In 2012, the national poster competition, “Designing Memory”, was held to mark Israel’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day. The poster was required to express the nature of existence of Holocaust survivors after the Shoah through central concepts in their lives; identity, loneliness, loss and trauma, and childhood and family. In this lesson, learners will analyze the winning entry; a poster by Doriel Rimmer Halperin. What does his design symbolize? How does it impact the viewer? Using the poster as a jumping off point, students will learn about the extensive and enduring difficulties Holocaust survivors faced in building their lives anew after the Shoah. Excerpts from victim and survivor testimony featured in this resource expand on the concepts alluded to by the poster and provide tangible illustrations of the burdens that survivors carried with them after the war.
The learner will:
Understand what Holocaust survivors carried with them after the war
Know the components of the winning poster in 2012 and what they symbolize
be able to explain what they believe Jews today should carry with them after the Holocaust
When you click on the Yad Vashem resource link featured above, you will find the following educational building blocks for the creation of a lesson plan:
A rationale that articulates why this is an important resource to study
An introduction to the lesson plan
A detailed plan for lesson development
Primary sources of historical testimony
Thought provoking questions that will stimulate classroom discussion
Computer, projector, personal computers for each student (optional), student handouts