The need to combat Antisemitism with Anti-Bias Education is painfully urgent. We recommend the following films and teaching guides to support you in countering Antisemitism in your learning environments. These materials are appropriate for elementary school, middle school and high school; they can also work well for higher education, adult education, HR trainings and professional development, public screenings and community group settings.
Instructional Foundations
Our teacher training webinar about Anti-Bias Education: Using Media to Foster Critical Thinking and Combat Antisemitism and Islamophobia provides an overview of anti-bias teaching tools and strategies for dealing with difficult classroom situations around these topics. This webinar is available free and on-demand through Share My Lesson. Participants can quality for one hour of PD-credit. ▶ Learn more about our Anti-Bias Education Webinar.
Antisemitism Today, revised in 2023, is a lesson exploring the rise of antisemitism within the context of white supremacy. It is a powerful resource for Anti-Bias Education and Holocaust Education. Appropriate for Social Studies, Civics, Current Events, Government classes, etc. The lesson draws on examples of contemporary Antisemitism events in the US, but the flexible structure of the lesson can be adapted to work with events from anywhere in the world. For grades 9 and up.
This lesson was created as part of our Schindler’s List curriculum, and also works as a standalone lesson. If you use this lesson without that film, advise learners to skip film-related questions.
Download Antisemitism Lesson
Preview Antisemitism Lesson
We also offer Facilitation Guidelines to create safe discussion spaces and lead productive explorations of difficult topics. These guidelines pair well with our film guides for classroom use. The guidelines apply to a wide range of settings and are free for everyone. ▶ Learn more about the Group Discussion Facilitation Guidelines.
Download Facilitation Guidelines
Preview Facilitation Guidelines
First-Person Stories
To help your students understand the impact of Antisemitism in the historic context of the Holocaust, consider using a film that focuses on an individual caught in the maelstrom of Nazism.
A Promise To My Father is a powerful Holocaust Education film that is also useful for teaching Anti-Bias Education, Genocide Education, History, Social Studies, World History and World War II History. It also explores themes of Courage and the Power of Small Acts, Mental Health and Wellness, Healing Through Recollection, Preserving Culture as Resistance, and Recognizing Injustice. For grades 9 and up. ▶ Learn more about teaching with A Promise To My Father.
Download A Promise To My Father Discussion Guide
Preview A Promise To My Father Discussion Guide
Big Sonia is about Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski, who was a Jewish teenager living in Poland when the German army invaded in the 1930s. She’s a woman who speaks to students and prison inmates about her story of unimaginable suffering — and she’s also a beacon of hope and resilience. For grades 7 and up. ▶ Learn more about teaching with Big Sonia.
Download Big Sonia Curriculum Guide
Preview Big Sonia Curriculum Guide
Defiant Requiem: The Film is about a unique chapter in Holocaust history when prisoners used music and the arts to sustain their spirits and resist oppression at Terezín concentration camp. This film can be difficult to find but it makes a powerful teaching tool when it is available. For grades 6 and up. ▶ Learn more about teaching with Defiant Requiem.
Download Defiant Requiem Curriculum Guide
Preview Defiant Requiem Curriculum Guide
Schindler’s List explores the rise of Nazism in Germany in World War II. It also introduces students to Oskar Schindler, the “Righteous Gentile” who saved over 1000 lives during the Holocaust. ▶ Learn more about teaching with Schindler’s List.
Download Schindler's List Curriculum Guide
Preview Schindler's List Curriculum Guide
UnBroken is a powerful Holocaust Education film that is also useful for teaching Anti-Bias Education, Genocide Education, History, Social Studies, World History and World War II History. ▶ Learn more about teaching with UnBroken.
New UnBroken educational materials are coming soon! To be notified when this and other new educational resources are available, sign up for our newsletter.
Expand the Scope
The Fast Runner is a narrative short film about a Polish girl coming of age at the start of the Holocaust. The educational resources of this film explores important Anti-Bias Education and Social-Emotional Learning lessons about Dehumanization and Extremism and Bystanders v. Upstanders. For grades 6 and up. ▶ Learn more about teaching with The Fast Runner.
Our Navalny learning guide includes a powerful lesson on Online Propaganda that pairs well with our Antisemitism Today lesson (above) for bringing discussions on the spread of Antisemitism into the present moment. For grades 9 and up. ▶ Learn more about teaching with Navalny.
Our step-by-step Holocaust Education Toolkit can help educators teach the Holocaust authentically, inspire empathy, and honor the lessons of history. ▶ Get this comprehensive guide on how to Teach Holocaust Education with Film at Share My Lesson: Teaching Holocaust Education with Film.
We hope these resources can support you in equipping your learners with Anti-Bias Education tools, critical thinking skills and historical context to understand Antisemitism in the past and actively combat it in the present.
Teach Anti-Bias Education about Countering Antisemitism: Important Dates
Genocide education remains timely and urgent. Teachers, especially history and social studies teachers, may want to teach with holocaust education films on these important dates:
- Jan. 27—International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Feb. 1-7—World Interfaith Harmony Week
- March 1—Zero Discrimination Day
- April—Genocide Awareness Month (U.S.) and Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month (Canada)
- April 23-24, 2025—Holocaust Remembrance Day or Yom Hashoah. (The date varies each year.)
- May 8—Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War
- June 18—International Day for Countering Hate Speech
- Aug. 11-12—Anniversary of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. (This event is referenced in the Journeys in Film Antisemitism Today lesson.)
- Aug. 22—The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
- Aug. 23—European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism
- Oct. 27—Anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue Shooting. (This event is referenced in the Journeys in Film Antisemitism Today lesson.)
- Nov. 9—International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism
- Nov. 9-12—Kristallnacht
- Dec. 9—International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime
- Dec. 10—Anniversary of the 2019 Jersey City, N.J., shooting at a kosher grocery store (This event is referenced in the Journeys in Film Antisemitism Today lesson.)
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