About This Lesson
Teach Holocaust Education authentically to boost student engagement, inspire empathy, and honor the lessons of history with award-winning films!
Teaching Holocaust Education with film can transform history lessons into a moving experience that drives home the enormity of the genocide that took place during World War II.
The materials are appropriate for middle school and high school; they can also work well for higher education, adult education, public screenings and community group settings. The Middle School Holocaust Education Lessons can help educators to fill new teaching mandates with classroom-ready teaching resources.
All of these resources are appropriate for teaching Holocaust Education, Anti-Bias Education, Genocide Education, and World War II History. Many cover additional subject areas, which are noted below, opening up powerful opportunities for Project Based Learning.
Index
- A Promise To My Father (documentary) follows Holocaust Survivor Izzy Arbeiter as he travels back to Poland and Germany to honor the vow he made to his father: to survive, remember, share their story, and maintain their traditions. It’s a great tool for teaching about Holocaust Education, Healing through Recollection, and Acts of Joy and Resistance.
Additional Subjects: Religious Literacy / Religious Studies / World Religions – Judaism.
Lesson Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, College, Adult Learning (may be adaptable to other grades) - Big Sonia (documentary) is about Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski, who was a Jewish teenager living in Poland when the German army invaded in the 1930s. She’s a woman who speaks to students and prison inmates about her story of unimaginable suffering — and she’s also a beacon of hope and resilience For grades 7 and up.
Additional Subjects: English Language Arts, Film Literacy, Health, Media Literacy, Psychology.
Lesson Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, College, Adult Learning (may be adaptable to other grades) - Defiant Requiem (documentary) is about a unique chapter in Holocaust history when prisoners used music and the arts to sustain their spirits and resist oppression at Terezín concentration camp.
Additional Subjects: Art History, Creative Writing, English Language Arts, Film Literacy, Journalism, Media Literacy, Music, Religious Studies, Visual Literacy, Religious Literacy / Religious Studies / World Religions – Judaism.
Lesson Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, College, Adult Learning - Schindler’s List (narrative film) is a powerful tool for social studies classes teaching Holocaust Education and World War Two history. Lessons for this Oscar-winning film include Nazism in Germany and the Building of the “Racial State”, Resistance During the Holocaust, the role of Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust, and Antisemitism Today.
Additional Subjects: English Language Arts, Film Literacy, Religious Literacy / Religious Studies / World Religions – Judaism.
Lesson Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, College, Adult Learning - In The Fast Runner (narrative short film), a young Polish girl comes of age in 1938 during the rise of the Nazi party and subsequently the Holocaust who faces a test of her beliefs. In addition to being a powerful way to introduce younger students to the Holocaust and its impact on Jewish communities, it is also a great tool for teaching about Human Rights, Media Literacy, and Resistance and Action.
Additional Subjects: Civics, Community Service Learning, English Language Arts, Film Literacy, Law, Media Literacy, Service Learning, Social-Emotional Learning.
Lesson Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, College, Adult Learning
Get information on teaching with these films and where to watch them from Journeys in Film.
Coming Soon in 2026: UnBroken (documentary)
The daughter of a Holocaust survivor embarks on an international quest to uncover answers about the plight of her mother and her six siblings who escaped Nazi Germany on their own as children. This is a great tool for teaching Anti-Bias Education, Genocide Education, History, Social Studies, World History and World War II History. Learn more about teaching with UnBroken.
Teaching resources for this powerful film are coming soon to Share My Lesson! To be the first to hear when we launch new educational resources for UnBroken and other films, sign up for the Journeys newsletter.
To learn more about teaching with primary sources in history classes and across the curriculum, check out our free webinar series Stories That Connect: Using Film and Primary Sources to Build Belonging.
