German Jews’ Reactions to National Socialism

Over­view of a Project Day  

Project days consist of several parts:

• Part 1: Arrival and introduction 
• Part 2: Visit to the exhibition 
• Part 3: Learn about the content through a practi­cal activity

Example of a Project Day and Week

Project Day 1: National Socialism

• First, you get to know us and the museum’s buildings. Then we talk about the National Socialist era in general. In the ex­hibition, we look at anti­semitic laws. These are laws against Jewish people.
• Many Jewish people fled Germany. They went to other countries and looked for a new home there. The countries where they found refuge are called “exile.” In the museum, there is a “Garden of Exile.” We explore this garden and create our own picture of it from photos and text.
• In between, we take a long break together. Please bring some­thing to eat with you. 

Project Day 2: How did Jewish people react to National Socialism?

• We review what we did on the first project day. 
• You have already learned a lot about what it was like for German Jews under the Nazis.
• On the second project day, we take a look at how Jewish people prepared for emi­gration.
• We take another long break together. Please bring some­thing to eat with you. 

Project Day 3: Books for Children and Young People

• The third project day is spent in the Jewish Museum’s library. There, we look for books about the Nazi era.
• We read books in small groups and present them to each other.
• We take another long break together. Please bring some­thing to eat with you. 

Project Day 4: The Yellow Star

• Today we focus on the yellow star. This is a star that Jewish people had to sew onto their clothes. The word “Jew” was written on it. This meant people could see who was Jewish. 
  The star marked the be­ginning of the depor­tations. Deportation means that Jewish men, women and children were taken to concen­tration camps. We show you a series of photos of a depor­tation.
• We also take a long break on this day. Please bring some­thing to eat with you.
• We remind our­selves what we did on the previous project days and think about what the history of Jewish people under National Socialism might mean for us today.