Prefatory Statement

Europa, Europa is the true story of Solomon Perel, a young German Jew who survived the Holocaust by "becoming" a member of the Hitler Youth. The autobiography was written in the late 1980's and first published in 1990 in France. In 1991 Mr. Perel's story was made into a film by the same name directed by Agnieszka Holland, a Polish director. The film won an Oscar nomination that year in the best screenplay category for previously produced material . It also won the 1991 Golden Globe award for best Foreign Film. In 1992 the book was translated into German. Only this year, 1997, has Mr. Perel's incredible story been available in English.

Mr. Perel's story is a memoir of his adolescent years and survival during the years before and including World War II. As Solly, the Jewish boy, one of his first ordeals he must face is to move to a new country, Poland, with his family. Then after war breaks out and as the German army creeps toward Poland, Solly must face separation from his family to flee with his brother to Russia. While in Russia, he lives in a Russian orphanage. After the Germans invade Russia, he is taken into a German unit by pretending to be a Volkdsdeutsche (ethnic German). While on the eastern front with the German Wehrmacht, Solly becomes "Josef (Jupp) Perjell." Thinking Jupp is an orphan, the German sergeant wants to adopt Solly and enrolls him in the "elite" Hitler Youth school in Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany. As Jupp, Solomon has to deal with a myriad of problems ranging from hiding his identity from his enemies to normal adolescent worries such as dating.

Through reading his book, students will be able to have insights into all of Solly's struggles of surviving among the "enemy" and his struggles with his own identities as a Jew, Hitler Youth, and adolescent. They will also be given an intimate perspective of other Hitler Youths, ordinary Germans of the time, Nazi ideology, and life in Germany during the war. Students are treated to Mr. Perel's reflections on the events that happened to him and his thoughts on aspects of the film. Mr. Perel also reflects on his meetings with people who knew him as Hitler Youth Jupp when he returns to Germany as an older man. He tells them that he is Jewish, and he tells us of their reactions.

I chose this book to be the central piece of literature in a unit on the Holocaust because of the remarkable story it tells and of the incredible perspective it gives. I hope that this book will help students understand the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in society and encourage them to be more tolerant of diversity in their nearby community and the global community. The book also serves as a basis to investigate the use and abuse of power and the responsibilities of individuals, institutions, and nations to protect civil and human rights. (Rationales taken from Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust written by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.)

Besides reading the autobiography, students will keep a companion journal of their reflections and reactions while reading the book. Discussion and accompanying assignments will also be a part of the unit. Supplemental reading material such as poems, quotes, short stories, and non-fiction selections will complement the reading of Europa Europa. This supplemental in-class reading will provide additional perspectives into the Holocaust from different experiences. Students will also view the film Europa, Europa and possibly other films or documentaries about the Holocaust or Nazi movement. Students will be required to complete all in-class work and assigned homework and participate in a whole-class project on making the number six million, representing the number of Jews exterminated by the Nazi regime, tangible and imaginable. Students will also complete a small-group research assignment on a topic of their choice relating to the Holocaust, World War II, or human rights and present that research to the class in a format they choose. The small-group research project must include some original primary research. Students will also read a book outside of class relating to the Holocaust.

Ideally this unit would be taught interdisciplinary with a world history or social studies course also studying World War II or the Holocaust.

Class Specification
This unit is designed with senior high students in mind. I feel one may explore the issues more in-depth with older students who are more capable of analytical and critical thinking. I also believe older students will be more emotionally mature to handle the content of such study. Mr. Perel's book may alienate some girls because it is written from a male perspective about one male's experience, but I doubt this. I find the book too enthralling for students to be indifferent to it. To counter this possibility, attention will also be given to universal themes of the book and unit to include those students in the experience. A great variety of small-group research possibilities is also offered so individual teachers can tailor the unit to the needs of the students and to school and community resources.

Significant Assumptions
€Students will have some previous historical frame of reference of the Holocaust, but it may be incomplete and include no personal stories.
€Students are best able to comprehend themes from a number of sources incorporating a common theme.
€Students are capable of interpreting a situation from various viewpoints.
€Students know how to keep a reflective journal.
€Students have previous experience in working collaboratively in small groups.
€Students are capable of conducting primary and secondary research.
€Students have access to online resources, computer technology, and audio-visual equipment such as videocameras, TV/VCRs, tape recorders, and video-editing equipment.
€Students are able to write an organized, well-thought-out research paper.
€Students are aware of the existence of current and past social problems such as racism, prejudice, and stereotyping.
€Students have previous experience with small-group and large-group discussion.
€The material to be covered can be connected with students' lives.
€Students are able to meet with each other outside of class for group projects.

Desired Outcomes
€Completion of Minnesota High School Graduation Standard 1.1: (Students will complete this standard in their small-group research projects. They are still required to complete other parts of the unit assessment package)

Students will comprehend and evaluate complex information in a variety of English language non-fiction reading, viewing and listening selections.

Students should:

€Students will identify issues of prejudice and bias in their own lives and in their community.
€Students will connect issues of prejudice and bias in their own lives and in their community to the issues of the Holocaust.
€Students will understand the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in society.
€Students will understand how silence and indifference to the suffering of others can perpetuate the problems.
€Students will be able to identify ways to translate the number of Nazi victims into something tangible.
€ Students will be able organize and strategize ways to solve problems.

Possible Whole-Class Activities
€Student / teacher reading and discussion of text
€Student / teacher reading of supplemental in-class reading selections
€Viewing of the film Europa, Europa
€Discussion on stereotyping, racial bias, and connect to students' experiences with these issues.
€Collaborative project on making the number six million, representing the number of Jews exterminated by the Nazi regime, tangible and imaginable. Students will decide how they will do this. It will be a class memorial to the victims. This memorial would be available for the community to view, perhaps as part of a community Holocaust memorial. Possible Idea: The US Holocaust Memorial Museum hosts an annual national art and writing contest focusing on a determined theme. The theme for the year can be found on their website which is given in the teacher resources.
€ Mapping of Solly's story using timeline, map, collage

Possible Small-Group Activities
€Identify stereotypes students have of other students using a handout.
€In-class small-group discussion on happenings in book
€Library research on chosen topic related to the Holocaust.
€Primary research on chosen topic.
€Assign roles to individuals within the research group to complete various tasks.
€Presentations to whole class.
€ Minnesota High School Performance Package: Academic Reading File
€ Conference with teacher about progress on the research projects.

Possible Individual Activities
€Analysis of the film Europa, Europa. Write up the review of the film based upon criteria such as faithfulness to book (when does the film deviate from the book).
€ Journal writing
€ Individual task in the small-group research project
€ Individual contribution to the class memorial.

Possible On-going Activities
€ In-class reading time
€ Journaled reactions to the book.
€Mapping of Solly's story using timeline, map, collage
€ Creation of class bulletin board

Student Resources
€Europa, Europa by Solomon Perel
€Library access
€Computer, online, and audio-visual equipment access
€journal / notebook
€ copies of performance package
€ possible research topics

Unit Launch Week one, Day one 50 Min. Lesson (Unit launch idea adapted from Kate Kessler's article)

Objectives:Students will identify issues of prejudice and bias in their own lives and in their community through small-group work.

Methods:
1.Ask students to brainstorm on ten major problems / issues in today's society. (I am assuming racism will come into this list.)5 min.
2. Organize students into small groups. Give students the following labels: Intellectual, Partier, Computer geek, Punk, Jock, Druggie, God Squader, Granola.
3.Give students the following framework to flesh out what kind of characteristics students with these labels are supposedly supposed to have (borrowed from Engl 5922 Lab Materials pp. 115-117. "Culture and Subculture: 10 categories of College Prep West High School, 1984-1985 Iowa City, IA")10 -15 min.

Example:
Demographic Name: Intellectual
Often confused with: Deepsters
Synonyms: Brain
College: East Coast
Why: intellectual stimulation
Work (while in high school): None
Friends: God Squaders, Deepsters
Enemies: Jocks
Music: Classical and variety of modern, but not Top 40
Clothing: Conventional
Transportation: "car"
Hair: conventional

4. Regroup. Share with whole-group the findings.5 min.
5.Whole-group discussion: Ask students to take out lists of societal problems. Ask if racism or prejudice is on their lists. Ask how these stereotypes and are related to these large problems. Discussion questions: How do these stereotypes come about? What are their sources? How are they perpetuated? What are some effects of these stereotypes in our school? How have they affected you personally? How are racist stereotypes started? How are they perpetuated? What are their effects in our community?20 min.

Homework:Write in a journal entry of a time when your were prejudged for any reason at all. How did you feel about the experience, about the person who prejudged you? Why do you think it happened?

Assessment: I will know my students are learning by the responses they give (if they are able to identify instances of "ism's" in their lives) and if they are active participants in small-group activities and in large-group discussion. This can be documented in snapshots.

Week one, Day two
Objective: Students will connect issues of prejudice and bias in their own lives and in their community to the issues of the Holocaust.

Methods:
1. Share in pairs our experiences with prejudice.5 min.
2. Volunteers may share their experiences with the large-group.5-10 min.
3.Discussion: Given what we know about the prejudice against Jews in Nazi Germany, how are our experiences related? Have students free-write on this. Share findings with large-group.15 min.
4.Introduce the unit and novel to be read to students. Acquaint them with possible activities we will be doing. Give background information on Europa, Europa . Hand out the novels.
15 min.

Homework: Give students assignment of reading the prologue and to start the first chapter to page 13. Students will have the rest of the hour to read. Students will write in journal about their first impressions of Solly.

Assessment: I will know my students will have met the objectives if they found ways in their free-writing to connect their experiences with other experiences and also if they participated in the discussion.

Day 3
In the span of four years Solly is forced to live in two different countries and learn two different languages. What are the stereotypes he is faced with up to this point? Who are placing these stereotypes on him? How does he react? Begin whole-class mapping of Solly's journeys using a map of Europe and a timeline. Post on a bulletin board. Journal: When have you been in a totally new environment in which you didn't know anybody? How did you cope? What made things better for you, what made things bad? Did you have to deal with stereotypes people had about you? How did you handle them? Alternate Journal Prompt: Describe a time in your life when you felt alone and nobody around you understood who you were or what you were feeling or experiencing. Read from p. 14-33.

Day 4
Discuss journal entries. Continue with the mapping of Solly's adventures. Journal: Describe the irony of the soldiers' acceptance of Solly as "Josef Peters," the German boy. Read pp. 33-Chapter 3.

Day 5
Objective: Students will be able to identify ways to translate the number of Nazi victims into something tangible.
Students will be able organize and strategize ways to solve problems.

Methods:
1.Introduce whole-group project to students. Have them brainstorm individually on ways them could implement this into a memorial of sorts for Nazi victims. This memorial could be open for the school and community to attend. The memorial will be completed during the last week of the unit. The class needs to come up with an idea, a plan of action, and carry the plan through. 10 min.
2.Give them ideas for a class memorial from the Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. Allow students time to talk about different ideas and ways to implement them.15- 20 min.
3.Students should begin to put ideas down on paper and perhaps a tentative proposal. Students will have the rest of the hour to begin planning the memorial.30 min.

Homework: Students should also come up with their own personal contribution they could make to the memorial. Read from Chapter 3 to Chapter 5. In journals students should reflect on what parts of Solly's story have affected them most so far and why.

Assessment:I will know if my students have achieved the objectives of the lesson if they are able to articulate and scratch out a plan of action for their class memorial.

Week 2
€Finish the book. Complete journal reactions to the book.
€ Complete the mapping of Solly's adventures.
€Introduce students to their small-group research projects. Hand out the performance packages and go through them with students. Answer any questions about what students need to do.
€Possible Discussion or Journal Prompt: In chapters 1-3, Solly is torn between being a friend to the soldiers and being faithful to his identity as a Jew. How is he handling this problem? How does he explain he is able to feel sympathy for both sides? When have you felt like you were torn between two different identities? Perhaps you felt torn between something somebody wanted you to do and what you wanted to do. Describe your situation and relate the similarities or differences in your experience to Solly's.
€Hand out possible research topics and presentation formats. The rough draft of a written presentation or outline of a different format of presentations (such as a documentary film) is due at the end of the fourth week.
€Students will organize themselves into groups and decide on a topic they want to research. Students will also assign different tasks to the members to complete.
€Students will begin to do library research during class time. Students should also begin to do outside reading for the projects.

Week 3
€View the film Europa, Europa . (2 1/2 days, it is available in most large video rental stores in the foreign language section.) NOTE to Teachers: View this film before you show it to a class. This film is rated R. It shows male frontal nudity at four different times throughout the film. First, at Solly's circumcision as a baby, next as he bathes in his home, a third time as he bathes on the eastern front and is approached in a sexual way by Heinz (as did occur in the book). The fourth time Solly removes the threads from his penis because it had become infected after he had tried to tie his foreskin forward. Although the film handles the nude scenes tastefully, your students may object to the content or may not be mature enough to view them. I saw the film for the first time in high school, and it was perfectly okay with the students of high school level.

Homework: Students will write up the review of the film based upon criteria such as faithfulness to book (when does the film deviate from the book). What effect did such deviations have on the film? What purpose did they serve? Are they justified somehow, and how well do you think Solly's story was portrayed.

€ Students will have one class period meet with peer editing groups to go over the reviews.
€Students will have one class period to to type up the review for possible submission to the school newspaper.
€ Students should continue to do research outside of class for their projects.
€Students will be given the take-home unit test on the last day of the week. Students are to complete it over the weekend.

Week 4
€ Students will have this week to conference with the teacher about progress on projects.
€ Students will have the entire week to work on their projects.
€ Rough draft or proposal of presentation due at the end of the week.

Week 5
€ Small-groups receive their rough drafts back and conference again with teacher.
€ Small-group presentations begin on the third day.
€ Audience members will write their reactions to the presentations in their journals each day.
*** Possible activity for early finishers: View the film Swing Kids , a semi-fictional account of young Germans during the Nazi era in Hamburg. This group of Germans is against the Nazi regime; they love swing music (which is banned because the popular musicians of the time are Jewish or black), love to dance swing, wear their hair long, and adore British fashion. The main character Peter must join the Hitler Youth against his conscience and his friend Thomas joins the organization because of his friend. How do the two friends change because of their involvement in the Hitler Jugend? How is Peter struggling with being in the HJ and with the memory of his father? How is this story similar/dissimilar to that of Solly's? The film is rated PG-13 and is available in video stores. It has great music and terrific dance sequences. *** Interestingly, Noah Wyle, who plays Dr. John Carter on NBC's hospital drama E.R., plays a devoted Hitler Youth, Emil, in this film. In real life he is Jewish. A possible assignment for adoring fans might be to write him a letter and ask him about his feelings in making this movie.

Week 6
€ Students prepare and complete class memorial during the week.

** This is a take-home exam. You will have the weekend to work on it, and it is due Monday at the beginning of class. You must think up the interviewer's questions and also the answers. Come up with at least five questions to ask. Write the dialogue up in a question then response format.

Description of Student Performances:
Task 1:Survey information about an issue relating to the Holocaust (choice of small-group) and collect notes in a Reading File.
The Reading File will serve as sources for the small groups' presentations.

FINAL ACHIEVEMENT: Use the following scoring criteria when evaluating student performance.
Scoring Criteria
4 - Performance on this standard achieves and exceeds expectations of high standard work.
3- Performance on this standard meets the expectations of high standard work.
2 - Work on this standard has been completed, but all or part of the student's performance is below high standard level.
1 - Work on this standard has been completed, but performance is substantially below high standard level. No package score is recorded until ALL parts of the package have been completed.

Rough draft of written presentation is due at the end of the fourth week of the unit. Presentations to whole group begin on the third day of the fifth week.

PERFORMANCE PACKAGE TASK 1 Academic Reading File
Standard Code: Read, View, Listen 3.1 ÷ High School Level
Topic: Academic Reading
Amount of Time: two weeks

Specific Statement(s) from the Standard:
What students should do:
1. Identifies main ideas and patterns of support in a complex non-fiction document or presentation
2. Identifies bias, point of view, author's intent, and contextual situation
3. Analyzes evidence, distinguishing fact from opinion and fiction from non-fiction
4. Evaluates information for clarity, consistency, and validity of ideas and support
5. Analyzes how the type of communication shapes or limits information
6. In viewing, evaluates the use of visual and non-verbal communication
In addition:
1. Focus of assessment is on the ability to comprehend, interpret, and evaluate information; students may need to demonstrate their competence in alternative ways.
2. Materials assessed must include non-fiction works that include in-depth, abstract concepts in lengthy passages or presentations. Examples may be: a. editorials b. political speeches c. debates d. documentaries e. journals.
3. Materials should reflect a range of diversity and perspectives.
4. Assessment package must include reading, listening and viewing selections.

Product:
Reading File: A note file or computer database with information about sources read or viewed.

Central Learning:
€ Use evidence and reasoning to explain and support an idea.

Task Description:
Read or view information from 5-10 sources on a position or issue of your choice relating to the Holocaust. Include information from a variety of media and representing different viewpoints. For each source, keep a note file or computer database (Reading File) with the information.

Guidelines for Evaluating Information
You will complete a source analysis and a content analysis for each source you use.
1. Source Analysis (See Chart #1)
Include bibliographic information:
€ author
€ title
€ publisher/producer
€ copyright/airing date.

Identify media. Specify the type of material being used:
€ print (journal articles, press coverage, book excerpts, position papers, policy statements, public/private studies, speeches, debates)
€ non-print (documentaries, news specials)
€ interviews (people working in the field, young people in the representative group).

Identify target audience/readership of this publication, program or series:
€ Who are the intended readers/viewers of this material?
€ How do you know? What clues in the material support your inference(s)?

Evaluate author/producer credibility:
€ What are the author's/producer's credentials (experience with the topic/issue, training/education)?
€ What is the author's/producer's position or bias on the issue/topic? How do you know? --include a short excerpt or quote that captures the author's position/point of view --if appropriate, give examples of unclear language or ideas --note loaded words and their impact on the information
€ What other viewpoints are introduced?

STUDENT PERFORMANCE TASK 1 Academic Reading File

2. Content Analysis (See Chart #2 below)
What are the viewpoints on the issue/topic presented in the material?
What are the main arguments/ideas?
What is the support or evidence for each idea/argument?
Source: _________________________________
Viewpoint
Argument/Idea
Support
Support
Argument/Idea
Support
Support

3. Overview (See Chart #3). Having read and analyzed a number of different sources, you will now prepare a summary project that gives an overview of the issue.
What is the range of viewpoints on the issue/topic? What are the sources for that viewpoint?
What are the arguments and support for viewpoints?
What are the points of disagreement/controversy in the materials?
What are the points of agreement in the material?
What viewpoints/information are missing?
What are the underlying assumptions that cause disagreement or controversy? How do you know?
What are the underlying assumptions of agreement? How do you know?

Task Management Skills:
Perseverance
€ Focus on the task for appropriate length of time
€ Continue to try despite frustrations, distractions and obstacles
€ Attend to details and checks for errors Resource Management
€ Access information efficiently and effectively
€ Properly use and care for materials, equipment and facilities
€ Share materials appropriately

Special Notes:
Information resources should include Internet, electronic media, video and audio productions, local cable access programs, interviews as well as print media.

Performance Criteria:

• impact is clearly explained
  
• logical reasons for omissions are suggested.

Possible Research Topics
America's involvement / non-involvement in the Holocaust
Art of the Holocaust
Anti-Semitism (history of, present day)
Concentration Camps
Ghettoes
History of the Holocaust
History of the Third Reich
Hitler and other Nazis' Biographies
Holocaust Denial
Holocaust Film and Drama
Holocaust Fiction
Holocaust Literature
Holocaust in the Occupied Countries
Judaism and Jewish Culture
Nazism and Racism in the contemporary world.
Nazi-Hunters
Non-Jewish Victims of the Holocaust
Religion, Theology, and the Holocaust
Resistance and Rescue
Righteous Gentiles
Surviviors / Survivor Autobiographies
World Response to the Holocaust

Possible Presentation Formats:
research paper
documentary film
Powerpoint presentation
creation of a website

Teacher Resources
Beach, Richard and James Marshall. Teaching Literature in the Secondary School. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991.

Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Boston: Little, Brown, 1993.

Brennecke, Fritz. The Nazi Primer: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth. Trans. Harwood L. Childs. New York: Harper, 1938.

Europa, Europa . Dir. Agnieszka Holland. Perf. Marco Hofschneider, Julie Delpy. Orion, 1991.

Gere, Anne Ruggles, et al. Language and Reflection: An Integrated Approach to Teaching English. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1992.

Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Found on the Museum's website:
http://www.ushmm.org/misc-bin/add_goback/education/guidelines.html

Kessler, Kate. "Teaching Holocaust Literature." English Journal Nov. 1991: 29-32.

Meisel, Esther. "I Don't Want to Be a Bystander." English Journal Apr. 1983: 63-68.

Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning Graduation Standards / Performance Packages website:
http://children.state.mn.us

Perel, Solomon. Europa, Europa . New York: John Wiley, 1997.

Swing Kids. Dir. Thomas Carter. Perf. Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, Noah Wyle,Kenneth Branagh, Barbara Hershey. Buena Vista, 1993.

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. Department of Education, University of South Florida. Found on the department's website:
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website : www.ushmm.org/

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 1997 May Family National Art &;Writing Contest website: www.ushmm.org/education/contest/97/test2.htm