Irene Zisblatt’s testimony offers students an unforgettable firsthand account of survival, resilience, and the unbreakable will of a young girl caught in the horrors of the Holocaust. Born in 1930 in Hungary, Irene’s life changed overnight when antisemitic laws began stripping her family of rights, safety, and eventually, freedom. Deported to Auschwitz at just 13 years old, Irene faced unimaginable cruelty—including medical experiments by Josef Mengele—and narrowly escaped death on multiple occasions. Her story includes painful moments of separation from family, hunger, and hiding her only possessions by swallowing and retrieving them daily. Decades later, Irene found the courage to speak out, driven by the fear that denial and ignorance could erase what happened. Her voice stands as a powerful reminder of what was lost and what must never be forgotten. Through Irene’s eyes, students witness the strength it takes to survive—and the strength it takes to tell the truth.

In this course you will learn to:

• Define the Holocaust as the planned and systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. 
• Define antisemitism as prejudice against or hatred of Jewish people.
• Recognize the Holocaust as history’s most extreme example of antisemitism. 
• Draw parallels between the past and the present to understand why we must study history.
• Arm themselves with facts so that when they are confronted with Holocaust denial, they can speak out.

• Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (ushmm.org):

  https://www.ushmm.org/teach/fundamentals/age-appropriateness

• Horrors of Auschwitz: The Numbers Behind WWII’s Deadliest Concentration Camp:
  https://www.history.com/news/auschwitz-concentration-camp-numbers

• Timeline of major events that occurred before, during, and immediately after the Holocaust:
  https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/resource-center/timeline.html

• Horrors of Auschwitz: The Numbers Behind WWII’s Deadliest Concentration Camp:
  https://www.history.com/news/auschwitz-concentration-camp-numbers