Passage to Freedom 

Introduction

If you were asked to risk your own life to save the lives of many others, would you do it? In the story Passage to Freedom by Ken Mochizuki, Hiroki Sugihara turns to his family to help with a difficult decision. Should the father risk the safety of his family in order to save Jewish refugees by issuing visas to them? Or should he follow orders from his government and ignore the refugees requests?

Background

During World War II Nazi leader and ruler of Germany, Adolf Hitler created a plan called the Final Solution. This plan was to gather up all the Jews in Europe and put them into concentration camps. Once at the camps they would either be worked to death or murdered. By the end of World War II 6 million Jews and 5 million other people called "inferior" were murdered.

Task

Your task is to read the story A Passage to Freedom and learn more about what was happening in Europe during World War II when this story takes place.

Assignment 1

Go back to the introduction and re-read the first sentence. Post a comment answering the question. Be sure to explain your answer in detail. Once you have answered the question, read your classmates’ responses and comment on one of them.

Assignment 2

On page 352 in your textbook there is a list of 9 vocabulary words. In your Vocabulary Journal write the definition and create an illustration for each word. Use the following website to find the definitions:http://www.wordcentral.com/

Assignment 3

Read the story A Passage to Freedom, pages 252 to 257

Assignment 4

Go to www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ee.html and look at the map. On the handout provided, label the blanks with the appropriate countries.

Assignment 5

Go to www.edhelperclipart.com/clipart/teachers/org-char-problem-solution.pdf and print the graphic organizer. Fill in the graphic organizer using the information from the story.

Assignment 6

Go to each of the following websites for information on World War II and the Holocaust. List five facts from the web pages and list the site where you found the information.

www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/holocaust.htm

www.ushmm.org/outreach/

Assignment 7

Visit the following websites to view the pictures of the Holocaust. Choose one and write a short description of the picture and how you feel about it.

http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blpictures.htm

Assignment 8

After having viewed the pictures from Assignment 7, pretend you are a Jew in one of the concentration camps. Write a journal describing daily life. Be sure to write what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. Describe in detail the feelings those in the concentration camps may have had.

Assignment 9

In Assignment 1 you answered the question “If you were asked to risk your own life to save the lives of many others, would you do it?” Now that you have learned more about the situation in which the story A Passage to Freedom takes place, re-answer the question. Be sure to write a detailed answer that is supported by details, facts, evidence, etc.

Resources

The following links are good resources for those interested in learning more.
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/arts.htm
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guts/
www.intac.com/~eagle/passagefreedoma.html
http://remember.org
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have completed all the activities for the Passage to Freedom Web Quest. You should now have a better understanding of the Holocaust and the difficult choices that people were asked to make.

Assessment

You will be evaluated on the completion and quality of assignments completed in this web quest.

Rubric:

Assignment
#1 – Responses to Introductory Question 10 pts.
#2 – Vocabulary 5 pts.
#4 – Map 5 pts.
#5 – Graphic Organizer 5 pts.
#6 – Holocaust Facts 5 pts.
#7 – Response to Holocaust Picture 5 pts.
# 8 – Day in the Life of a Jew Journal Entry 10 pts.
#9 – Final Response to Introductory Question 10 pts.

Total Points Possible 55 pts.

Grading Scale:

Points/Earned Grade
50 – 55 pts. = A
44 – 49 pts. = B
39 – 43 pts. = C
33 – 38 pts. = D
32 and below = F