Study Guides
Study Guide "The Last Flight of Petr Ginz"
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, in partnership with The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, and The Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University, has produced this study guide for middle and high school students to accompany the film "The Last Flight of Petr Ginz". The film is a production of The Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University and The Documentary Institute at The University of Florida, and tells the story of a young Jewish boy from Prague who loved to write and draw.
Petr began writing in a diary in 1941, when he was 13 years old and living in Prague under Nazi occupation. Through the factual and succinct telling of his daily deeds – school, home, a walk in the afternoon, a list of books he read, visiting friends – and his expressive illustrations, Petr draws us into a world of wonder, inspiration, creativity and imagination. At the age of 14, Petr was taken from his family in Prague and sent to the ghetto and transit camp of Terezin. Petr continued writing and creating art during his two years in Terezin, until the Nazis sent him to his death at Auschwitz when he was only 16 years old.
This study guide attempts to open a window into Petr’s life through his creativity. His imagination was his only escape from the Nazis – it transported him to Prague, outer space, and other far away places beyond the confines of Terezin, where he was imprisoned. Petr’s writings and artwork can give us insight into the experience of one Jewish boy and how he dealt with the circumstances he found himself in during World War II. Through Petr's story, we might begin to understand something about the history and human that was the Holocaust.
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Study Guide "Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion"
The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, in partnership with the and , has produced a study guide and DVD for high school students to better understand how the Holocaust affected women. Women were forced to adapt and find strategies that would help to keep their families alive under impossible conditions. This pedagogical tool features the testimony of six survivors and highlights ways in which women experienced the Holocaust differently.
Each chapter of the study guide explores different situations and ways in which these courageous and caring women struggled to survive. Through their determination, leadership, compassion, dedication, courage and willpower, they fed their families, helped to maintain a sense of community and religious traditions and faced Nazi persecution with dignity and strength. The companion DVD features six Holocaust survivors from several countries who share their personal stories: Esther Bem, Anna Heilman, Agnes Kun, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, Julia Lentini and Vladka Meed (see videos below). The transcripts of these survivor testimonies, along with the biographies, are included in the study guide.
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