Holocaust Art: Making
Abstract Ideas More Concrete
Julie Erlinger
AHTC Summer Institute
2007
To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.
Abstract:
Students often have difficulties conceptualizing the atrocities of the
Holocaust. Midway through or at
the end of reading Night by Elie Wiesel, students will view and discuss
pieces of art by Holocaust survivor David Olere to try to understand more
clearly the pain and horrific events the concentration camp victims
endured. By the end of the lesson,
students will demonstrate that they have made clear connections from the images
presented to the text they have read.
Enduring
Understandings/Essential Questions:
Assessment: Students will use the information gathered from observation
and discussion of the art to complete art analysis worksheets. Ultimately, students will write a short
composition in which they connect their observations to what they read in Night. Hopefully, they will be able to return
to Night and cite direct quotes that correlate back to the art they
observed and studied.
Setting the
Purpose: After students
have read at least half of Night, students will examine primary sources and
several pieces of art by Holocaust survivor David Olere. They will try to understand the history
shown within the art and discuss the images Olere chose to create. Students will then discuss how the
visual images enhance the written material by Wiesel.
Duration: Two class periods.
Procedure:
á
This activity will serve as an anticipatory
set for the lesson. Place students
into groups of five. Ask each student to get out a piece of paper. Distribute a copy of the piece of
art ÒUnable to WorkÓ to each group face down. Or, you could make this an overhead transparency and project
it for the class. After each
group has a copy of the art, tell them to turn it over and study it for several
minutes. After several minutes
have passed, ask each student to respond to the following questions on his/her
piece of paper. ÒWhat did you
observe in the piece of art? What
stands out in your mind after viewing it?Ó Give students two to three minutes to write.
á
After two to three minutes have passed, ask
the students to pass their papers to the right. They should read what was written and respond to it. They can respond in agreement,
disagreement, or make a connection they hadnÕt thought of before. Again, they get two to three minutes to
write, and you repeat the process.
This continues until theyÕve responded five times and the papers are
back to the original owners.
á
Hold a short class discussion in which
students can share thoughts and observations with the entire class.
á
Read the biography of David Olere together
and discuss the importance of his work as primary documents. Ask questions such as ÒWhy is it
important that he create this art?Ó
ÒHow is his art different from others who werenÕt there?Ó ÒWhy is it important to study primary
documents not only here but in other aspects of history as well?Ó
á
Keep the students in groups and distribute
copies of other works of OlereÕs to them.
Each group should see two to three other pieces. There are many to choose from; I would
probably use ÒFood of the Dead for the Living,Ó ÒDestruction of the Jewish
People,Ó and ÒFor a Crust of Bread.Ó
Each group member should also complete an art analysis worksheet for
each piece of art viewed. This
will continue for the rest of the hour and probably into tomorrow.
á
This will most likely be the start of Day
2. Depending on how far you got
yesterday, review what was finished or allow students to finish completing
their worksheets.
á
Students will review their notes and
worksheets and also observe the pieces of art one more time. This will be done in preparation for
their final assessment.
á Final assessment: Each student will write three well developed paragraphs responding to three different pieces of art viewed and connecting that art in some way to their reading of Night.
List of
Materials and Resources:
Artwork of David
Olere: http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/resource/gallery/olere.htm
Biography of David
Olere: http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/arts/DOBio/DOGaller.htm
Night by
Elie Wiesel
Art analysis
worksheet. Adapted from U.S.
National Archives and Records Photo Analysis Worksheet.