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Trunk of Tolerance Project
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Administrator Permission Form | Request to Borrow a Trunk Form | FAQs
Logistics | Student Project Ideas Evaluation Form|Letter to Parents

FAQs
High School Trunks of Tolerance


(Follow this link for a printable version of this information.)


What is the Trunk of Tolerance project?
The Trunk of Tolerance project is a program that offers interested teachers the opportunity to borrow FREE Holocaust materials to help fulfill the MA directive to include Holocaust education in public schools. Contents are provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford and Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center. Its purpose is to teach tolerance and promote respect while helping teachers to supplement their existing curriculum and fulfill Common Core standards. The scope of this project is limited to stories of survival, rescuers, and resistance.

What’s inside each trunk?

  • 30 copies (class set) of Tell Them We Remember by Susan D. Bachrach (Reference book from U.S. Holocaust Museum organized by main topics with actual photos and detailed captions.)
  • 6 copies each of the following nonfiction books:
    • All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein (Memoir of Polish girl who loses everyone/everything in labor camps but finds strength of spirit & faith in humanity.)
    • The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen & the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose (Inspiring story of Danish teens who formed a club to sabotage the Nazis when the adults did not resist German occupation.)
    • In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke & Jennifer Armstrong (Memoir of 17 yr. old Catholic, Polish girl who smuggled Jews to safety & became a resistance fighter.)
    • The Light of Days by Judy Batalion (Untold story of Jewish women & teenage girls across Poland who became resistance fighters in Hitler’s ghettos, smuggling, spying, fighting, & sabotaging.)
    • When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers
      by Ken Krimstein (Graphic nonfiction. Found hidden in a Lithuanian church in 2017, this book includes 6 autobiographies of teens written just before the Holocaust for a writing contest in 1930s.)
  • 1 copy of Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman (Graphic novel of a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of the Holocaust.)
  • 1 copy of Branded on My Arm and In My Soul by Abe Landau (Memoir by New Bedford tailor and Holocaust survivor.)
  • 1 set of Timeline Cards from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (A multi-layered wall timeline activity that encourages critical thinking about the relationship between Nazi policy, WW II historical events, and individual experiences during the Holocaust.)
  • Posters from U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum – State of Deception Collection (Highlights propaganda and evolution of discriminatory laws with actual photos to justify war and mass murder.)
  • Images of art, sculpture created by Holocaust survivors
  • Poems created by Holocaust survivors

How can the trunk materials be used in a classroom?

  • Students can be assigned different topics to examine in Tell Them We Remember and report back to class what they learned.
  • Students can work in small groups to read the nonfiction books, discuss their point of view, and compare and contrast the stories.
  • In small groups, students can discuss the posters, analyzing their content, historical context and connection to today’s spike in antisemitism.
  • Students can watch testimonies from real people and discuss how propaganda played a role in changing the hearts and actions of law-abiding citizens, neighbors, and friends.
  • Students who have completed their regular assignments can use the materials inside the trunk to expand their knowledge and understanding of this period of history.

What is the cost of borrowing a trunk?
There is no cost to borrow the trunk. We appreciate your participation and know you will assume responsibility and take reasonable care of the trunk and its contents.

Who is eligible to borrow a trunk?
Public, private, parochial, or charter high schools in New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fall River, Fairhaven, Somerset and Mattapoisett may borrow a trunk. Teachers must have the permission of their administrators to participate.

How does a teacher apply to borrow a trunk?
A teacher should go to the Jewish Federation’s local website: jewishnewbedford.org and under the photo of the high school trunk click on REQUEST TO BORROW A TRUNK FORM, which can be completed and submitted online.

*The teacher will look for available dates on the live Google Calendar and select ones that fit his/her schedule. Within several days the teacher will receive a confirmation email.

Where does a teacher pick up a trunk?
At the Jewish Federation office, which is inside Tifereth Israel Congregation Synagogue, 145 Brownell Ave., New Bedford. Please call the Federation office at (508) 997-7471 to coordinate the pick-up time. *Note that if you choose the larger size trunk you will need help to lift it. (Be sure to check the size of your car trunk to make sure it fits.)

How long may a teacher keep the trunk in his/her classroom?
Up to 1 month

What should a teacher do when he/she is done with the trunk?
Please return it to the Jewish Federation office. Again, please call (508) 997-7471 to coordinate drop-off. When you return the trunk, please share with us any completed student projects, which will be saved for an exhibit of student work in the spring.

What are some suggestions for student projects?
Our committee would like to include student projects at our annual exhibit in the spring marking Yom HaShoah, the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust. These projects would reflect the student’s understanding of the Holocaust as a lesson for today’s world. Students’ work can be submitted to BCC Holocaust & Genocide Center to be evaluated for recognition at this event. Students who produce outstanding work will be rewarded with a certificate and gift card.
Some suggestions include:

  • Write letters to an author of one of these books
  • Create a video of a selection of meaningful text
  • Create propaganda posters
  • Create a podcast to pass on to other students
  • Use digital picture frames to display projects
  • Create drawings, paintings, sculptures 
  • Write poems, essays, plays with a focus on the role of bystanders
  • Make a Public Service Announcement connecting the importance of media literacy today with testimonies from survivors on how the Nazis used propaganda. Use the Tool Kit and Video Editor from IWitness. https://iwitness.usc.edu/activities/6620

Does the Trunk of Tolerance project require teachers to complete an evaluation form?
Feedback is key to improving our project. The short evaluation form online will help us refine our efforts to enhance the teacher’s Holocaust lessons.

How does a teacher complete an evaluation form?
Teachers should go to the Jewish Federation’s local website: jewishnewbedford.org and click on the photo of the high school trunk, then click on EVALUATION FORM, which can be completed and submitted online.

How did this Trunk of Tolerance project start?
With the alarming rise in antisemitism, especially on Social Media, our organizations wanted to discourage hatred and bigotry in our community. We learned that Trunk Projects have been in existence for years in many states across the U.S., including Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Washington State. Holocaust museums and state commissions on Holocaust education often sponsor them. Private, public, nonprofit and corporate sectors often donate money to support these projects. We followed many of their guidelines, which included letters requesting permission of administrators, parents, and teachers.

Who does a teacher contact with specific questions, comments or to request a speaker to come to his classroom?
The following Trunk of Tolerance Sub Committee members can provide help:

How can I support the Trunk of Tolerance project?
The materials in each high school trunk cost approximately $750. Your donations help us to create more trunks and serve more students. On the Jewish Federation website, click on Donate to Trunk of Tolerance Project link. Thanks for your support for this worthwhile project!



   

STAFF
Amir Cohen
Executive Director

Michelle Poirier
Associate Director

TELEPHONE
(508) 997-7471

E-MAIL
office@jewishnewbedford.org

MAILING ADDRESS
467 Hawthorn St.
North Dartmouth, MA
02747