Introduction
After reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, you will be ready to embark on
your time travel adventure. You are a new journalist for the international "Time Line"
magazine. Your assignment is to travel through time to report on Anne Frank's life, and
the Holocaust experience. You will have two weeks (present time) to complete your
journey. The Time Traveler machine is already set with the necessary coordinates.... Be
sure to become familiar with the two tasks before you embark...Good Luck!
Task Description
Your time travel journey will take you through the places, meet the people, or experience
the horrors that Anne Frank and the other Secret Annex residents witnessed and were
involved with. For each task you will record your thoughts, eye witness accounts, and
pictures that you have taken in your own travel diary, which will be published, when (or
if) you return, as the actual magazine article. This will be developed through a series of
questions that the editor of "Time Traveler" magazine has already posed for you that need
to be investigated, answered, and recorded in your diary. Other probing questions will
require you to reflect on your own thoughts and feelings about the places and people that
are affected by this war. Your final task will be a present day leap into the art world of
David Olere, and you will pick out an Anne Frank quote that best describes each
drawing. If you are ready, the time machine is set to take you to complete Task One of
your journey. When you want to begin, there is a button at your fingertips that will whisk
you away to the next coordinate. Only use this button when you are ready to leave, or if
you get into any trouble...Buckle your safety belt....here we go...!
TASK TWO: The World of Anne Frank
Time Travel Coordinates: 1942-1945
If you are reading this then you have been successfully transported to Amsterdam in the
year 1942, when Anne Frank and her family move into the Secret Annex. Have your
journal and camera ready to answer these questions. There are resources at the bottom of
the page, and you may need to transport yourself back and forth through time to answer
some of these questions. Try to be inconspicuous as possible since you don't want to alert
the Nazis...
I. WHO IS ANNE FRANK?--Pictures could be pasted into your journal to best
answer some questions...
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
How old is Anne when she first goes to the Secret Annex and how old is
she when she comes out? What does she look like? Describe her
personality.
Who are the other members of her family (names, general ages)? What do
they look like? How does the Frank family treat each other? 0
Who were the other people who lived in the Secret Annex? What do they
look like?
Which member of the Secret Annex survives?
Who finds the diary after Anne's capture?
What eventually happens to Anne and the other members of the Secret
Annex?
What would it be like to hide in the Secret Annex? What would you bring?
What would you miss? What would the constant threat and fear do to you?
Anne Frank Biography (Great Pictures!!)
Secret Annex and Residents
Anne Frank Page
---Quick!! Press the button on your control panel that says "II" for the next time and
location! A German SS soldier is coming your way.....
Introduction
You are about to embark on a time travel adventure. You are a new journalist for the
international "Time Line" magazine. Your assignment is to travel through time to report
on the Holocaust experience. You will have one week (present time) to complete your
journey. The Time Traveler machine is already set with the necessary coordinates.... Be
sure to become familiar with the task before you embark...Good Luck!
I. Remember Our Faces: The Holocaust--You are going to acquire information on the history of the Holocaust: why, where and
how it begins, and what happens to the people who are a part of it all. Anne Frank and the
Secret Annex residents are victims of the Holocaust; yet only reflect a fraction of what
happened to the Jews and others during the Holocaust. To complete the questions you
may have to jump back and forth between time coordinates.
What is the Holocaust?
What are the problems in Germany between WWI and WWII?
w did these problems give rise to Hitler and the Nazis, and then the
following persecution of Jews and political opponents?
What is it about Hitler that makes him so powerful? (A picture would be
great!)
Why are the Jews used as scapegoats by Hitler and the Nazis?
Who are the Allies? Who is the Axis? Who are the leaders of each
country?
What rights are taken away from the Jews by the Nazis? How are they
persecuted and restricted, and what are the kinds of things done to them?
How many Jews are killed or subsequently die from the result of the
Nazis?
Who is excluded from Hitler's "Master Race" and what are his plans for
them?
How would you feel if you are not a part of this "Master Race"?
Holocaust Timeline
The Rise of the Nazi Regime
The Nazification of Germany
Holocaust History
Ultimate Holocaust List
Now that you have finished these questions, you are ready to take the next time
leap....scroll down to "II" when you feel fully prepared to experience the death camp
known as Auschwitz.....
Welcome to Auschwitz. This is a view of some of the prison cells. A former prisoner who
saw this picture, was surprised by the lush grass saying, "We would have eaten it all."
II. Experiencing Auschwitz --You many not have heard of Auschwitz before, but after your tour here, you will never
forget it. After Anne Frank and the Secret Annex residents were captured, they were all
arrested and sent to different "work" camps. Anne and Margot were sent to Auschwitz.
You will be transported to a time in which Auschwitz has been abandoned, and is now a
memorial to all the people who suffered or died there. Because of the extreme nature of
the atrocities that went on, a direct time transfer to Auschwitz during WWII would be
inappropriate, but you will get the main idea nonetheless. This would be a great time to
take pictures and to document what you see. Refer to the coordinate sites below.....
In a sensory way, describe Auschwitz:
Who gets sent there? How are the prisoners treated? What are the
conditions of the camp like? (climate, food, clothing, labor,
etc.). Highlight the main rooms and buildings of the camp and describe
what went on there. Lots of details are needed here since "TimeLine"
readers need to see what you are seeing and feel what you are feeling, and
thereby perhaps understand what Anne and her sister experienced. Start
out by saying something like, "Dear Readers, I am now looking at
the_____, which was used for......"
What is the Auschwitz "saying" which is cast in iron for all to see? How
is the saying a cruel irony for the prisoners there?
How did you feel when you saw the gas chambers? When you saw the
Crematorium?
After reading Anne's diary you realize that now her greatest fears have
come true, as you look at the horrible truths around you. How do you think
she held up here, and if she still had her diary, what do you think she
would say?
If you were sent to Auschwitz, what would you do in order to survive
and keep up your morale?
Auschwitz Pictures
Tour of Auschwitz
Guide to Auschwitz
Richard Sufit's Story of his Auschwitz Captivity
Concentration Camp History
Although the tragic aspects of the Holocaust have been explored here, there are also
stories of hope and courage during the Holocaust that are shared in the next time leap.
Scroll down to III when you are ready.......
Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, Jan Gies, Bep Voskuijiil Oskar Schindler Raoul
Wallenberg
III. Holocaust Heroes --The men and women who helped feed and hide Anne Frank and the Secret Annex
residents were part of a large resistance to the systematic persecution and killing of Jews
and other Nazi enemies. Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, Jan and Miep Gies, and Bep
Voskuijil all helped in the hiding and care taking of Anne and the others. Yet, because of
their selflessness, they risked suffering the same fate as the people they sought to help.
Heroic acts such as these were repeated during the Holocaust era, and their stories
deserve to be heard. Using the time machine coordinates, you are now going to meet the
people who helped to save Jews and others from death. Introduce them to "Timeline"
readers and set up your answers as an interview session, where you ask questions and
they answer. Feel free to ask more than the required questions below.....
Who is Oskar Schindler and how did he help save lives? What does it
mean to be on his list?
Who is Raoul Wallenberg and why is he so famous?
How do Consul Chiune Suguhara and his wife Yukiko save the lives of
thousands of Jews?
How did Christian churches help hide Jews?
Name another hero of the holocaust and relate how he or she saves lives
or helps in the resistance to the Nazis.
Are Anne and the other Secret Annex residents heroes in their own way?
Why or why not.
Would you help to hide Jews if faced with the choice? Why or why not?
What other ways would you have helped the Jews and other people being
persecuted under the Nazi Regime?
Oskar Schindler
Oskar Schindler 2
Oskar Schindler Letter
Profiles of Rescuers
Hero Stories
THE List of Rescuers
You have now completed the Task One portion of your journey and are ready for the
final portion of your time travel assignment, Task Two. "TimeLine Magazine"
commends you for your courage and strength of heart, but this assignment is not over yet.
The time machine is ready to take you to David Olere's art studio. Scroll down when you
are ready to be transported.....
You have now completed your assignment for Task One portion of your
journey. “TimeLine Magazine” commends you for your courage and strength
of heart, but the assignment is not over yet. The time machine is ready to take
you to the actual reading of the play “The Diary of Anne Frank.” After reading
the play, you will begin Task Two and your final task – Task Three. The time
machine is ready to take you to the play that is getting ready to start.
TASK THREE --- David Olere's Art Studio
Time Travel Coordinates: 1999
You are currently looking at a picture titled," The Food of the Dead for the Living,"
painted by David Olere, which is actually a picture of David Olere himself. Since there
are no actual pictures of daily life in the camps, nor are there pictures of what took place
in areas such as the gassing chambers and the crematoriums, David Olere has become
one of the only ways to actually experience what went on at the Concentration Camps. If
you look closely at this picture, David is trying to tell you a story. Notice the types of
items he's collecting, his prison uniform, the tattoo on his arm, the buildings in the
distance, and the wagon carrying away bodies behind him. Where do you think he is?
What do you think happened? What will he do with the items? What does his facial
expression tell you? Take a moment to answer these questions.
Your assignment is to view different works of art by David Olere and to answer questions
about them. Anne Frank's diary contains some memorable quotes that reflect the honesty
of a girl coping with the changing world around her. Select quotes from "A Diary of a
Young Girl" that you think accurately coincide with David Olere's painting and the theme
of his painting if there is one.
1. First go to the site that will provide a biography for David Olere to learn more about
him.David Olere's Story
2. Next, go to the art studio, which contains all of David Olere’s paintings, and take a
moment to look them over. Each work is titled and has a few details about the inspiration
for the painting. Then, use this site to answer the questions that correspond with the work
of art in question. Simply click on the title of the artwork and you will be transported to
the studio.David Olere's Art Studio
1. 3. Attach an Anne Frank quote in the spaces provided as your last activity for
each question and answer section. Explain why you chose the quote and where
and when it appears in the novel (WWW = when, where why: page number, who
is speaking to whom and what about, date of the journal entry). Relate how the
quote can be applied to that painting.
Consider the drawing "Their Last Steps."
o
o
o
o
o
What grim building dominates the landscape?
Does the shape of that building form a symbol that you might not expect a
Jewish artist to include in a painting? What is it? Can you find examples
of other twentieth century Jewish artists who have used this symbol to
represent the suffering of the Jewish people?
What adjectives describe the physical condition of these men?
How has the artist suggested their loyalty to one another?
Anne Frank Quote (WWW):
2. In "Admission in Mauthausen" there is a strong contrast in the way Olère
depicted the prisoners and their captors.
o
o
o
List several ways in which this particular picture emphasizes that contrast.
Consider the way the figures are grouped. Consider the men's posture.
Does it change your feelings about the image to realize that this is a roll
call in the wintertime?
Anne Frank Quote:
3. In "David Olère Punished in the Bunker," the artist uses something like an x-ray
technique to show us the cramped quarters in which prison inmates were often forced to
spend long periods of time.
o
o
o
o
What detail tells you this is a self-portrait?
Even though we can see through the walls of the bunker here, we cannot
see into the prisoner's mind. He seems quite passive, almost like a sleeping
man or a corpse. What do you suppose his thoughts are?
Try to express some of the things that might be going on in the heart of a
man confined like this. Is he angry? Pessimistic? Confused? Is he thinking
about the distant past or the events of the day that he has just lived
through? Is he thinking about the future? Is he praying?
Anne Frank Quote:
4. Compare "For a Crust of Bread" and "David Olère Working in a Tunnel at
Melk." Both show him doing work for the SS.
o
o
o
o
What general observations can you make about the conditions under
which he worked?
In the Melk tunnel scene, does his expression seem to suggest anything
about his state of mind?
In the office scene, he is decorating letters for the Nazis. The German
words indicate that these are love letters, probably for the officers to mail
home. Why is this a disturbing detail?
Anne Frank Quote:
5. Many of the prisoners at Auschwitz were the victims of cruel and unnecessary
medical experiments like the one about to take place in "The Experimental
Injection." There are six men here who each seem to have a very different
reaction to the event. Think of them one by one and record your observations.
o
o
o
o
o
o
The guard appears to be snarling. Why?
Does the prisoner seem unusually still? Why or why not?
The artist has not shown us the face of the doctor. Does this create any
particular impression for you of the doctor's personality or his feelings for
the "patient"?
What symbol has the artist hidden in the folds of the doctor's coat?
Compare the three spectators. Describe how each reacts to what he sees.
Which of the three do you think has been in the camp the longest? How
can you tell?
o
Anne Frank Quote:
6. Study "David Olère Burying the Remains of Children." One of the most painful
jobs assigned to Olère at Auschwitz must have been the burial of murdered
children.
o
o
o
o
Compare the figure of Olère in the foreground with that of the SS guard in
the background. How do you think each man feels about the job he has
been assigned to do?
The artist has placed the Nazi at the center of the painting, but his own
self-portrait tends to hold our attention. Perhaps this is because of the
gesture that he is making with his left hand. What kinds of emotions does
an outstretched hand express?
Notice the unburied hand to the left of the shovel. It is a realistic detail, of
course, but it may also be seen as a symbol. Like Olère's hand, it is
outstretched; it reaches upward even in death. What sort of thoughts do
you have as you think about this lifeless hand?
Anne Frank Quote:
7. In the woodcut, "Destruction of the Jewish People," Olère presents us with a
literal image of the destruction by fire which gives meaning to the term
"Holocaust."
o
o
o
o
Distinguish the two kinds of burning that are illustrated here.
What sort of variety is there among the objects that are being consumed in
the foreground?
Name something that the Nazis were unable to destroy.
Anne Frank Quote:
"You have now completed your assignment!! When you are ready, you may
turn in your time travel journal to be published by "TimeLine Magazine" (a.k.a.
your teacher). "TimeLine Magazine" thanks you for your hard work ,
fearlessness, and your unrelenting search for the truth. Perhaps we will assign
you another assignment "in the future" if you decide to accept.....how about
predicting who will win the Presidential Election?" ---- The Editors