An Introduction to the Hidden Network

Not all Jewish individuals ended up in concentration camps. Some survived through hiding. This class introduces students to networks of hiding places.

Guiding Question

• How do personal narratives provide insight into different historical perspectives?

Preparation

Have copies of the two handouts for the learners.

Introduction

Think-Pair-Share

Ask students to reflect on what they know and what they wonder about the Holocaust. Next, have students look at the cover of the story, “Thirteen Secrets”. Have them discuss and write down a collection of inferences they can make for the cover and title. You may want to refer back to the lesson, Judging a Book By Its Cover for prompts and activities.

Lesson Activities

Reading or Reviewing Thirteen Secrets

Have the students read “Thirteen Secrets” in class, and prompt them to pay attention to role that space and place play in the story.

• depending on the age and experience of students, the class may focus on Geographic Thinking Concepts such as Human/Environment interaction, interrelationships, patterns and trends,

Now that students have read the story once, consolidate the terms students struggled with and collaboratively build a glossary as a class. The teacher may introduce other useful terms to the Glossary.

Discuss as a class the observations they made as they read. Have them add to their wonder and learn sections from the Introduction.

View Video

As students view the video, prompt them to connect the material with Nico and Rolf’s experience of hiding. Themes to consider could be, locations, places, helpers, and others.

Post viewing Discussion

As a class discuss the video. Some suggested discussion prompts include,

• both the testimony and the video highlight the importance of interaction between people and the environment. Compare and contrast Nico and Rolf’s experience of hiding with the other stories of hiding in Poland?
• how should historians and government organizations recognize the geographical importance of these sites?
• in the testimony, how has the artist, Gilad Seliktar, created a sense of place?

Conclusion

After watching the video, discuss in groups if their impressions or understanding of the Nico and Rolf’s testimony has changed. Ask each student to form one question they have related to the story. Collect these as we will come back to them in future lessons.

Example questions:

• How did the Hoocaust in the Netherlands differ from elsewhere?
• Did the fact that Nico and Rolf lived outside of Germany impact their survival?