through the text out loud as the others follow in silence. Then have each group discuss the questions below. Have one student in each group take notes that include the significant points of their discussion.

1. What was the objective of the manifesto? How do you think Kovner wanted people to respond?
2. What is he asking the ghetto’s inhabitants to believe, and what is he asking them not to believe?

Ask the groups to read through the passage once more. This time, having them focus on the language and answer the following questions:

1. What metaphors, words, or phrases does Kovner use to convince people that Ponary is not a labor camp?
2. Which words or phrases have the most impact?

Have each group review the first definition of resistance that they wrote at the beginning of the lesson. Still in their groups, encourage them to discuss whether or not they think they need to make more changes after analyzing Abba Kovner’s call to resistance. Give them a few minutes to do so.

Ask each group to share their definition of resistance and explain what revisions they made and why.

Ask students how they define resistance. What does resistance look like and what form does it take? Ask them if they would expect there to be much resistance in extermination camps. Why or why not?

Show the video of Anna Heilman from Facing History and Ourselves. Preview the video by telling students that Anna’s story describes how the plot to blow up the crematoria at Auschwitz became a reality.
After the video concludes, ask students how they feel about this act of defiance? Was it successful?

Then, show the video of Helen K. from 19:52 to 25:50
Before beginning the video, ask students to record instances of resistance, however they define it.

After the video, ask students to share their responses, both written and felt, in small groups. What forms of resistance did they notice? What did they feel as they watched this testimony?

Finally, ask students to take a moment to write short responses to the question of whether these acts of defiance were successful or not. Given that most individuals died who tried to revolt, were their efforts in vain or meaningful? Why or why not?

Time permitting, open up for a broad class discussion.

Ask students how they define resistance. What does resistance look like and what form does it take? Ask them also if they would expect there to be much resistance in concentration camps. Why or why not?

Printable background and lyrics here.
Listen to the Dachau Song via the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Ask them to pay attention to the tone and tenor of the song while they read along with the lyrics that pop up on the screen (full screen is best for this).

When the song is finished, prompt students to provide their initial thoughts about the song. What did they notice? Does it remind them of anything? What is the overall feeling that the song generated for them?

Then, distribute the PDF of the lyrics and the background information.
Read through the background information about the song and clarify any of the details or language that the students might have trouble with.
Then, split the class into 5 groups and assign each one to a verse or the chorus.
In groups, ask each team to analyze the lyrics that they have been given, offering that they can reference a dictionary to look up words that are more difficult.
Prompt their analysis with some questions that will help better understand what life was like in Dachau:

1. What does the author indicate about life in the camp?
2. What imagery is used and why do you think it was chosen?
3. What are the inmates supposed to be cautious of?
4. What does this song say about resistance to oppression?

Ask each group to offer their analysis of the song and, while they do, add unique answers to your ‘chalk’ board. Once each group has presented their section, ask the whole group for other observations about the song in its entirety. What else can they glean from their collective observations about life in Dachau?

Time permitting, return to the recorded version of the song once again. Ask students to pay close attention to the lyrics that they have on their page in addition to the overall feel of the tune. What else comes up in their minds as they take in the whole piece once more?

Begin by asking students, what is an anthem? What anthems do you know? Do they all encourage resistance?

Before you begin the lesson, provide some historical context about the author of the poem by reading the passage below to the class. This context, as well as other points from this lesson plan have been taken by elirab.me/study. The full version of this lesson plan can be found here.

Hirsch Glik was born in Wilno (now Vilnius) in 1922. He began to write poetry in Yiddish in his teens and was a co-founder of Yungwald (Young Forest), a group of young Jewish poets. Glik entered the Vilna ghetto after the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union. He was a participant in both the ghetto’s artistic community and the underground movement and took part in the 1942 ghetto uprising. Glik wrote the poem you will be reading right after this in early 1943. He was able to flee when the ghetto was being liquidated in October 1943 but was recaptured. He escaped once more in July 1944 and was never heard from again. It is presumed that he was captured once again and executed by the Nazis in August 1944.

Divide the class into groups of three or four. Give each member of the group a copy of the Partisan Poem. When giving them the poem, provide them the instructions below. Allow approximately 15 minutes for this initial discussion.

1. Have one member of the group read the poem aloud while the others read along.
2. Look closely at the language of the poem. What themes can you identify from it?
   *Hint* Notice the use of the present tense: “will grow” and “will come”.
3. What do you think was the author’s goal in writing this poem?

Take a few minutes for groups to share their responses.

After the students have had some time to go over the poem, tell them that the poem (albeit not the exact wording) was also used as a song, or anthem amongst the resistance. The song, Zog Nit Keynmol, translating as “Never Say” and, to this day considered the anthem of Holocaust survivors.

Listen to the song as a class. Watch the video from beginning till 2:38 (when the English ends) unless you would also like to have the class listen in its original form, Yiddish.

Have the groups discuss the questions below after listening. Allow an additional 5-10 minutes for this section.

1. What do you consider when you compare the poem to the song?
2. Can you think of any reason why the poem was translated into a song?

Come back together as a class. Open up a class discussion with the questions below:

1. This song has been adopted by others as a protest song. How relevant is this poem to the world today? Is it effective as a protest song?
2. When and how does a poem or song become an anthem? Is it considered as such at the time? What impact can an anthem have on a movement?