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As students gain insight into the many historical, social, religious, political, and economic factors that cumulatively resulted in the Holocaust, they gain awareness of the complexity of the subject and a perspective on how a convergence of factors can contribute to the disintegration of democratic values. Students come to understand that it is the responsibility of citizens in any society to learn to identify danger signals, and to know when to react.
All of the information on this page is from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Rabbi - Jewish teacher of religious faith
synagogue -Jewish house of prayer
Kaddish -The Kaddish is a prayer that praises God and expresses a yearning for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. Recited in mourning for the dead.
Hasidism - Ultra-Orthodox Jewish belief. The Hasidic movement is unique in its focus on the joyful observance of God’s commandments (mitzvot), heartfelt prayer and boundless love for God and the world He created. Many ideas for Hasidism derived from Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah).
Talmud - a collection of teachings of early rabbis from the 5th/6th centuries
Torah - the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Old Testament. (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Rosh Hashanah -Jewish holiday; Jewish New Year.
Zionism - belief in Jewish homeland. The movement grew during the early 20th century and groups of Jews wanted to resettle Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. Despite the opposition of the Arab countries in the Middle East, the United Nations recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.
Maimonides -one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages
phylacteries - Arm and head phylacteries worn on weekday mornings consisting of leather boxes, painted black, held in place by black leather straps. In the boxes are scrolls of parchment with passages from the Pentateuch.
cabbala - Hasidic Jews also read this mystical commentary on the Torah
Passover - Jewish holy day and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.
Pentecost - is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday. Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus.

Here you'll find resourcesThe Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. Jews were the primary victims—six million were murdered; Gypsies, the handicapped and Poles were also targeted for Night,destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny.
Students need to realize:
Democratic institutions and values are not automatically sustained, but need to be appreciated, nurtured, and protected;
Silence and indifference to the suffering of others, or to the infringement of civil rights in any society can—however unintentionally—perpetuate the problems; and
The Holocaust was not an autobiographyaccident in history—it occurred because individuals, organizations, and governments made choices that we'll be readingnot only legalized discrimination but also allowed prejudice, hatred, and ultimately mass murder to occur.
The Holocaust was a watershed event, not only in the twentieth century but also in the entire course of human history.
Study of the Holocaust assists students in developing an understanding of the roots and ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in any society.
Thinking about these events can help students to develop an awareness of the value of pluralism and encourages acceptance of diversity in a pluralistic society.
The Holocaust provides a context for exploring the dangers of remaining silent, apathetic, and indifferent in the face of the oppression of others.
Holocaust history demonstrates how a modern nation can utilize its technological expertise and bureaucratic infrastructure to implement destructive policies ranging from social engineering to genocide.
A study of these topics helps students to think about the use and abuse of power, and the roles and responsibilities of individuals, organizations, and nations when confronted with civil rights violations and/or policies of genocide.
As students gain insight into the many historical, social, religious, political, and economic factors that cumulatively resulted in the Holocaust, they gain awareness of the complexity of the subject and a perspective on how a convergence of factors can contribute to the disintegration of democratic values. Students come to understand that it is the responsibility of citizens in any society to learn to identify danger signals, and to know when to react.
All of the information on this semester.page is from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Here you'll find resources for Night, an autobiography that we'll be reading this semester.