The War Begins | Seared Souls: S.C. Voices of the Holocaust - Episode 4

By 1939, after seizing land in Czechoslovakia and promising England's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, that he would remain at peace, Adolf Hitler began World War II. Germany invaded Poland and bombed many targets. The German army came through the towns and burned them, including the homes. The Jews were required to wear the Star of David on their sleeves. If they were out without it and were asked if they were Jewish and they were, they were taken away and shot.

Through her tears, the recollections of a 12-year-old girl whose entire family was taken away, including her siblings and both parents, are shared. The girl's mother insisted that she stay in hiding and told her daughter that she would survive. The girl eventually found the strength to get out of the trunk she was hiding in and go outside. When asked about being Jewish, she lied, saying she was visiting a Jewish friend, and then she ran and ran for miles.

Standards

• 7-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and effects of world conflicts in the first half of the twentieth century.
  • The influence of both world wars and the worldwide Great Depression are still evident. To understand the effects these events had on the modern world, the student will utilize the knowledge and skills set forth in the following indicators:
    • 7-4.5 Summarize the causes and course of World War II, including drives for empire, appeasement and isolationism, the invasion of Poland, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the "Final Solution," the Lend-Lease program, Pearl Harbo...
    • 7-4.6 Analyze the Holocaust and its impact on European society and Jewish culture, including Nazi policies to eliminate the Jews and other minorities, the Nuremberg trials, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the rise of nationalism in Southwest...
• USHC-7 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of World War II on the United States and the nation’s subsequent role in the world.
  • In defense of democracy, a government may need to confront aggression and ask its citizens for sacrifice in wars and providing foreign aid that, in turn, affects the practice of democracy at home. To make informed political decisions about when and ho...
    • USHC-7.4 Summarize the economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic effects of World War II, including the end of the Great Depression, the Holocaust, the war crimes trials, and the creation of Israel.

Resources