Dear Medieval Jewish History Students:
CHANGE IN ASSIGNMENTS: FOR TUESDAY- Take the time to review this assignment sheet.
I will God willing, be back in class on Wednesday to discuss your Holocaust Museum Trip and begin the project design.
You will be seeing exhibits and hearing from a survivor. There are different tasks I want you to think about tonight in preparation for the visit on Tuesday and our discussion/ debriefing on Wednesday. Without a doubt you will be asking questions of the docents that accompany you. By now you have some knowledge of the Holocaust and Medieval Antisemitism. Use your knowledge to ask informed questions. Be polite, there is a chance that the docents will not be ready for your types of knowledge based questions and will have to think for a minute before they answer. Be respectful.

Part I- the museum- you’re not just a tourist- you are a critical historian or critical historical reviewer writing for a historical journal.
Whatever exhibit(s) you see, you need to take notes; you can work by yourself, or in pairs or in larger groups, but you will each be responsible for the following:
You need to write down the NAME / TITLE of the exhibit and describe it. You can describe it in words or a sketch or both, but be sure to be as accurate and descriptive as possible. What was being shown? What message did the curator (the person who arranged the exhibit) want to convey to the people who we it? Part of the message is in the technical factors of the exhibit. What colors were used? How was lighting used; was it spot lighted? What was spot-lighted? Was it brightly lit? Was it dimly lit? How did the lighting affect the mood that the exhibit was trying to evoke?
Who is the intended audience for the exhibit?
Did the exhibit accomplish what it set out to do? Why or why not?

Part II- The Survivor’s presentation. Pay attention to what they say and more importantly, what they don’t say. Be ready to ask questions- again always respectfully and always in keeping with the rules the museum establishes.
Our project will be constructing a mini- Holocaust museum exhibit.  We will be splitting into three groups, Life before the Holocaust, Life during the Holocaust, and Life after the Holocaust.  You will not be splitting into groups until after we have had a chance to debrief, so be prepared to talk about and ask questions about any of these time periods.  What was life like for this person before the Holocaust? What did they learn in school? What games did they play? How did they play with their friends? Did they visit family, places, etc..?
As the Holocaust started how did their life change? Was it sudden, or did it change slowly or in different stages?
How was life during the Holocaust? THIS CAN BE VERY EMOTIONAL FOR SOME SURVIVORS - FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE DOCENTS, CHAPERONES, YOUR TEACHERS, MRS. D, etc.  Did they have a toy they were able to hold onto? How did they stay strong as they saw what was happening around them?  These are just a few suggested questions, use your brain and heart to guide you to ask the proper questions or even no questions.
How did they rebuild their life after the Holocaust? How did they come to the Detroit area? How do they teach their children about the Holocaust?