Embedded Files
The Polish Boy
The Polish Boy
(Complete Exhibit 5 or Exhibit 6)
(Complete Exhibit 5 or Exhibit 6)
"To the Little Polish Boy Standing with his Arms Up" by Peter L. Fischl
This particular picture, “Little Polish Boy,” was taken in the Warsaw, Poland, ghetto in the spring of 1943. The Jews who were held prisoner there by the Germans rebelled and attempted to break out of the ghetto where they had been held prisoner since 1939.
This particular picture, “Little Polish Boy,” was taken in the Warsaw, Poland, ghetto in the spring of 1943. The Jews who were held prisoner there by the Germans rebelled and attempted to break out of the ghetto where they had been held prisoner since 1939.
Peter L. Fischl, a Holocaust survivor, first saw the photograph of the "Little Polish Boy" in the late 1960s in Life magazine. Shaken, he immediately identified with the "Little Polish Boy."
Peter L. Fischl, a Holocaust survivor, first saw the photograph of the "Little Polish Boy" in the late 1960s in Life magazine. Shaken, he immediately identified with the "Little Polish Boy."
For four or five years, he struggled with the boy in the photo, often talking to him. Early one morning, Peter went to his typewriter and wrote the poem “To the Little Polish Boy Standing with His Arms Up”, so that millions could not remain indifferent and silent in the face of the senseless, outrageous carnage of the Holocaust.
For four or five years, he struggled with the boy in the photo, often talking to him. Early one morning, Peter went to his typewriter and wrote the poem “To the Little Polish Boy Standing with His Arms Up”, so that millions could not remain indifferent and silent in the face of the senseless, outrageous carnage of the Holocaust.
TASK
TASK
1. On your own, analyze the photograph of the Polish boy. As you study the photograph, be sure to notice the following:
1. On your own, analyze the photograph of the Polish boy. As you study the photograph, be sure to notice the following:
PEOPLE, OBJECTS, ACTIVITIES
PEOPLE, OBJECTS, ACTIVITIES
2. Based on what you have observed in the photograph, list three things that you might INFER from this photo (record your answer in your packet):
2. Based on what you have observed in the photograph, list three things that you might INFER from this photo (record your answer in your packet):
1.
1.
2.
3.
3. After reading (or watching the video below) “To the Little Polish Boy Standing with His Arms Up,” discuss the following questions with your group:
3. After reading (or watching the video below) “To the Little Polish Boy Standing with His Arms Up,” discuss the following questions with your group:
Why did the poet choose the little boy as the focus of his poem?
To whom is the author referring in these lines in the poem: “the world who said nothing,” “who saw nothing,” and “who heard nothing”? Why did the author repeat those lines? What effect did that repetition have on you?
What does the author mean when he says, “I am sorry that it was you and not me”?
4. Any study of the Holocaust recognizes three elements in addition to the victims: perpetrators, collaborators, and bystanders. In your packet, answer the following questions:
4. Any study of the Holocaust recognizes three elements in addition to the victims: perpetrators, collaborators, and bystanders. In your packet, answer the following questions:
How are bystanders, collaborators, and perpetrators each represented in the poem?
How are they represented in the photograph?
What do you know about their contributions to the Holocaust?
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