Lesson Plans
The fate of the Roma during the Holocaust
In this educational material, students can learn about the lives of people of European and Hungarian Roma origin before World War II and during the Holocaust. With the help of photos and video interviews, they obtain information about the provisions affecting the Roma, and the propaganda aimed at them. With the help of sources and analytical questions, they can learn about the antecedents of the genocide and the path leading to it. Thanks to personal recollections, they gain insight into individual destinies, thereby developing their empathy and critical thinking. During the task, they have to produce a word cloud based on a selected video clip, they can reflect on their own and their classmates’ answers. At the end of the task, they can think about the importance of remembrance.
The activity is available on the online education platform of the Shoah Foundation of the University of Southern California, the IWitness page, using the link, after free registration.
iwitness.usc.edu/activities/5421
The Komárom Fortress
An educational material based on video interviews about the Komárom fortress, which was the most important site for the deportation of Roma during the Second World War. Students can learn about some parts of the fortress system and their role in the history of WWII and the Holocaust. They can listen to video interviews with survivors who were held in prison in Komárom as members of groups persecuted by Nazi ideology. Students can develop their critical thinking and empathy answering questions that analyse photos and video interviews. They can create a connection between local history and the fate of individual people. They compare the situation of different groups persecuted by Nazi ideology. At the end of the task, students analyse the text of the plaque on the site and can think about the relationship between the past and the present.
The activity is available on the online education platform of the Shoah Foundation of the University of Southern California, the IWitness page, using the link, after free registration.
iwitness.usc.edu/activities/6789
Discrimination of the Roma in the Horthy era
The educational material follows the steps of state discrimination against the Roma starting with the so-called “gypsy census”, in 1893. The students get acquainted with the settlement, language and employment data of the Roma society. The lifestyle and activities of the Roma living at the turn of the century are analysed by examining photos. Analytical findings are made based on statistical data and photos. They learn about the decrees created during the Horthy era, and examine how the state limited the daily life of the Roma between the two world wars. At the end of the task, they organize themselves into groups and create a fictitious letter in which they creatively summarize what they have learned about the Roma lifestyle, the discrimination they faced, and their social situation.
[This teaching module is under development]
Mass murder in Doboz
This module introduces students to one of the most shocking chapters of the Roma Holocaust. With the help of interviews with eyewitnesses and descendants of the victims, they investigate the path leading to the mass murder. Through personal stories, victims are given a name. During the task, the students examine the motivations of the perpetrators, the impact of propaganda on society, and the connections between discriminatory laws and mass murders.