Paired Texts > Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in WWII

by The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

2016

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

10th Grade Informational Text 1420L
Danish Resistance During the Holocaust
  • Hans Holmskov Schlüter
  • 2007

During the Holocaust, some people in German-controlled Denmark fought against the violent actions and policies put in place by the Nazi party.

Pair “Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in WWII” with “Danish Resistance during the Holocaust” and ask students to think about how the details provided in the latter piece expound upon the overview provided by the former. Why do you think the Danish government stepped forward in defense of its Jewish citizens while other nations did not do the same for their own citizens? What role do you think politics played in these historical developments? The former article identifies Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (Paragraph 3) as an individual who played a role in allowing Denmark to save would-be victims of the Holocaust. Do you think individual people are generally able to make a difference on an historically large scale?

8th Grade Informational Text 1320L
Who Was Anne Frank?
  • The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • 2016

This informational text explores the events of World War II as experienced by Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl whose life was permanently changed by the war.

Pair "Who Was Anne Frank?" with "Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in WWII" and allow students to analyze how acts of resistance increased the likelihood of survival during the Holocaust.

8th Grade Informational Text 1020L
The Sit-In Movement
  • USHistory.org
  • 2016

This informational text discusses the different forms of peaceful protests that civil rights activists employed during their struggle for equality.

Pair “Courage in Denmark: Resistance to Nazis in WWII” with “The Sit-In Movement” and ask students to compare how the individuals from the two texts resisted the unfair treatment of themselves and others through nonviolent means. Ask students if they consider Denmark’s resistance as a form of protest. Why or why not?

8th Grade Quotation 880L
First They Came…
  • Martin Niemöller
  • 1950

In this quotation, Martin Niemöller, a German anti-Nazi activist and Lutheran pastor, reflects on the consequences of staying silent and not protesting arrests made during World War II.

Pair “Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in WWII” with “First They Came…” and ask students to discuss how the quotation relates to Denmark’s protection of its Jewish citizens. Why do you think more nations, institutions, and individuals did not defend the rights of Jewish people during the Holocaust? Whose responsibility is it to defend those who are persecuted for their religious beliefs, their ethnicity, or other aspects of their identity? Does that responsibility belong with individuals, governments, or both?