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The Children of WWII (Grades 4-6): Home

The Children of WWII

Welcome

Welcome to our Lib Guide for your unit on The Children of WWII.  Working in the library and with your teachers, you will discover how children were massively affected.  Nearly two million children were evacuated from their homes, and lives were changed forever.  

Image result for children of wwii

(Photo Credit: https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1634294/candy-bomber-delivered-chocolate-hope-to-berlin/)

Holocaust by Barbara Sonek

Image result for holocaust poem by barbara sonek

We played, we laughed

we were loved.

We were ripped from the arms of our

parents and thrown into the fire.

We were nothing more than children.

We had a future. We were going to be

lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers.

We had dreams, then we had no hope.

We were taken away in the dead of night

like cattle in cars, no air to breathe

smothering, crying, starving, dying.

Separated from the world to be no more.

From the ashes, hear our plea. This

atrocity to mankind can not happen

again. Remember us, for we were the

children whose dreams and lives were

stolen away.

“The poem above does amazing job of showing how the Holocaust took lives of millions of people who were going to do great things and lead wonderful lives, and reduced them to nothing but ashes. It really humanizes an event that to many is just numbers and statistics. It allows people to sympathize with the victims, and gain a much more real understanding of the damage caused. The line "We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope." is very similar to one of the main themes in The Book Thief, the power of hope. In the book, Max Vandenburg has almost nothing, other than the hope of being able to survive. His hope is really the only thing that keeps him moving forward. It is a stark contrast to the people described in the poem, and how their hope was completely destroyed. Their hopes and dreams were literally "stolen away". It shows how hope, one of humanities strongest driving forces, was unable to survive the harsh realities of the Holocaust.”

(Taken from:  https://kayethebookthief.weebly.com/text-to-text-fiction/holocaust-poem-by-barbara-sonek)

Holocaust Poetry

 In order to try and understand the transgressive nature of this period in human history, people used poetry for expression.

Maps

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Articles

Databases

How do I begin my research?

THE ACTION IN THE GHETTO OF ROHATYN, MARCH 1942. by Alexander Kimel- Holocaust Survivor.

Alexander Kimel
 
Do I want to remember?
The peaceful ghetto, before the raid:                                 
Children shaking like leaves in the wind.
Mothers searching for a piece of bread.
Shadows, on swollen legs, moving with fear.
No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?
Do I want to remember, the creation of hell?
The shouts of the Raiders, enjoying the hunt.
Cries of the wounded, begging for life.
Faces of mothers carved with pain.
Hiding Children, dripping with fear.
No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?
Do I want to remember, my fearful return?
Families vanished in the midst of the day.
The mass grave steaming with vapor of blood.
Mothers searching for children in vain.
The pain of the ghetto, cuts like a knife.
No, I don’t want to remember, but how can I forget?
Do I want to remember, the wailing of the night?
The doors kicked ajar, ripped feathers floating the air.
The night scented with snow-melting blood.
While the compassionate moon, is showing the way.
For the faceless shadows, searching for kin.
No, I don’t want to remember, but I cannot forget.
Do I want to remember this world upside down?
Where the departed are blessed with an instant death.
While the living condemned to a short wretched life,
And a long tortuous journey into unnamed place,
Converting Living Souls, into ashes and gas.
No. I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.