Westerbork

Betrayed and discovered!

Amsterdam's Jews were taken
to camps from the steps of this
theater in the Jewish district.
Amy Schwalb Photography

VA USII 7b

 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major causes and effects of American involvement in World War II by

b) locating and describing the major events and turning points of the war in Europe and the Pacific.

Goals: At the end of this webquest I will be able to:

1. Explain the segregation of Jews
2. Role of local people in the Holocaust

      New history words: Gestapo (Nazi police),               collaborators, segratation, ghetto

       On August 4, 1944, the Gestapo (Nazi police) arrested all of the members of the Secret Annex. To this day, no one knows who tipped off the authorities that Jews were hiding in the Secret Annex.
     One of the German war aims was to get rid of European Jews. Considering that before the war there were 11 million Jews in Europe, how did they attempt to accomplish it?

Activity #1

First, read this web page here to avoid any confusion over who is who in the Secret Annex. 

Watch a movie about what happened that day here.

Westerbork transit camp
Photo:UK army photograph public domain
www.commons.wikimedia.org

   Anne and her family were sent to Westerbork, a transit camp, in Holland. Transit camps were where people were segregated (separated) from the public. At Westerbork, food was scarce and everyone had to work, but families could stay together and even receive mail.
    
     Jews who did not go into hiding were rounded up and segregated into ghettos. Ghettos were  special areas of a city where Jews were housed.  In the ghettos, the Jews could be watched closely. The biggest Jewish ghettos were in Polish cities such as Warsaw, Lodz and Lublin. Unknown to the Jews, people held in transit camps or ghettos were waiting to be transported to other camps in Nazi territory to be gassed or used for slave labor.

Activity #2
     Consider how much territory that Germany conquered and how many people came under their control.  Germans needed help from the locals to eliminate the Jews. The Nazi relied on civilians to tell them where the Jews were and encouraged violence against them. People who cooperated with the Nazis were known as collaborators. 

      Click on this link: here to find out more about collaborators.

Activity #3
     Then click here to add a tag on an interactive photo called Watching Neighbors. When y0u open the link, click on the all the green buttons on the left to complete the activity.

             Then answer the questions:

 

Good friends are on the way...

Go on a tour of  The Secret Annex where the Frank family lived in hiding for over two years

      VA USII.7b The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major causes and effects of American involvement in World War II by:

      
      b) locating and describing the major events and turning points of the war in Europe and the Pacific.

At the end of this webquest, I will be able to: 

                      --explain D-Day                              

                         

Westerkerk church near the annex
photo: Amy Schwalb Photography

Activity #1  Go on a tour of the Secret Annex 

    Anne wrote most of her diary while she was in hiding and addressed her entries to a fictional friend named Kitty, who was a character from a series children's books that were popular at the time.  Anne states at the beginning of her diary that her writings were to be a secret and she would be honest about her experiences.

     Today, The Anne Frank House is now a museum, the most popular in Amsterdam.  Their website allows visitors to go on a virtual tour of the annex. Remember the furniture that you see in the tour is not currently on display at the museum. The furniture was part of a special temporary exhibit and gives the online tour a feel of realism.

    You could spend as long as an hour or two on this website! It's a great experience! In the interests of time, this webquest requires you to:


The front door of the Annex that faces the canal
Amy Schwalb Photography 

1. Visit the following rooms during the online tour:

The Franks' Room
Anne's Room
The Van Pels' Room

To get directions on how to navigate in the virtual tour: click here

Remember to listen to the narration about each room.

Hint: read the questions first then try to find the answers. 

          The following questions are like a scavenger hunt.

 

Thank you for participating! Next post...what happens to the Frank family.
Please leave me helpful feedback and please subscribe. --Amy