This moving documentary provides oral histories by the sons and daughters of Holocaust survivors. Using interviews combined with public and personal photographs, Out of the Ashes creates a simple, but dramatic and moving account of the horrors of Hitler's Final Solution. The use of the children of Holocaust survivors illustrates the message of "never forget" and shows how the burden of remembrance has been transferred to the next and subsequent generations. Out of the Ashes would be useful for classes on European History, Religious History, American History, Ethics, and Cultural History. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

Note to Educators

Out of the Ashes contains some graphic newsreel accounts of the liberation of the Nazi camps, which might not be suitable for younger viewers.

Vocabulary

• liquidated
• incarcerated
• attribution
• facetious
• capitulate
• chaos
• manifestation
• hallucination
• bogus
• quell
• forage
• entity

Discussion Questions

1. Nazi Germany segregated Jews in occupied areas into all-Jewish ghettos. Why was this done? What did Nazi Germany wish to achieve?
2. Although life and conditions in the ghettos were difficult, Jews survived. How did people in the ghetto try to survive and continue their lives with some semblance of normalcy?
3. What were some of the ingenious techniques used by Jews to hide from the Germans during selections?
4. When one thinks about the magnitude, scale, and inhumanity of the Holocaust, it is almost impossible to imagine that it happened. But it did. How was it possible that the Holocaust happened? How can we prevent another Holocaust from ever happening?
5. This documentary focuses on the children of survivors telling their parents' stories. Why is so important for the children of survivors and the generations which will follow to tell these stories?
6. How was love able to flourish in places such as displaced persons camps?
7. Living through the Holocaust was bound to affect one's entire life. How did the experience of the Holocaust affect the lives of survivors?

Extended Activities

1. Imagine that you are a soldier at the Battle of Okinawa. Write a letter home to your family that tells them your experiences and your feelings.
2. Discuss ways in which we can keep the memories of the Holocaust alive after the survivors are gone.
3. Using a medium of your choice, create a monument to the survivors and victims of the Holocaust.