Imagine you are a historian asked to interview Jewish survivors about their experiences
of the Holocaust. Try to imagine you are an oral historian interviewing these individuals about their memories of surviving the concentration camps during World War II.
Consider what kind of questions might have been asked, in order to get them to share
their stories.
Since there are thousands of Holocaust interviews in the Shoah Foundation archive, I
have narrowed this down to four pre–selected interviews for you to choose from.
After conducting the interview, students will compose and submit a Reflection Paper that addresses the following:
1) Discuss the impact, change or effect that the interview had on your
knowledge or understanding of the historical period experienced by the
interviewee. Give specific examples.
2) Prior to the interview being conducted, what was your understanding of how
scholars create historical narratives? Explain how your experience of
History 1302 Navarro
Rev 08.20
watching the interview altered or influenced that understanding.
3) Describe what you have learned from the interview about how the contributions of one individual can impact the well-being of various communities such as a neighborhood, school, church, town/city, state, and/or nation. Explain how this project has impacted your understanding of the importance of becoming involved in order to make life better for you and those around you.
4) Identify examples from the interviewee’s experiences that illustrate challenging ethical decisions they faced and their efforts to find a solution. Discuss how you might deal with a similar situation and what impact you think this might have on the fundamental principles that guide you in life
