Educational Resources

• "Shielding the Flame" (recommended for upper elementary to high school students)
   

  This year’s big premiere is an animation based on one of the best known reportages in Polish literature, "Shielding the Flame," by Hanna Krall. Students will learn about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by following the story of Marek Edelman, one of the leaders of the uprising.

• "Muranów: the Northern Quarter" (recommended for upper elementary to high school students)
   

  Join Ala, a local Jewish teen from Warsaw as she takes students on a journey through the history of one of the largest Jewish districts in the world, prior to World War II. Muranów is also the place where the Warsaw Ghetto was located. Find out how she discovered her Jewish heritage, and see what changes have taken place in today's Muranów.

  Please note for the English subtitles go to the settings.

• "There Was No Hope" (recommended for high school students)
   

  "There Was No Hope" is an educational film about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, produced by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The film mixes animation with video testimonies. Accompanying the film is a set of free teaching materials.

• Our Teaching Resource, a 24-page downloadable PDF, assists teachers in lesson plan preparation related to the film.

• Timeline of Events is a powerful resource for presenting what took place each day from 19 April 1943 to the end of the uprising on 16 May 1943. The document is beautifully designed as a calendar, and can be used along with the film "There Was No Hope."

• "I Will Write" (recommended for elementary students ages 9 to 12)
   

  A ghost from the past takes over young girls smartphone and guides her thru Muranów, a former Jewish district. She learns the story of a beautiful friendship that was born between two teenagers, Natek and Zosia, right before the Warsaw ghetto was closed.

  Please note for the English subtitles go to the settings.

• Shortstories for children (recommended for children age 6 to 12)
   

  For our youngest audience we offer short stories written especially for The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Campaign by some of the most renown polish children authors. Zofia Stanecka, Justyna Bednarek, Paweł Beręsowicz, and Marcin Szczygielski. Instead of discussing the dramatic events of WWII with the children directly, we suggest focusing on more general topics addressed in the short stories: loss, fear, hope, the power of friendship and solidarity:

  • "The Memory of Speckles" by Zofia Stanecka
  • "The Story of Magnolia Street" by Justyna Bednarek
  • "Scary Scary" by Paweł Beręsowicz
  • "True Friends" by Marcin Szczygielski

An animated film produced by Hi-Story, based on a short story titled "The Memory of Speckles" (reccomended for elementary students ages 6 to 9) by Zofia Stanecka, transports us to a fairy-tale universe inhabited by kind spirits who look after the forest and all the creatures that live in it. One day, one of the young guardians of plants and animals, Bolete, vanishes in mysterious circumstances. His sister, Blueberry, sets out on a search for him on the wings of a helpful Owl. This fairy-tale-like story teaches children about empathy, justice, and loss. The material is accompanied by a script for a lesson and a worksheet.

A film based on a short story titled "There Was—There Isn’t—There Is" (reccomended for elementary students ages 9 to 12) by Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo, directed by Łukasz Kamil Kamiński. The animated story deals with the difficult and important topic of experiencing and coping with loss. Together with the protagonist, Krysia, we embark on a journey through the places and times that have once been but are no more, and yet we want to remember them.

Films will premiere online on April 19th, 2024.

Contact

For more information or to speak with our Education Department please contact us: [email protected]