Teaching Materials Using Books and Literature

Exploring Night as Literature: Bearing Witness to History 

Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, has become a standard text used in many classes to both teach about the history and human impact of the Holocaust. This lesson will help teachers and students understand the fuller historical context of the events described in Wiesel’s writing. Teachers can request physical printed Timeline Cards from the Museum.

Exploring Anne Frank’s Diary 

Students will examine Anne Frank’s diary as both a historical and a deliberately-created literary text, and will understand how the Holocaust affected the lives of the Frank family. Teachers can request physical printed Timeline Cards from the Museum.

Exploring Holocaust-era Diaries 

Students will examine Holocaust-era diaries as both historical and as deliberately-created literary texts, and will understand how the Holocaust affected the lives of the individuals.

Guide to The World Must Know

The book The World Must Know provides a narrative of the Holocaust “as told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.” Its structure mirrors that of the Museum’s Permanent Exhibition: The Holocaust.

Holocaust Literature Guide

This guide to Holocaust literature frames texts in historical context, encouraging students to understand how and why the Holocaust happened.

Bibliography and Videography

This bibliography provides examples for the secondary school level and includes diaries, memoirs, secondary sources, literature, graphic novels, and films.

Holocaust Film Guide

This guide is designed to support viewing a film related to the Holocaust by helping students assess the film's historical accuracy.

Teacher Guide: The Boy on the Wooden Box

In his memoir, Leon Leyson describes how he survived the Holocaust as a boy with the help of German businessman Oskar Schindler. This Teacher Guide provides resources for building historical context, activities, and prompts for students.