International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established on January 27, the liberation of Auschwitz. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation. One of the most moving pieces of footage from the liberation is of children liberated by the Soviet army on January 27, 1945. This video offers an opportunity to move students beyond the enormous numbers of millions killed to a more intimate relationship with the event. Ask students to look at the children’s faces while they watch.
Questions to pose to students might be:
- What emotion do you see on the children’s faces? Do they seem excited to be liberated? Scared?
- Now that they have been liberated, what do you think will happen to them? (This would be a good place to teach about the DP camps.)