Published: 2025
File Size: 37 MB
Page Count: 131 pages
Available in: English and German
The guide can be downloaded chapter by chapter.
Grades: 8 –12; Early college Subjects: Multidisciplinary
This study guide tells the life story of John Werner Friedmann through primary sources. John Werner Friedmann was a young German Jew who became the sole member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust. The guide consists of 12 chapters, spanning from his childhood and his escape to Great Britain to his life as an adult in the United States. All materials are available for free download in English and German.
About the Guide
John Werner Friedmann kept and collected thousands of photos, letters, texts, and biographical material to document the fate of his family. After his death, his son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Deborah Friedmann, shared a scanned digital copy of this extensive collection with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Friedmann family hopes John’s story might be used to educate future generations of students about the Holocaust. This collection was studied and indexed by German historian, Lilly Maier, the author and curator of The John Werner Friedmann Source Collection and Study Guide.
The study guide is designed so that teachers or specialists in youth work can use it without major hurdles or can independently put together learning units for the classroom. It can be used to teach the following subjects:
History
English
German (View the German version of the study guide.)
Civics
Political Science
Religion or Ethics
The guide covers the following topics:
The Holocaust
World War II
National Socialism
German history
Escape / refugees
Migration
Coping with the loss of family and “home”
Religious and cultural identity
How to Work with the Guide
This guide consists of 12 chapters, following John Werner Friedmann’s life from his childhood in Germany to his escape to Great Britain and his life as an adult in the United States. As is common for refugees, John’s story can be told through the changes made to his name. He was born as Werner Isidor Friedmann in 1921, and only as an adult changed his name to John Werner Friedmann, so that it would sound more English.
The guide can be viewed online, downloaded as a whole, or downloaded by individual chapters.
Primary Sources
The guide’s primary sources are scanned images of photographs, objects, documents, or written sources. The written sources are in English or German, depending on the time and place they were created. Some documents are handwritten or printed in old-fashioned fonts. In such cases, a transliteration of the source is included. Each source comes with a short introduction and reference information.
Specialized Words
Historical words or specialized terms readers might not know are accompanied by a star (*) and explained in the glossary at the end of each chapter. Words in a foreign language are in italics and explained in the text or the glossary.
Approaches and Questions
The suggested approaches and questions at the end of each chapter can be used in group work and individually. Teachers may choose the questions that most interest them. The questions generally do not need to be answered in any particular order.
Teacher Supplement
The John Werner Friedmann Source Collection and Study Guide comes with an additional supplement that teachers can use to prepare their lessons (including sample answers).
Download the Chapters
The introduction explains to students how to work with the John Werner Friedmann Study Guide.
This chapter introduces Werner’s early years, providing insight into his family life, upbringing, and environment in 1920s Glogau (now Głogów), a part of Silesia that is Polish today, but was German then.
This chapter explores the impact of the Nazi Party’s rise to power on Werner’s life and the Jewish community in Glogau. It describes the boycott of Jewish-owned stores and Werner joining a Jewish youth group.
This chapter focuses on the events of the November Pogrom (also called “Night of the Broken Glass” or “Kristallnacht”) and its impact on Werner and his family.
This chapter focuses on the difficulties and strategies Jewish families faced when trying to emigrate from Nazi Germany. Eventually, Werner was able to escape to the United Kingdom in June 1939.
This chapter explores how Werner and his family stayed connected despite separation due to emigration and war.
This chapter explores Werner’s internment as an “enemy alien” in Great Britain during World War II. The internment came as a shock to Jewish refugees like Werner, who had sought safety in Britain but were now treated as potential threats, and often housed in the same camps as actual Nazis.
This chapter focuses on Werner’s life in wartime Croydon during the Blitz. It covers Werner’s work as a toolmaker, his volunteer role as an air-raid warden, and his attempts to communicate with his family in Nazi-occupied Europe via Red Cross letters.
This chapter focuses on Werner’s experience as a young refugee in England, particularly his role in founding the "Croydon Refugee Youth Club." The club provided a sense of community and support for young refugees adjusting to an unfamiliar environment.
This chapter examines the fate of Werner’s family during the Holocaust. The Nazis systematically murdered his father, his younger brother, and his grandfather, along with all his uncles, two aunts, and many distant relatives, leaving Werner as the sole surviving member of his immediate family.
This chapter follows the transformation from Werner to John and his new life in America. It covers his life in post-war Great Britain to his emigration to the United States, naturalization, and the establishment of a new family with Ulla Rosenbusch, another German-Jewish refugee.
In this chapter, John’s lifelong quest to uncover his family’s fate and the history of the Jewish community in Glogau comes to the forefront. John’s persistent efforts are documented through extensive research as well as through his own writings and reflections.
The final chapter of the study guide focuses on John’s legacy and asks students to look back on what they have learned.
In the supplement, teachers will find short introductions for each chapter that include the types of sources used in the chapter, learning objectives, sample answers, and sometimes background information.
A nonpartisan federal, educational institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, dedicated to ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, understanding, and relevance. Through the power of Holocaust history, the Museum challenges leaders and individuals worldwide to think critically about their role in society and to confront antisemitism and other forms of hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.
This Section
The Museum tailors programs to groups and professions for whom the lessons of the Holocaust are especially relevant.