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Learn and Talk III

Trial Lesson 3

Some Were Neighbors

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Preview
Words
1. innocent /ˈɪnəsnt/ [adjective]
not guilty of a crime; not having done something wrong

2. Jewish /ˈdʒuːɪʃ/ [adjective]

connected with Jews or Judaism(犹太教)

3. rabbi /ˈræbaɪ/ [noun]

a Jewish religious leader or a teacher of Jewish law

4. holocaust /ˈhɒləkɔːst/ [noun]

a situation in which many things are destroyed and many people killed, Expressions
especially because of a war or a fire

5. challenge /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ [verb]

to suggest strongly that somebody should do something (especially black-and-white
when you think that they might be unwilling to do it)
concentration camp

2019/3/14 2 2
Article
Make a guess: What is At first look, the black-and-white photograph seems
this exhibit about? sweet and innocent. It was taken in 1929 in Bremen,
Germany. Nine neighborhood boys stand together. They are
smiling as they look at the camera. But, the photograph is
the start of a dark story that is part of a new exhibit. The
exhibit, called “Some Were Neighbors,” is at the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.

Many years after the end of World War II, one of

the men in the photo wrote a letter to another man in it,
seen standing with a bicycle. The man with a bicycle was
Jewish. During World War II, Nazis murdered his mother.
Later, he became a rabbi.

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In the letter, the other man explained that he had worked as a
Nazi guard at a concentration camp. But, he wrote, he “never
touched a Jew.” The rabbi wrote back to him and said, “What I Why do you think the rabbi
wanted to hear...was how he felt about his job. Did he think that asked these questions?
Why did he get no answer?
killing Jews was the proper thing to do?” ...He never got an answer.

The questions the rabbi asked the guard are central to the
“Some Were Neighbors” exhibit. Millions of ordinary people saw the
crimes of the Holocaust in city squares, in stores and schools, in the
countryside and other places. The Nazis found people all across
Europe willing to take part in their crimes. “Some Were Neighbors”
explores what moves people to behave in certain ways in difficult
situations. It challenges viewers to understand a dark period of
history. It also examines the importance of social responsibility.

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Discussion
1. Do you like history? How much do you know about
World War II and the Holocaust?

2. How do you understand this article’s heading Some

Were Neighbors? What does it mean? Why do you think
some people would hurt their neighbors, friends and
even family members?

3. Some people argue that the Holocaust is too cruel to be

taught in secondary school, while others think that it’s
necessary for teenagers to remember history. What’s
your opinion?

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 © Acadsoc Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Learn and Talk III

Trial Lesson 3

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