Holocaust Narrative
RBHS Main / Mancoff Main / Freshman Main


Introduction
Task
Process
Resources
Conclusion

Introduction:

Elie Wiesel's Night tells one personal narrative that occurred during the Holocaust.  However, as with any period in history, the Holocaust is filled with different stories and viewpoints.  Try to imagine who else might have been living alongside Wiesel during this turbulent time in history.  What stories might they have to tell?

Task:

Write a 3-4 page personal narrative from the point of view of someone involved in the Holocaust.  You may choose any perspective you would like.  However, your story and the information in it must be based on historical fact.  In other words, you are telling a fictional story about a fictional person involved with the Holocaust, but you must remember that this is a real historical event and write accordingly.

Process:

1.    Decide who you will "be" in your narrative.  Some options might be:

  • another concentration camp survivor
  • a Nazi soldier
  • a concentration camp worker
  • a Nazi officer/high-ranking official
  • an American soldier who liberated one of the camps
  • a Jew who hid during the Holocaust
  • a resistance fighter
  • a German citizen who helped hide a Jewish family
  • a role of your choice
2.    Use the resources provided below to help you do some research:
  • Where might your narrator have lived?
  • What battles/fights might he have been involved in?
  • What camp did he encounter?
  • What famous people might he have encountered?
  • How would he have been treated?
  • What would his attitude have been towards the Holocaust?
3.    Write a 3-4 page narrative telling the story of your narrator.  It should:
  • Be FICTIONAL (i.e. don't repeat someone else's story)
  • Be based in historical facts (real battles, camps, places, etc.)
  • Be broken into clearly organized paragraphs
  • Be spell-checked and edited for punctuation and grammar

Resources:

Recollections of Holocaust Survivors
(Read some survivor stories to inspire your own)

Simon Wisenthal Center
(Get more general background on the Holocaust)

German Propaganda Archive
(Learn about how the Germans 'spun' the Holocaust)

Life Under Nazi Rule
(Learn about life as a Nazi or German citizen in WWII)

Conclusion:

Now that you have written your own story and heard some of your classmates stories, you can appreciate how complex an issue the Holocaust was.  It is too easily simplified into a battle between good and evil.  The Holocaust forced all kinds of people to make decisions they never thought they'd have to make.  Its impact will be felt forever.