This selection of educational resources is here to support your own education about the Holocaust, whether you are an educator, a student, or a member of the public seeking a richer understanding of this history. These resources can be used to support lesson plans in the classroom or to enhance your experience and understanding when visiting the site.
If you have further questions about the materials listed, how to implement them, or want additional recommendations, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@philaholocaustmemorial.org
Teaching the Holocaust is essential to understanding the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and antisemitism and can be challenging given the complexity and sensitivity of this history. The resources on this page will help you develop thoughtful and effective pedagogical approaches for teaching the Holocaust in your classroom. Echoes & Reflections Video Toolbox provides overviews of specific topics, along with suggestions for how best to present this information to your students. Pairing these resources with the USHMM’s Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust can support educators’ confidence in navigating the challenging themes and topics in Holocaust education. Below, you will also find a recommended reading list to support your teaching and provide additional resources for use in the classroom.
Echoes & Reflections Book List for Holocaust Education Suitable for grades K-9
The California Teacher Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education and Centropa offer full-length lesson plans and units for teaching students across all grade levels. While suggested grade levels are provided, we recommend reading through each lesson thoroughly and considering your students’ prior knowledge of the Holocaust and their reading comprehension levels before selecting a lesson.
For middle school students and above, the two lesson plans below are also excellent options for the classroom. The USHMM timeline activity and accompanying video pair well for a weeklong unit, providing students with a foundational understanding of the events that led to the Holocaust. The lesson plan from Arolsen Archives uses personal testimony, artifacts, and video to explore the lives and memories of Holocaust victims.
USHMM: Connecting the Timeline Activity to the Path to Nazi Genocide Duration: 4x 45 Minute Class Periods Grade:7th-12th
Arolsen Archives: Stolen Memory Duration: 1-2 90-Minute Class Periods Grade:7th-12th
Holocaust Center for Humanity: Analyzing the Holocaust through the Pyramid of Hate Duration: 1-2 90-Minute Class Periods Grade:7th-12th
These lessons are designed to build a foundational understanding of what defines genocide, how it happens, and how we can prevent it today. These materials can be used separately or together. If using both, we recommend starting with Echoes and Reflections’ “Teaching About Genocide,” and following up with Facing History’s mini lesson which brings the conversation to the present. This mini lesson explores how we recognize genocide and work to prevent them today.
Teaching About Genocide – Full Lesson – Time to complete: 90-120 Minutes Grade: 6th –12th
Genocide Still Happens – Mini Lesson – Time to complete: 30-50 Minutes Grade: 6th –12th
This collection of resources focuses on the Ten Stages of Genocide, a model authored by Dr. Gregory H. Stanton. Before jumping into the full lesson plans, we recommend using the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum poster of the 10 Stages as it applies to the Holocaust, to familiarize yourself and students with the stages and how they are defined. Using one or both full lesson plans below, students will learn how to identify each stage using the articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos provided. Both websites use 10 different examples of genocide to explain the stages, so while students learn about how the stages constitute genocide, they are also learning about these varied histories of those who have faced genocide.
Ten Stages of Change: Genocide Education and Prevention – Full Lesson – Time to complete: 5-7 class periods per stage Grade: 9th –12th
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum: 10 Stages of Genocide Graphic Novels Suitable for Grades: 6th –12th
At the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation we are unfortunately very familiar with Holocaust denial. More broadly, genocide denial is important to recognize in order to prevent it. Using these resources, students can learn about some of the denial tactics, as well as the harm and impact this creates. This mini lesson from Facing Histories, “Confronting Genocide Denial” provides a space for reflection and consideration of how we can use art to memorialize heavy topics. This can also be used alongside our Mural Lesson Plan. To further this connection with using art for memorial we recommend visiting the Armenian Heritage Walk at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Facing History: Confronting Genocide Denial – Time to complete: 1 hour Grade: 6th –12th
Testimony is a crucial tool to keep memory alive, and using it to learn about the Holocaust provides a first-person perspective of what victims experienced. Each of these archives provides survivor testimony through audio, video, or written documentation. When choosing which testimonies to incorporate in your lesson, it is important to keep in mind its context and relevance to what you are teaching and the diversity of perspective across testimonies.
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
These resources and lesson plans provide education on the victim groups of Nazi persecution. Understanding and identifying how authoritarian regimes dehumanize and ‘other’ different groups of people provides students with a more comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust and the importance of recognizing bias and standing up to hate and discrimination. The lesson plans below explore different victim groups and examine how and why the Nazis targeted them. While these lessons are best suited for high school students, Teaching for Change: Anti-Bias Education is a great starting point for younger students to build a foundational understanding of anti-bias and equality.
USC Shoah Iwitness: The Nazi Genocide against the Roma and Sinti People Duration: 60-90 minutes Grade:9th-12th
The Pink Triangle Legacies Project: The Nazi Persecution of Queer & Trans People Duration: 60-90 minutes Grade:9th-12th
USHMM: How Eugenics Led to the T4 Program and the Final Solution Duration: 60-90 minutes Grade:9th-12th
Teaching Materials Using Books and Literature | USHMM Grades: 8th-12th
Books about the Holocaust for Middle and High School | Facing History Grades: 6th-12th
Book List: The Holocaust for Young Readers | HHRCGrades: All Ages
Books and Film | Holocaust Museum LA Grades: 5th-12th
Virtual Library for Holocaust Education | FHM Grades: 5th-12th
Holocaust Literature Resources | HCH Seattle Grades: 5th-12th