Rethinking Perpetrators, Bystanders and Rescuers: The case of Max Schmeling
Lesson (printable) PDF version »
Dr. Joy Marks Gray,
Kenston High School, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
STATE STANDARDS
This lesson connects several of Ohio’s state standards for English/Language Arts including:
- Reading Process standards, comprehension strategies
- Writing Applications and Conventions standards, writing responses and producing informal writings
- Communications standards, interpretation and evaluation strategies
RESOURCES AND HANDOUTS: BACKGROUND MATERIALS
Bachrach, Susan. The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936. Boston: Little, Brown, 2000. Bachrach traces the troubled history of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, examining the Nazi dictatorship, the escalating persecution of the German Jews, and the abortive movement in the United States to boycott the Games. She tells the complete story of the Games, focusing not only on the athletes who competed but also on those who were banned from the competition.
Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Boston: Little, Brown, 1993. This book has served as the background book the students turn to whenever an unfamiliar term, person, or event comes up in our lessons. It’s an excellent classroom resource.
Block, Gay, and Malka Drucker. Rescuers: Portraits in Moral Courage in the Holocaust. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1992. I use this book to profile many of the less well-known rescuers with the students. They came from many countries, were from all age groups, had many different backgrounds, and rescued in a wide variety of ways. What stands out to my students as we profile these courageous men and women is that most of them do not look upon themselves as heroes but as people doing what had to be done.
Hilberg, Raul. Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders: The Jewish Catastrophe 1933–1945. New York: Harper Collins, 1992. This book provides the complete context for the terminology used in the class.
Schindler’s List. 1993. Directed by Steven Spielberg. This dramatic video illustrates one man’s movement from perpetrator and bystander to rescuer. It allows students to draw their own conclusions about which circumstances caused his choices to change and when his conscience began to sway him.
Weisbord, Robert, and Norbert Hedderich. “Max Schmeling—Righteous Ring Warrior?” History Today, vol. 43, January 1993: 36–42. This is a good background article on Max Schmeling and can be found online at http://www.historytoday.com/index.cfm?articleid=9641 or on Info Trac, if your school library is a member.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/
Online version of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum exhibition The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936.
RESOURCES AND HANDOUTS: MATERIALS USED
Deford, Frank. “Almost a Hero.” Sports Illustrated December 2001: 64-74.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/zcc036c.htm
This part of the USHMM Web site shows a few images of the Louis-Schmeling fights.
