Jewish Resistance
European Perspectives on National Socialism — Digital Professional Development for Teachers (in German, an interpreter into Lithuanian is planned)
The webinar on Jewish Resistance is aimed at teachers in Germany, Lithuania, and throughout Europe. It emphasizes the use of primary sources in teaching to foster critical reflection on the impact of the Nazi dictatorship. The focus is on regions often marginalized in mainstream historical narratives and illuminates the lives of Jewish youths during the Shoah.
Jewish history is German, Lithuanian, European. The German National Socialist dictatorship persecuted and murdered Jews in all corners of Europe.
In the Jewish Resistance webinar, the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) and the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (VGMJH) will present the works of two individuals who resisted through their writings: Curt Bloch and Yitzchak Rudashevski.
Fourteen-year-old Yitzchak Rudashevski (1927–1943) kept a journal documenting his life in Vilnius ghetto from an adolescent perspective, all in vivid detail. Curt Bloch, a German Jew who went into hiding in the Netherlands in 1942, produced a series of unique satirical magazines, published from his hiding place, under the title Het Onderwater-Cabaret (The Underwater Cabaret).
Het Onderwater-Cabaret issue dated 15 Jan 1944; Jewish Museum Berlin, collection/816, Curt Bloch Collection, Loan of Charities Aid Foundation America, thanks to the generous support of the family of Curt Bloch
Het Onderwater-Cabaret issue dated 15 Jan 1944; Jewish Museum Berlin, collection/816, Curt Bloch Collection, Loan of Charities Aid Foundation America, thanks to the generous support of the family of Curt Bloch
Over the course of this 2.5 hour webinar, we’ll explore the lives and influence of Curt Bloch and Yitzchak Rudashevski, with consideration of the historical context of the Netherlands and Lithuania, both of which were occupied by Nazi Germany. We will present Jewish perspectives on the European dimensions of Nazi history.
The surviving works of Curt Bloch and Yitzchak Rudashevski will be made available for webinar participants for use in their instruction. They have been translated into multiple languages and prepared in teaching-friendly versions.
These digital resources are suitable for use in classes in the subject of history, German, or art.
Who is Curt Bloch?
Curt Bloch (1908–1975), German lawyer and author of the handmade underground magazine Het Onderwater-Cabaret; pseudonym Cornelis Breedenbeek; fled to the Netherlands in 1933; in hiding there from August 1942 onwards
The Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History in Vilnius was founded in 1990 by Holocaust survivors and engages deeply with the stories of Lithuanian Jews. Its exhibition presents visitors with insights into the progression of the Holocaust in Lithuania and the drastic disruptions to daily life for the Jews who lived there. The focus is on the mechanisms of Nazi oppression as experienced in Lithuania’s three largest ghettos and how these violently restricted the lives of the Jewish population.
The event is being organized by the Jewish Museum Berlin and Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History in partnership with the Goethe Institute Vilnius.
Programs for Teachers: Continuing Education (3)
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Continuing Education
You can register for these continuing education programs.
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Actively Countering Antisemitism and Exclusion
For secondary school teachers and educators, in German
Audio Recording
21 Feb 2019 -
Jewish Resistance: European Perspectives on National Socialism
Digital professional development for teachers (in German, an interpreter for Lithuanian is planned)
Continuing Education
Tue 29 Apr 2025, 3–5.30 pm (CET), 4–6.30 pm (EET) -
For teachers at secondary schools in Berlin
Free of charge and certified in cooperation with the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family Affairs
Continuing Education
Thu 20 Mar, 10 Apr & 15 May 2025, 3 pm each day (in German)
