8.3: Ignoring the Holocaust

Objective:

Students will be able to explain how silence and indifference helped lead to and grow the Holocaust.

Vocabulary: indifference, oppressor, neutral

Directions:

1. Get a copy of this worksheet and answer it based on the sections below. Because parts of this lesson included discussions, some questions asked on the website will require you to answer on the back of the worksheet.
2. Click this link to listen to Paul Simon's "The Sounds of Silence." Follow the lyrics along with the music. Highlight or underline any portions of the lyrics that you think connects with the Holocaust. Explain these connections either in the margins or on the back of the handout.
   • Bonus: Click here to check out Disturbed's cover of "The Sounds of Silence"
3. Click here to watch "Terrible Things." Write a brief description of the video in the graphic organizer on the worksheet.
4. Read the poem by Martin Niemoller found at the bottom right of the screen. Consider how this relates to "Terrible Things."
5. Read the following quote spoken by human rights activist Desmond Tutu
   • "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
   • On the back of your handout, answer the following questions:
     1. In the context of this quote, what does neutral mean?
     2. Who were the oppressors during the Holocaust?
     3. What is Tutu saying in this quote?
6. Click here to watch "The Hangman." Write a brief description of the video in the graphic organizer on the worksheet.
7. Complete the rest of the graphic organizer by comparing and contrasting "Terrible Things," "The Hangman," and "The Confession."