South Junior High School
In Lawrence, Kansas every 8th grade student is required to read Growing Up in the Holocaust by Ben Edelbaum. I chose to write a teacher’s guide to help students through the experience of Mr. Edelman’s survival. As a member of the Isak Federman Holocaust Teaching Cadre at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, I have heard many Holocaust survivors’ testimonies. I can feel the pain in their voice as they tell of their experiences, the desperation, as they know their time on earth is short and the need to know that their memories will live on. I have sat and cried as I listened, uncomfortable with the lack of ability to relieve the pain, ashamed that I am a member of the human race that created such atrocities. I never had the honor of meeting Mr. Edelbaum; he passed away before I became involved in the Cadre. Still his story haunts me and I feel an obligation to pass on his memory.
I have created summaries of each section of the book and study questions that will help the students understand the experiences. I have also included some history of the Holocaust so that the reader will be aware of the other events happening during the time period. Mr. Edelbaum’s experience can teach students many good lessons about human diversity and the consequences of intolerance. The book is a wonderful introduction to the Holocaust and has many lessons to teach. I hope that by creating this teachers guide I am somehow passing on his memory to others.
I would like to thank my para-educator, Melanie Klamet for helping me type this project. I would also like to thank the following teachers for their support and lesson plans: Shari Flakus and Kathy Scollon, South Junior High, Lawrence, KS, and Angelina Perkins, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, KS.
Note on Using Survivor Memoirs from MCHE
Chapter Summaries and Commentaries
Timeline of the Holocaust
Chapter Questions – KEY
Remember the Children and Poetry Activity
Holocaust Enrichment and the Internet
Student Art Work
This teaching unit was designed by a member of the Isak Federman Holocaust Teaching Cadre through MCHE’s Masters and Mentors Program. The Masters and Mentors Program is funded by the H&R Block Foundation, Bertha S. and Ida E. Adelson Memorial Fund, the Legacy Fund, and the Flo Harris Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, the Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City, and the Oppenstein Brothers Foundation.
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