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Human Rights and the Holocaust
The aim was to make the students aware of the importance of upholding Human Rights and not forgetting the lessons of the Holocaust.
The discussion began with the Human Rights Declaration and the some questions related to necessity of such a document, asking students to give some examples concerning the human rights violations during modern or contemporary history.
The Holocaust is a key example of the meaning of Human Rights violations in extreme manifestation. The Holocaust gives, unfortunately, as many examples as possible to prove the importance of being aware of and acting to preserve Human Rights, no matter one’s gender, religion, race, nationality.
Task | Date |
Knowing the documents concerning the preservation of Human Rights Research of documents: Declaration of Human rights and citizen-1789 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris) The European Convention on Human Rights ROME 4 November 1950 | 2 hours |
Emphasizing the importance of Human Rights legislation Activities To find the documents To compare and find similarities and differences between the three documents To know the human rights; evolution; principles; contents Debate: In Romania during Ceausescu’s regime all were equal before the law. This academic debate can be done with students from the former communist countries, or it can be work out for any totalitarian regime | 2 hours |
The Holocaust and Human Rights: Power point presentation (see annex 5) |
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To deal with violation of human rights in Romania during the Antonescu’s regime The movie “Holocaust in Romania | 2 hours |
To uphold and preserve of human rights in order to prevent crimes against humanity in the future | 1 hour |
Objectives and Rationale
a. Content and Context
The aim is to make the students aware of the importance of preservation of the human rights and not forget the lesson of the Holocaust.
b. Pedagogical/Didactic Aims
- To find, know and work on the documents related to Human Rights.
- To select examples of human rights violations of during the Holocaust in Europe and in Romania.
Methodological Approaches
To compare and to evaluate historical and non-historical sources to establish their relevancy:
Students will find and bring the documents into the classroom.
The teacher will ask students to find out when the documents have been written, adopted, the number of articles.
Students will be split into groups working on five articles and try to find similarities and differences based on an analysis of the different historical contexts.
To select examples of human rights violations during the Holocaust in Europe and in Romania, and to provide background about the different historical contexts.
Students will analyze primary source documents from the Holocaust period and discuss them. As part of their critical thinking process, as led by the teacher, they will discuss human rights violations during the Holocaust period.
To deal with violation of human rights in Romania during the Antonescu’s regime
To build up explanations and to find out arguments to explain different events and historical process.
Students have to write an essay in 200 words (half sheet of paper) reflecting on their thoughts about what happened during the Holocaust period. A specific focus on the role of Romania during the Holocaust may be highlighted as well as the responsibility of the current generation to commemorate the Holocaust. .
Practical Challenges faced by the Coordinators and Resolution Strategies
N/A
Technical Equipment Requirements (if applicable)
Computer, video projector, films
Primary Source Materials and Online Resources
Yad Vashem educational online sources,
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/index.asp
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
