Alicia: My Story Lesson Plan for Chapter 14

“Wujciu”

TITLE: Wujciu’s Inspiration for Humanity RATIONALE: Through Alicia Appleman-Jurman’s experiences of surviving the National Bandera Organization and Nazis, and Wujciu’s courage to risk his life by saving 8 lives, students will evaluate how Alicia, her mother and everyone else who lived there, were able to survive. Students will interpret what gave Wujciu and others’ like him the courage and motivation to endure the risks to do what he did. Students will relate this to how they can be active in protecting people and standing up for and supporting people who are being persecuted or mistreated. INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: The student will be able to: - Understand why people such as Wujciu risked their lives to support victims of persecution. - Gain a sense of civic responsibility to support and protect human dignity. - Interpret the challenges and risks that come along with decision-making. - Analyze the challenges Alicia endured and leadership she assumed in protecting a family she

found hiding in the cornfields. - Interpret how victims of oppression have a responsibility to support and help those also being

persecuted. NEXT GENERATION SUNSHINE STATE STANDARDS: SS.912.W.7 Recognize significant causes, events, figures, and consequences of the Great War period and the impact on worldwide balance of power. SS.912.W.7.6 Analyze the restriction of individual rights and the use of mass terror against populations in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and occupied territories. SS.912.W.1 Utilize historical inquiry skills and analytical processes. SS.912.W.1.3 Interpret and evaluate primary and secondary sources. COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

BIG IDEA: Students will be able to apply what they’ve learned to real world situations. This lesson will help advance students critical thinking skills. By students measuring what they can impact on micro level scales, they will feel more engaged and active in the fight to protect human dignity. They will not feel powerless because they do not have the ability to stop genocides from occurring. By raising awareness of what genocide, racism and hatred are, students will understand how their values can impact all other lives around them, which can help reduce the prevalence of genocides, murders, racism and hatred in the world. MATERIALS AND RESOURCES: - Primary Source Image of Soviet Soldiers Mass Grave from Wikipedia - Primary Source Image of Nazi Persecution of Soviet Prisoners of War from Wikipedia - Appendices from TheHolocaustChronicle.org - Alicia: My Story, Chapter 14 - Alicia Appleman-Jurman Presentation Excerpt YouTube Video - World War II Casualties of Poland (Polish Bureau of War Damages) via Wikipedia - World War II Casualties of the Soviet Union (Krivosheev’s analysis) via Wikipedia - Bell Work Assignment - Introduction Activity - Video Reaction Activity - Primary Source Images Activity - Essay Assignment - Essay Grading Rubric - Access to the following websites: Standnow.org; Youthrecord.org; Dosomething.org;

Generationon.org PREPARATIONS: - Arrange students’ desks in sets of four to help facilitate conversations between students.

English language learner students at the preproduction and early production stages can be accommodated by creating groups among shared language speakers, if and where possible, so they are able to discuss the material in their native language.

- Prior to arriving to class, students should have read chapter 14 of Alicia: My Story. This will serve as a baseline of information to the lesson and will provide students with the necessary background knowledge in understanding the story from which the lesson will be used as a starting point.

- Place bell work handout (Attachment 1) on students’ desks prior to their arrival to class. The bell work will help ensure that students will do the assigned reading of the chapter, and their answers will let me know if they actually read it.

- Make class sets of Student Bell Work, Introductory Activity, Video Reaction Worksheet, Primary Source Reaction Worksheet (2 pages – best to copy them back-to-back, and Essay Instructions & Rubric.

LESSON: Introduction 1. Have students complete bell work handout, then choose a few students will be to share their

answers. Collect bell work.

2. Have students get into groups of four to discuss the challenges Wujciu encountered and contemplate what they would have done if they were in Wujciu’s position.

3. Each group of students will be provided a list of four questions (Attachment 2). 4. Once they are done discussing their answers and writing them down, one member from each

set of 4 students will share their answer to one of the questions. 5. Once each group has presented, as a class, we will evaluate the answers, including challenges,

risks and the rationales for decisions or non-decisions. Procedures 1. For the bell work, the directions are to answer the question in a few sentences using logic and

evidence from the chapter. 2. For the introductory assignment, directions are provided on the group sheet; go over these

together. They are to answer the questions as a group both verbally and in writing. Each group will turn the paper in at the end of the assignment. Walk around to each group while they are working to ensure all students are participating.

3. After completing this activity, watch the 5-minute excerpt video of Alicia Appleman-Jurman via YouTube speaking of her experiences in the Holocaust. Discuss her point in the video that those who killed were killers and her explanation of the challenges of not knowing whom you could trust in life.

4. Students get into groups of four again to discuss ways one can deal with these challenges. Each group will discuss and agree upon one of two choices and defend their argument with logic. (Attachment 3). The options are: - Attempting to leave the country (students will be expected explain how they would leave,

i.e. by land to the Soviet Union or other European countries, to a port for Palestine or the Americas).

- Hiding in very rural areas with people willing to help them (assuming they know someone who is willing to help, and they are willing to take the risk the other person will actually give them refuge and not turn them in).

Students will contemplate reasons to stay or leave, such as choosing to stay because of a lack of resources and money or to leave if the risk of being caught was rapidly increasing. As with the previous activity, each group will share their answer and reason for it.

5. Students will interpret primary source images of Soviet prisoners of war killed by the Nazis. Students will discuss in groups what these images display. Below the images, statistics are given for the number of Soviet POWs (taken from “Holocaust Chronicle Appendices and Russian Academy of Science” via Wikipedia), how many total Soviets died during WWII, and what the relative percentage of their death total was to their population. There are questions underneath each image that each group will answer. (Attachment 4).

Closure 1. The lesson will be debriefed by covering the main points of what students learned in the

lesson. The debriefing will largely be centered on the Big Idea of the lesson, which is evaluating why people such as Wujciu chose to risk their lives to save others. Discuss why it is important for people to take civic responsibility in advocating for those in need, because one day each of us may need help from others.

2. Upon completing the debriefing, towards the end of class, go over the essay assignment with students; provide some ideas. These ideas will include advocating against racism, for LBGT rights, for workers’ rights and anti-bullying. However, students will be able to advocate for any group. If they choose their own topic however, they should discuss it with the teacher first, and five minutes should be left at the end of class for students who choose this option.

3. Provide a grading rubric so they know what is expected of them. Students may use chapter 14 from Alicia and any notes they’ve taken to help them with the essay.

Assessment 1. In a take-home essay, students will creatively express a scenario in which people may

potentially be mistreated, abused, or persecuted, and ways they can help stop this. This can be an event in the past (e.g. Civil Rights movement) or something hypothetical. In this essay, students should: - Explain the risks and ways those can be managed, while being an active advocate for the

support of the victims. - Relate their hypothetical scenarios to Wujciu’s, Alicia’s, and Slavka’s actions and the

progression of events in chapter 14. - Explain their expectations for taking action, their rationale for taking action, the purpose

of those actions, and the positive and negative consequences that they expect to come from their choices.

Students will be given flexibility in terms of creating this scenario so they can express what they consider to be most important and relevant in their lives. The idea behind this lesson and assignment is that students should be able to think of a way they can protect people in practice. - Discuss some ideas as a class to help get students started, but they will not be limited to

any ideas provided. However, they should consult with the teacher about their topic, to make sure it is appropriate. Ideas to be provided include: advocating against bullying, supporting workers’ rights, supporting LBGT rights, and fighting against racism or any type of xenophobia.

Extensions / Modifications for Differentiated Instruction - Although this lesson is designed for World History, this lesson is valuable across a variety of

subject areas and disciplines, including Civics and Language Arts. This lesson will help enhance students’ geographic knowledge and visual and spatial skills by understanding the geographic challenges of migration by Jews and others both eastward to the Soviet Union and out of the continent. By students understanding the percentage of Soviets and Poles who died during WWII, students will need to utilize mathematics skills to interpret the devastating impact on the Soviet Union and Poland. Students will interpret the psychological impact on Jews who were betrayed by people and neighbors they trusted and never would have suspected would give them up to the Nazis or National Bandera Organization. Additionally, students will sociologically understand the level of stratification Jews and other Holocaust victims were subject to. This will help allow them to evaluate what their choices were, and why they were or weren’t able to make decisions.

- Students will be able to use what they learned from this lesson in real world application by advocating for those in need. Students will be able to understand the risks involved and to assess their rationale for making responsible and ethical decisions. The assignment will be

translated and/or transliterated for ELLs at the preproduction and early production levels using an online translator. I will ask them to provide their answers in their native language via e-mail, in case I need to transliterate my feedback back to them in a different alphabet. I will provide access to a computer in the classroom or school at an agreed upon time, if they do not have a computer at home.

- Students will be provided a variety of different ways to perform, including speaking, listening to other group members and writing, which will allow students to develop their strengths and improve on their weaknesses. Students will use visual imagery and watch a video to accommodate visual and aural learners. To help special education students, I will repeat directions often and I will also have directions written on the board. I will reduce distractions in the classroom by keeping the pencil sharpener behind my desk. I will have a quiet zone with a few desks in the back of the classroom if students become too distracted, frustrated and prefer working alone.

REFERENCES: (1940s). Soviet soldiers mass grave, German war prisoners concentration camp in Deblin, German-occupied Poland [Web Photo]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soviet_soldiers_mass_grave,_German_war_prisoners_concentration_camp_in_Deblin,_German-occupied_Poland.jpg

(1942, 06 18). Nazi persecution of Soviet prisons of war – Photograph [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10007178&MediaId=851 (2012, 04 08). Alicia Appleman-Jurman Presentation excerpt [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_kLz243iIo Andreev, E. Russian Academy of Sciences, (1993). Naselenie sovetskogo soiuza, 1922-1991. Appendices. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/holocaustappendices.html Appleman-Jurman, A. (1989). Alicia: My story. Bantam. Dosomething.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/ Ellman, M., & Maksudov, S. (1994). Soviet deaths in the great patriotic war: a note. (4 ed., Vol. 6, p. 677). Europe-Asia Studies. Generationon.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://generationon.org/ Haynes, M. (2003). Counting Soviet deaths in the great patriotic war: a note Europe Asia studies. (2 ed., Vol. 55, pp. 300-309). Krivosheev, G. I. (1997). Soviet casualties and combat losses. (p. 79). Greenhill. Standnow.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.standnow.org/

World War II casualties of Poland (Polish Bureau of War Damages). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties_of_Poland World War II casualties of the Soviet Union (Krivosheev's analysis). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties_of_the_Soviet_Union Youthrecord.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.youthonrecord.org/ Attachments

(1) Student Bell Work (2) Introduction Activity (3) Video Reaction Activity (4) Primary Source Reaction Activity (2 pages) (5) Possible Student Answers (6) Essay Assignment / Essay Grading Rubric

Student Bell Work

Directions: Based on what you learned from reading Chapter 14, answer the two questions. Answer in at least a couple sentences per question.

1) While crossing through the fields, whom did Alicia see and what did she decide to do?

2) Who was Slavka? How did Alicia know her? Did Slavka decide to help Alicia? If so, how did she help her?

Introduction Activity

Directions: As a group, discuss and answer the following questions. First discuss the question. When you collectively agree to an answer, write your answers to the question. You will present the answers to one of these questions after finishing this activity. 1) Why might have someone like Wujciu been more likely to hide Jews, Gypsies or other persecuted victims in a very rural area versus an urbanized area?

2) If someone were old, most of their family was gone and they were ill and they knew they wouldn’t live for much longer, do you think the chances of this person hiding people from the Nazis would have been greater. Why or why not?

3) Why might someone be willing to take this risk if the odds were against him and their family getting away with it?

4) Why do you think Alicia helped 3 Jews hiding in the fields back to the ravine and then Wujciu’s knowing it would enhance the risk of them being killed?

Video Reaction Activity

Directions: As a group, discuss the two options a Jewish person in hiding had in Nazi occupied territories. Discuss the pros and cons to each option and decide which of the two options you would have chosen.

Question: For someone in Alicia’s position, what do you think was a better option? What are the pros and cons to your choice?

Option One: To stay and hide in the rural Ukraine (or anywhere in rural Eastern Europe). What would have been the pros and cons to attempting to wait out the war and hoping the Nazis didn’t win?

Option Two: Assuming you had the financial resources, but no legal immigration paperwork to move to another country, you choose to attempt to leave the country. You choose to either go eastward to the Soviet Union or to get to a port city to take a ship to Palestine or the Americas.

Directions: As a group, answer questions related to the two images and the descriptions below the image.

Soviet Prisoners of Wars in the Holocaust

(1942, 06 18). Nazi Persecution of Soviet Prisons of War – Photograph [Web Photo]

Kharkov, Ukraine: June 18, 1942 (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) According to Holocaustchronicle.org, 3 million Soviet prisoners of war were killed by the Nazis during WWII.

Question: What do you know about the image? Where do you imagine they are walking?

Mass Grave of Soviet POWs Killed in Nazi-Occupied Poland

(1940s). Soviet soldiers mass grave, German war prisoners concentration camp in Deblin, German-occupied Poland [Web Photo].

According to the Russian Academy of Science, 26.6 million Soviets out of population of 197 million died during WWII, constituting losing 13.5% of their population. Additionally, according to the Polish Bureau of War Damages, 6 million Poles were killed during WWII (including 3 million Polish Jews), out of a population of 27 million, constituting over 22% of Poland’s population.

Question: How devastating do you think this impact was on the Soviet Union and Poland and specifically in what ways?

Possible Student Answers Student Bell Work: (1) While crossing over to another field, she saw a hungry Jewish woman with her two children hiding in the field. She helped them escape this field to safety. She brought them to the ravine close to Wujciu’s house, then later with her mother convinced Wujciu to allow them to come to his house. (2) Alicia had a Ukranian friend named Slavka who she used to go to school with in Buczacz. Slavka helped Alicia. Slavka gave Wujciu several slices of white bread, her brother's coat and shoes with wooden soles to bring to Alicia. Introductory Activity: (1) Wujciu lived in a very rural area where the National Bandera Organization (or Banderovcy) was less prevalent and less frequently visited. Relative to an urban area, the chances of being caught and killed or imprisoned for hiding Jews was much smaller. (2) Each person’s circumstances were different. If someone had a family, they may have been less likely to hide Jews or others, even if they didn’t give them up either, because they didn’t want to risk their family’s lives. If someone were older, sick and knew they didn’t have much longer to live, they might have thought there was less to lose by hiding persecuted victims. At the same time, someone who has seen their relatives been killed by the Nazis, possibly in concentration camps too, might have taken the risk to hide those being persecuted, in belief of protecting others. (3) There are a variety of reasons one may help others in this situation, despite the risk of being killed. People may do so out of religious beliefs. They may believe that it is their duty to protect those being persecuted. Additionally, people may believe that they have a duty to advocate for others, because one day they may need someone to advocate for them. (4) Alicia helped the 3 Jews she met in the fields for a number of reasons. Alicia believed she had a duty to help other Jews, like herself, who were being persecuted. Furthermore, by hiding them and the National Bandera Organization not catching them, they might have never seen them. If they knew for sure Jews were hiding in the fields as she had heard two men mention while working in the fields one day, they might have searched all the homes, eventually getting to Wujciu’s. Video Reaction Activity: Option One: If a person such as Alicia were to choose to stay in the rural Ukraine, and knew someone who would let them hide there, they would be safe if no one caught them and if the

person they lived with didn’t give them up. Unfortunately though, there was always a chance they would be caught or given up. Option Two: If someone had the financial resources to get to a port city or take a train or manage to get rides into the Soviet Union (or deeper into the Soviet Union away from Nazi Occupied territories), then this is the choice I would have taken. If you were to stay, the chances of being caught were high, especially if you left the house of the person you were hiding with. If the Nazis won or stopped the war and they held onto those Ukrainian territories, they would have eventually found whom and where you are and be killed. Trying to get away would have given a chance at a life somewhere else. Problems you may encounter when arriving will include if those countries are willing to give you asylum. If they aren’t willing to, you may get sent back home. Another problem is you may have not known anyone where you were moving and couldn’t find work, leading to potential homelessness. Primary Source Reaction, photo #1: A student should answer with this or something similar: The line of Soviet prisoners of wars being marched is so deep that you can’t see the people in the image. This looks to have included thousands and thousands of people. It looks as though the people being marched well outnumber the people who may be guards standing on the outside of the march. Furthermore, there seems to be many women in the picture, insisting there were many female Soviet soldiers whom were prisoners of war. Based on the context of the image, I’d imagine they are being marched to their death, or would eventually be brought to concentration camps and many would be killed there. Primary Source Reaction, photo #2: An example of a student answer is: For a country to lose 13.5% or 22% of a population is devastating. That means virtually every person had several family members, if not immediate family members, friends and neighbors who were killed. This had to make people in these countries feel so empty and depressed. Beyond this, this was very devastating to their economies. Communist economies such as in the Soviet Union already had challenges with economic growth. To move on with a smaller labor force meant economic regression.

Essay Assignment

Directions: Creatively think of a scenario where people may potentially be mistreated, bullied, abused, or persecuted. Express ways that you can help stop this. Explain how you will manage and maneuver risks. This can be an event in the past or a hypothetical situation. How will you advocate for this person or this group’s rights? How will you deal with the backlash from opposition? Relate this situation to the experiences of Wujciu and Slavka in Chapter 14 of Alicia: My Story. Relate your created scenario to the progression of how events occurred in the chapter. Explain what your expectations for your actions are, what the purposes of your actions are, what your rationale for taking action is and the consequences that you expect to come from it. Your essay should be 1.5 to 2 pages.

I encourage you to look through the following websites to help develop ideas of how you can take social action. The following links are below:

Standnow.org: http://www.standnow.org/

Youthrecord.org: http://www.youthonrecord.org/

Dosomething.org: https://www.dosomething.org/

Generationon.org: http://generationon.org/

Essay Grading Rubric

___ / 20% - Did the student relate his/her scenario adequately to chapter 14 of Alicia: My Story?

___ / 10% - Did the student write at least 1½ pages?

___ / 10% - Did the student create an appropriate scenario where a person or group is in need of

help?

___ / 10% - Did the student explain what the risks to their actions are?

___ / 10% - Did the student explain how they will manage these risks?

___ / 10% - Did the student offer realistic ways they can help this person or group being

persecuted, mistreated, or discriminated against?

___ / 10% - Did the student explain what expectations they had for their actions?

___ / 10% - Did the student explain their rationale for taking their actions?

___ / 10% - Did the student explain what the potential positive and negative consequences of

their actions are? Did they explain how they would deal with these consequences?

TOTAL: / 100%