GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING
WITH AUDIO-VIDEO

A main concern of educators using audio-visual materials on the Holocaust is that graphic footage depicting people who were starved, tortured, or killed can be upsetting to viewers of all ages. Videotaped eyewitness testimonies often contain vivid descriptions of the horrors encountered by victims. When the horror is presented, it should be done in a judicious manner, and only to the extent necessary to achieve the objective of the lesson. Teachers should remind themselves that each student and each class is different, and that what seems appropriate for one may not be for all.

Students are a "captive audience." When educators assault them with images of horror for which they are unprepared, we violate a basic trust: the obligation of a teacher to provide a "safe" learning environment. The assumption that all students will seek to understand human behavior after being exposed to horrible images is fallacious. Some students may be so appalled by images of brutality and mass murder that they are discouraged from studying the subject further. Others may become fascinated in a more voyeuristic fashion, and subordinate further critical analysis of the history to the superficial titillation of looking at images of starvation, disfigurement, and death.

In any study of the Holocaust, the sheer number of victims challenges easy comprehension. Video footage can remind students that individual people -- families of grandparents, parents, and children -- are behind the statistics. The first-person accounts and stories contained in many of the videotapes provide students with a context for studying collective numbers. Although students should be careful about overgeneralizing from first-person accounts such as those from survivors, journalists, relief workers, bystanders, and liberators, personal accounts can supplement a study of genocide by moving it "from a welter of statistics, remote places and events, to one that is immersed in the 'personal' and 'particular'." (footnote 1)

This videos and other materials in our catalog includes recommendations for use at the adult, middle school and high school levels. Many of the videos are appropriate for all levels, while others have been recommended for adults only. Such videos usually present concepts or topics too complex for younger students, who often lack awareness of the relevant history needed to understand the information presented.

In choosing a videotape, teachers should consider the length of the videotape and the density of the information presented. Some videotapes on this list require a considerable commitment of time; the longest is the ten-hour documentary Shoah. Other videos such as Das Leben von Adolf Hitler (The Life of Adolf Hitler) or Auschwitz and the Allies contain a great deal of historical information and should be viewed in segments.

Educators indicate that most students are engaged by the videotapes listed in our catalog and that they want to discuss what they have viewed. Most students demonstrate a high level of interest in studying the Holocaust precisely because the subject raises questions of fairness, justice, individual identity, peer pressure, conformity, indifference, and obedience -- issues which adolescents tend to confront in their daily lives. Students are also struck by the magnitude of the Holocaust, and the fact that so many people allowed this genocide to occur by acting as collaborators or perpetrators or by failing to protest or resist as bystanders.

The videotapes in our catalog have been classified as documentaries, survivor testimonies, animation, docu-dramas, or dramas. In addition, several films not specifically about the Holocaust have been included: The Wave; The Hangman; and Obedience: The Milgram Experiment,among others. Although some educators question the value of using these films within the context of a course on the Holocaust, many educators have found these films useful in providing students with a vocabulary for examining human behavior and in addressing social studies concepts such as obedience, victims, victimizers, bystanders, and peer pressure.

As a general rule, the use of "docu-dramas," which use dramatic license to recreate historical events, is not recommended. Nevertheless, two docu-dramas, Korczak and The Wannsee Conference, have been selected on their merits. Two other docu-dramas have been suggested because they relate to books which are frequently read by middle and high school students. Classes reading The Diary of Anne Frank may benefit from viewing the docu-drama Dear Kitty which shows Anne's attic hiding place and the Frank home and includes interviews with Anne's father and Miep Gies, a friend who helped hide the family. Another docu-drama, Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, can accompany the reading of the book The Sunflower. When showing such docu-dramas, educators should remind viewers that the films are fictional accounts of historic events.

While videos may capture and isolate an event or a memory for the historical record, viewers should be reminded that not even documentary footage is neutral. The subjective process of selection and editing is basic to filmmaking; the decision to record something can and does alter what we see or do not see. If students are aware of this bias of selection, it can help them to analyze events from various vantage points.

For example, a good deal of documentary footage was filmed by the Nazis, often for propaganda purposes. Students can gain more sophisticated insights into the history if they examine some of the motives behind recording and producing a particular film. They should be encouraged to ask why a particular scene was filmed, or how people in the film responded to having their pictures taken. Many people filmed by the Nazis were obviously under duress.

Documentary footage was also taken by camp liberators at the end of World War II. Many of these soldiers had endured the hardships of war and had seen evidence of Nazi atrocities throughout Europe. Thus, these filmmakers brought their own perspectives to their work.

Condensed accounts of the Holocaust which continually show people only as victims can in themselves be dehumanizing. Where time permits, showing a video that captures life before the Holocaust provides a useful balance. Students may better understand the dimensions of the tragedy when they see the richness and diversity of life in Europe before the Holocaust. By showing images of children and their families in the kinds of situations captured on home video today, such as vacations, holidays, weddings, and school graduations, these types of films help students identify and empathize with the victims.

Where a teacher has been unable to arrange for a survivor to meet with students in person, an alternative is the use of videos which feature survivor testimony. Hearing someone speak about his or her own experiences during the Holocaust helps to personalize an event beyond the often numbing statistics, and is another way to promote students' identification with and empathy for the victims.

Videos in our catalog are listed by topics, beginning with videos that provide a general overview of the Holocaust. Topics are generally arranged in chronological order, beginning with videos on life before the Holocaust and continuing through ghettos and camps, to rescue, resistance, and liberation to post-Holocaust subjects, including the war crimes trials. Catalog listings conclude with videos on subjects related to but not directly addressing the Holocaust.

The reader should be aware that while the availability of the videos listed in our catalog are frequently verified, availability and distribution may change without notice, and some titles may be difficult to obtain or no longer available.

If you would like to show your support of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, many of these videos may be purchased by phone and mail order from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Shop, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024-2150; tel. 202-488-6144. Schools receive a 10% discount.

footnote 1: Samuel Totten, "The Personal Face of Genocide: Words of Witnesses in the Classroom." Special issue of the Social Science Record ("Genocide: Issues, Approaches, Resources") 24,2 (1987):63.

(Courtesy of the U.S. Holocaust Museum, Washington, D.C.)

The primary mission of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is to promote education about the history of the Holocaust and its implications for our lives today.

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