VOICES FROM THE RESISTANCE

Curriculum Developed by:
Nancy Butow, Phillipsburg School District nbutow@server.pburg.k12.nj.us
Mary Carrington, Old Bridge School District mcarrington@obps.edu
Douglas Morris, Phillipsburg School District dmorris@server.pburg.k12.nj.us

Grade Level: 11 – 12
Subject Area: English, Social Studies

Jewish women encountered special problems and had unique vulnerabilities and strengths that influenced the ways in which they resisted Nazi persecution throughout Europe. By examining women’s remarkable resourcefulness and courage, as well as their suffering, students will gain a better understanding of Jewish women’s resistance during the Holocaust.

Women resisted the Nazis in diverse ways. Their most basic effort was to attempt to stay alive in the camps and ghettos. Women participated in resistance activities in ghettos, as couriers between ghettos and forests, and a few even smuggled gunpowder to the men who blew up crematoriums in Auschwitz. Some created art projects or wrote about what was occurring. Even the simple task of preparing a kosher meal could be an act of resistance.

Students will learn about women’s resistance in three different contexts: in ghettoes, in camps, and in being “passers” or partisans. They will trace these experiences by examining films, photographs, books, and websites. The units should take about two to three weeks, and they are designed for juniors and seniors in high school. As a whole, this material is a subtopic of a unit dealing with women resisters in the Holocaust. “Women Resisters in the Holocaust” is part of the curriculum on Women in the Holocaust.