Process Paper
Our topic for the History Fair this year was the Holocaust. It all started with a Jewish member of our group, Courtney Zaher. As the holidays were approaching and her family started to prepare for Hanukah, she started to reflect on how the Holocaust had changed the course of her ancestors’ lives. She was definitely right when she said that, if the Holocaust had never happened, her life would be much different. For those reasons my group decided that the Holocaust would be a great turning point to study.
We conducted our research through many forms of media. Lucky for us we all had the experience of meeting and speaking with a real Holocaust survivor, Irene Zisblatt. We were able to use that experience and her story to help our understanding of this tragic event. When it came to factual knowledge, most of what we gathered came from books in the library and online encyclopedias or virtual libraries. We also cited the use of an extensive analytical essay done by Natan P.F. Kellermann, a PhD chief psychologist and author, on some of the long-term, life-altering effects on the people involved and the world as a whole.
When it came to selecting our presentation category, we unanimously chose to do a website. Some of our group members have never created a website entry for the History Fair before and wanted to try something new and others had created websites before and knew it was the best route to go. We are all very technologically savvy and found it easy to create and manipulate our website through the use Weebly.com. We have a group with a total of five members and were able to break down our website into five main tabs: Home, the Final Solution, Aftermath, Long-term Effects, and the Bibliography and Process Paper. Each member was assigned the task of researching and completing one whole tab for our website.
The theme of the history fair this year was Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events. The Holocaust was an event in history that altered the existence of a religious group of people and wiped out masses of handicapped, disabled, gay or lesbian, and gypsy peoples. Six million Jews alone, and an upwards of approximately five million additional people were casualties in this travesty. To say that the Holocaust was a turning point in history is an understatement. The Holocaust was a monumental genocide that led to war throughout the world and caused the near extinction of the Jewish community. Due to this event millions were left without families, homes, or lives. Take a minute to imagine a world where the Holocaust never happened and World War II didn’t occur as a result. If you imagined a world different than the one we live in today, then you can begin to say how truly large of a turning point the Holocaust was.
Bibliography
Book Resources:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/?ModuleId=10005143. Accessed on December 1, 2012.
This book was used to give us an introduction into the Holocaust. It furthered our background knowledge and helped us write our summary on the home page.
Online Resources:
"The Holocaust: An Introductory History." The Holocaust: An Introductory History. Jewish Virtual Library, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
This website gave us and introduction and overview on the events that led up to and through the Holocaust. It aided us in writing the home page and summary.
"The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students." The "Final Solution" United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
This article was used to further our understanding of Hitler’s “Final Solution”. It helped us complete that tab of our website and provided us with pictures to incorporate as well.
"History of Holocaust | View Timeline." History of Holocaust | View Timeline. Timeline Beta, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
This website provided us with a timeline of the major moments in the Holocaust which allowed us to get a greater understanding of this chain of events. It also provided us with a multitude of pictures that we incorporated into our website.
Kellermann, Natan P.F. "The Long-term Psychological Effects and Treatment of Holocaust Trauma." AMCHA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
This analytical essay gave us many different long-term effects pertaining to the lives and mental stability of the people involved in the Holocaust. It aided us in writing the Long Term Effects tab on our website.
"Holocaust History." The Aftermath of the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
This article was another source we used to find long-term effects of the Holocaust. It helped us write the Long-Term Effects tab and further helped us see what a turning point this time in history was.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/?ModuleId=10005143. Accessed on December 1, 2012.
This book was used to give us an introduction into the Holocaust. It furthered our background knowledge and helped us write our summary on the home page.
Online Resources:
"The Holocaust: An Introductory History." The Holocaust: An Introductory History. Jewish Virtual Library, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
This website gave us and introduction and overview on the events that led up to and through the Holocaust. It aided us in writing the home page and summary.
"The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students." The "Final Solution" United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
This article was used to further our understanding of Hitler’s “Final Solution”. It helped us complete that tab of our website and provided us with pictures to incorporate as well.
"History of Holocaust | View Timeline." History of Holocaust | View Timeline. Timeline Beta, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
This website provided us with a timeline of the major moments in the Holocaust which allowed us to get a greater understanding of this chain of events. It also provided us with a multitude of pictures that we incorporated into our website.
Kellermann, Natan P.F. "The Long-term Psychological Effects and Treatment of Holocaust Trauma." AMCHA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
This analytical essay gave us many different long-term effects pertaining to the lives and mental stability of the people involved in the Holocaust. It aided us in writing the Long Term Effects tab on our website.
"Holocaust History." The Aftermath of the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
This article was another source we used to find long-term effects of the Holocaust. It helped us write the Long-Term Effects tab and further helped us see what a turning point this time in history was.