New JPEF Resources For 2013

Ideal for Days of Remembrance / 70th Anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Revolt

April 19, 2013 marks the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, where the vastly outnumbered Jewish underground managed to force the German army outside of the walls of the ghetto, holding them off for over three weeks (two weeks longer than the German invasion of France).

Most students don't realize that the astonishing story of the Warsaw revolt was more than just an isolated incident and represents only a few of the millions of acts of Jewish resistance that occurred each day of the Holocaust, forming a vast pattern of Jewish defiance in the face of genocide.

JPEF recently released two new lessons to help you dramatically teach your students about the broad spectrum of Jewish armed and unarmed resistance. We also have four new e-learning courses and other resources that you can use during Yom HaShoah v’HaGevurah (April 7, 2013) and the National Days of Remembrance (April 7-14).

Two New Lessons

(available at www.jewishpartisans.org/elearning and www.jewishpartisans.org/resist)

Tactics of Resistance: Give your students tools to analyze conflict and make better choices in how they respond to aggression in their own lives. Includes:

• The ‘Resistance Matrix’, a framework for analyzing historical and current events throughout the rest of the school year
• Jewish Resistance Slideshow of archival images (accessible via e-learning - can be used with or without the lesson)

Strengthening Jewish Pride: Transform student perceptions and foster a more positive sense of Jewish identity

• Can be used in as little as 30 minutes
• Includes resources for integrating this transformative lesson into nearly any Jewish context (History, Holidays, B’nai Mitzvah/Youth Groups, etc.)

Free Online Professional Development

Four New Teacher Trainings to help you use these and other lessons:

• Finding Leadership (taking initiative to make a positive difference)
• Ethics of War (includes a short play to read in-class)
• Tactics of Resistance
• Strengthening Jewish Pride

Improved Interface - faster, easier to use
Free CE Units for New Jersey educators; more locations coming soon
Now accessible via iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices

Additional Recommended Resources:

Putting the Gevurah Back into Yom HaShoah — The full name of this Remembrance Day, and the way it is marked in Israel, is Yom HaShoah v'HaGevurah - Holocaust and Heroism Day. The two are mentioned as one. Click the link to learn more.

New partisan profiles:

• Leon Bakst
• Charles Bedzow
• Leah Johnson
• Allen Small

USHMM Days of Remembrance — Information for teachers and events, including DVD of remembrance planning resources.

We Fought Back — New young adult nonfiction reader from Scholastic books; features several partisans from the JPEF website.

Beyond Courage — A well-researched and visually rich new text on resistance during the holocaust for young adult researchers.

Educator Guest Blog: JPEF Web Quest by Debra Bella

Debra Bella, an educator from Robbinsville High School in New Jersey, created a web quest for her students using materials found on our main website. Students follow the prompts, answering the questions as they go along. Debra was kind enough to send us the directions for the web quest, which can be downloaded as a PDF here, along with the answer sheet.

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Jewish Partisans Webquest

DIRECTIONS: Go to the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
www.jewishpartisans.org

Use the website to complete the web quest about Jewish partisans. Read the directions carefully. Write all responses on the answer sheet.

PART 1 — SOMEONE LIKE ME

Under Explore on the toolbar → select Someone Like Me.

• Answer the questions. Select one of the photos that remain and read the short biography about the person. (If no picture remains, change your response(s) until one or more picture(s) appear.) There are 2 pages to the biography section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.
• Use the toolbar to look at the images. Use the toolbar to watch the video.
  1. What is the name of the person you researched? Male/Female? Age?
  2. Describe their activities as a partisan.
  3. What impressed you the most?
  4. What question would you ask them if you could?

PART 2 — PARTISANS

Click Explore on the small toolbar → select WHAT is a Partisan? There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.

• Read about Jewish partisans and the varied forms of resistance.
  5. How is a partisan defined?
  6. What were some ways Jews resisted? Do you think these were effective resistance methods? Why or why not?

On the small toolbar, select WHO Were the Jewish Partisans? There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.

7. Describe who the partisans were.
8. What percentage were women?
9. Which partisan group took families with young children?
10. Click on the name Frank Blaichman. There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom. How old was he when he joined the resistance? Describe his role as a partisan. Use the toolbar to watch the video.
    Frank said, “The reality was we had nothing to lose, and our way to survive was to fight.” Do agree or disagree with his statement? Why or why not?

On the small toolbar, select WHEN did the Partisans Fight? There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.

• Read about the fighting.
  11. When and where was the first known partisan fighting?

On the small toolbar, select WHERE did the Partisans Fight? There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.

• Read about the where the partisans fought.
  12. The partisans fought in almost every country in Europe. Where did they hide?
  13. Click on the name Gertrude ‘Gertie’ Boyarski. Describe her role as a partisan. What impressed you the most?

On the small toolbar, select WHY did the Partisans Fight?

• Read about the reasons why people chose to fight.
  14. Click on the name Sonia Orbuch. There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom. How old was she when she joined the resistance? Describe her role as a partisan. Use the toolbar to watch the video. What impressed you the most about Sonia?

On the small toolbar, select HOW did the Partisans Accomplish Their Goals? There are 2 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom.

• Read about how the partisans fought against the Nazis.
  15. What advantages did the partisans have over the Nazis?
  16. What is anti-Semitism?
  17. Do you think it was ethical for the partisans to steal what they needed? Defend your response.

PART 3 — VIRTUAL UNDERGROUND BUNKER

Click Explore on the toolbar → select Virtual Underground Bunker.

• Read about the underground bunkers.
  18. 18. Use the virtual camera to explore the inside of the zemlyankas. Describe what you see.
  19. Using the toolbar, select More About the Zemlyankas. There are 3 pages to this section. To advance to the next page, use the arrow located on the right bottom. Read about them. Would you be able to live like this? Why or why not?

PART 4 — PERSONAL REACTION

Based on all that you have learned, write a personal reaction. Your paragraph must have 5 to 7 sentences.

Discussing Bin Laden & Terrorism: Using JPEF’s Ethics and ‘Defiance’ Guide

Looking for resources to help discuss the recent death of Osama bin Laden with your students? JPEF's Ethics and 'Defiance' discussion guide contains useful critical thinking threads on responding to terrorism, wartime ethics, and Jewish perspectives on killing in self-defense and taking revenge.

Pages 4 and 7 of the guide include several quotes and perspectives — including President Obama on responding to terrorism and Al Qaeda — which highlight the relevance of the Jewish partisans' ethical dilemmas with we see every day in the headlines. Here are a few excerpts:

"…Negotiations cannot convince Al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history…" — President Obama

"Evil only recognizes stronger evil." — Jewish partisan Simon Trakinski

"… Only by repaying evil with good do we defeat it." — Judea Pearl (father of slain journalist Daniel Pearl)

For complete quotes with context and discussion questions, download the Ethics and 'Defiance' guide at www.jewishpartisans.org/resist. And please contact us to let us know what your students come up with in response.