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The Holocaust was a devastating moment in our world’s history. A tyrant, Fuhrer, named Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. He had this idea of riding the world of everyone who did not meet the description of the “ideal German,” starting with Germany and eventually the world. He labeled the people of Germany with pins, bands, or symbols to distinguish between culture groups. He then began to destroy minority opportunities making them dependent. The power group was called the Nazi Party, which was made up of the German who followed Hitler. Their job was to locate and label the minorities. Then, he created work camps called concentration camps or internment camps that were designed to work minorities to death, or kill them in mass amounts. From the outside, the camps seemed to be productive, but the reality was that they were in place to control, dehumanize, or kill minorities (not only Jews).  He attempted to kill off all of theminorities, but was stopped during WWII. In our school system over the years, the Holocaust is a big issue that is taught in 7th and 8thgrade, yet there is little substance actually taught. Most students learn about the mass killings of Jewish people, concentration camps, and Ann Frank. The only time the topic is brought up in an in-depth way is when they read aboutAnn Frank. Ann Frank is seen as a Hero for keeping a diary and hiding in an attic with her family. Students are not taught about the German families who hid Jews, the people who broke laws in order to save Jews, or other Jewish people that took similar risks to live. Peter Feigl was a young boy who survived the Holocaust and kept a diary as well.

Peter Feigl’s story is different from the story of Ann Frank. Peter Feigl came from a wealthy family and was an only child. His parents were Jewish but non-practicing. Peter did not identify with the Jewish community whatsoever. When the Nazi party arose, Peter’s parents had him baptized as a Catholic in hopes of his new religion saving his life. He was separated from his parents when they were sent to camps. He did not know for sure where they went, but as the war progressed, he came to the conclusion it could be the last time he got to see his parents. Although that sense of reality set in, he kept hope that he would be reunited with them after the war. He lived with many children refugees in a Catholic school and group home. Then, he was transferred to an internment camp where he attended school. He escaped France, but had to face interrogation from the Swiss officials. Fortunately, he was able to reach his goal of being free. He had living arrangements through connections of his parents. He later made it to the United States where he currently lives with his family.

It is important to teach another side to the story. Students need to learn that Ann Frank and Hitler are not the only two people worth knowing about during that event. I would allow student to see different perspectives and make their own conclusions. After, students can make connections from story to story. This will allow the students to get a more well-rounded idea of what actually happened and reasons for the actions and events of the time.

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Watch the segment 8:50-15:04.

Why was Hitler so influential to a young boy? Why did he not understand why Hitler's goals were destructive? How do you think Hitler persuaded the crowd? Why did his mother react that way?

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You are watching Peter Feigl, a Jewish Survivor from the Holocaust. To learn more about Peter and explore the stories of other Holocaust survivors and witnesses, visit http://vhaonline.usc.edu. These videos are brought to you by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute (http://dornsife.usc.edu/vhi), which was founded by Steven Spielberg in 1994.

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Who are the people in the pictures? How old do you think Peter is at this time? Why? How does this diary display youth? What about this diary shows Peter cherished it?

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Would you tell Peter? Why or whynot? How do you think telling him would impact his hope of survival? What is the purpose for the Swiss Red Cross?

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What is her goal/intention? How do you think her experiences impacted her? How do you think she feels knowing some of the children survived?

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What should determine identity? Why is he labeled a Jew? Why is she afraid of the Quaker offices closing?

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Do you think the promises made are kept? Why is he happy to leave? Should he be happy to leave? Why or why not?

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What do you notice about the woman in the picture? What emotions are displayed in the photo? Why? Why do we take class photos? Why did they?

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How old do you think he is? Why is he smiling? What do you notice about the angles of the picture and his stance?

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Describe his attitude. Why would he want to attend school? What does he mean by "like me?"

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What do you notice about the students? Why would boys recieve education over girls? What do you think they are learning about?

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Peter made an escape route to flee France. What does this image say about his mindset? How does his plan correspond with his resistence? Why did he draw the plan and not write up a plan?

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How did he show bravery and resistance? Did his struggles end after the war? What did he accomplish? What does his story teach us?

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Peter's Diary can be found in this book

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Images/Video- USC SHoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. Their youtube account posted the video to youtube.

*Additional:

Full Diary can be found in Salvaged Pages Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust by Alexandra Zapruder