Identity and Empathy
Middle School
Identity plays an important role in students' lives. In this unit, students will explore their identity, gain background knowledge of the Holocaust, and watch a video on why we should remember. Students will focus on the story of one particular survivor, analyze their identity and learn how to use the concept of identity to act on this information.
Identity and Empathy
In this exercise students will think about their own identity and how it affects the way they study history. Identity helps us to:
Use that perspective to understand what happened in a specific context;
Analyze the multiple reasons why this happened; and
Find our path to act as an upstander.
Have students complete the exercise and reflection questions: Identity and Empathy Worksheet
Read "Introduction to the Holocaust" from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Student Reflection
Students can discuss the following in groups:
What does the Holocaust teach us about prejudice and discrimination?
Across Europe, the Nazis found countless willing helpers who cooperated in these crimes. What motives and pressures led so many individuals to persecute, to murder, or to abandon their fellow human beings?
View the video Remember from the "Hartford Remembers the Holocaust Exhibit" at the Museum of Jewish Civilization at the University of Hartford. Record your reflections on the Remember Worksheet.
