The Mass Escape of Jews from Nazi-occupied Denmark

Source : BBC, October 8, 2013

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24427637

Debrief : Remind students that Hana Dubova was on the same boat as Bent Melchior and his family. If it is possible for students to pull out their phones and check Instagram, they can visit the Follow My Footprints Project Instagram (@followmyfootprintsproject) and see me talking with Bent as we travel to Sweden together. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXfRhQNgBWG/?taken-by=followmyfootprintsproject

Activity #5 : What Would You Bring?

Instructions for Teacher : Do not explain to the students the purpose of the activity. After the lesson about the rescue of the Danish Jews, give them a piece of paper and pen and tell them they have 10 minutes to list everything they would bring with them if they were told they were going to flee their home and never knew when they would be back. Inevitably, they will have a lot of questions. Do your best as the facilitator of this activity to keep everything vague. Just as refugees often don’t know where they are going or for how long, the students should be in the dark about where their hypothetical journey will take them. After the initial 10 minutes is up, tell them they have 5 minutes to break the list in half. Then give them 2 minutes to cut it down to only 10 items. Then they have another 2 minutes to cut it down to 5 items. Then they have only 1 minute to cut it down to 3 items. After the activity is over, everyone should share what are their final 3 items. Challenge their choices as they read (ex: if they say money, ask if they mean cash or credit card and why).

After this activity, hand out an article listing what Syrian refugees (or another group of displaced people) brought with them when they fled home.

Here are some options :

https://www.mercycorps.org/photoessays/jordan-syria/we-asked-refugees-what-did-you-bring-you

https://medium.com/uprooted/what-s-in-my-bag-758d435f6e62

https://www.unrefugees.org/news/the-most-important-thing-syrian-refugees/

Debrief Questions :

1. How does it make the students feel that there are more displaced people today than after World War II (this is the first time in recorded history that this is true). Remind them that displacement is not always caused by war, but can also be caused my environmental disasters and other types of persecution.
2. One of the reasons that Sweden was able to help save Denmark’s Jewish population is because they claimed neutrality. Have a discussion about what it means to be neutral and whether it is a good or bad stance to take during sides of injustice (remember that there is no right or wrong answer to this question). You may want to start with this famous quote which is currently seen on a lot of protest posters : “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” - Desmund Tutu, South African Activist.
3. Why is studying history important to understanding current events? How do you think that learning Hana’s story can help us understand the stories of refugees today?