Hidden Identities: Gender, Choice, and Survival in Polish Labour Camps
This unit explores the experiences of Jewish women in Nazi-occupied Poland who either volunteered for forced labour camps as a survival strategy or concealed their Jewish identity by passing as Polish women. Through the study of the graphic memoir Two Roses, students examine how gender shaped labour roles, risk, concealment, and resilience. This unit challenges students to consider the complexity of “choice” under oppression and to analyze how visual storytelling helps preserve women’s wartime experiences.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- explain why some Jewish women volunteered for labour camps or hid their identities as a survival strategy.
- analyze how gender shaped labour roles, risks, and opportunities during WWII.
- interpret how a graphic memoir communicates hidden identity, tension, and resilience.
- evaluate the complexity of choice and agency within systems of oppression using a historical perspective.
Guiding Questions
- What factors influenced some Jewish women to volunteer for labour camps or conceal their identities during WWII?
- How did gender shape the risks, labour roles, and survival strategies available to women?
- How can a graphic memoir help us understand the emotional experience of living with a hidden identity?
- How should we understand “choice” and agency when decisions are made under extreme oppression?
Sequence
- Lesson 1 – Choice and Survival
- Lesson 2 – Concealment, Performance, and Hidden Identity
- Lesson 3 – Gendered Labour in the Camps
- Lesson 4 – Agency, Ethical Judgment, and Historical Significance
