Teaching the Holocaust with the Virtual Sobibor Camp Model

Organization: Holocaust Museum LA
Common Core Domain: English Language Arts, English Language Arts/Literacy, History-Social Science, Reading
Grade Level: Grades 6 - 12
Duration: 60-120 Minutes
Multiple Lessons
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6, 7 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.3, 6, 9 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1, 3, 6, 7, 9

This unit introduces students to the history and legacy of the Holocaust through Holocaust Museum LA’s resources, survivor testimony, and artifact-based learning. Students explore the rise of Nazi ideology, antisemitism, and propaganda, the systematic persecution and genocide of Jews and other targeted groups, and life before, during, and after the Holocaust. A central feature of the unit is the Virtual Reality Sobibor model, which allows students to interact with a 3D reconstruction of the Sobibor death camp. Guided by the testimony of survivor Thomas Blatt, students trace the path of victims, examine the mechanisms of Nazi deception and mass murder, and study the remarkable Sobibor uprising. Through primary sources, museum exhibits, and digital media, the unit emphasizes critical thinking about stereotypes, propaganda, and human rights, while fostering empathy, remembrance, and the responsibility to speak out against hatred.

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