I wrote Tutti’s Promise with middle and high school
teachers and students in mind.
Rather than introduce the Holocaust through the enormity of six million murdered Jews, the book approaches it at a personal level — what happened to a single family. We see a German Jewish family leave Germany in 1936 and go to a neutral country where they thought they would be safe. Once the Nazis invade, the family has to deal with tighter and tighter restrictions until they are sent to a transit camp and then deported to a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The reader will understand, from a child’s viewpoint, what it was like to live in the camps. We also see resistance and sabotage, learn about the meticulous record keeping of the Nazis, and meet many up-standers.
The pages on this website are full of material for you to use with your classes. Feel free to lift, copy, and share (but please cite where you found it). The family pictures help bring the story to a personal level. There are many original documents. Students can watch Tutti’s Shoah testimony and hear her tell the events in her own words. Below you also will find a link to discussion questions broken down by section and chapter developed using Understanding by Design.
Historical Pictures
Historical Documents
Videos
Maps
Enduring Understandings
- Prejudice interferes with the ability of people to get along with each other and can be used as a means to cause great evil.
- While it may be risky to help others, the effects of doing so can be life-saving. Some people are willing to help no matter what the risk. Small acts of kindness can go a long way.
- War has a significant impact on the civilian population.
- It is imperative that we accept all people – no matter what their race, religion, sexual orientation, where they were born, how much money they have, or their physical or mental abilities.
Essential Questions
- What happened to Jewish families during WWII?
- Who took chances to help the Lichtensterns and other Jewish families?
- Could this type of situation happen again? How could it be prevented?
K Heidi Fishman (Popje and Me) 