Lesson Plan: www.joanieschirm.local/teachers

“Hopefully, education and knowledge of history linked together with pure compassion and humanity will let us recognize the origins of old-new dangers and tie down the demons of hatred and evil before they grow to overcome us again.”

—Václav Havel, first president of the Czech Republic; champion of the ideals of civil society which encourage religious, cultural, and ethnic tolerance

Sitting in front of my computer screen for hours on end writing books for the past seven years, I’ve managed to learn a thing or two about the Nazi “demons of hatred and evil.” Most of us have heard of the some eleven million people who perished in the Holocaust.  What is not as well documented are the stories of the millions forced by the Nazis into tumultuous lives as displaced persons. Traveling worldwide for research for my book, Adventurers Against Their Will, the lives I’ve studied include my Czech father, Oswald “Valdik” Holzer, and a group of young Prague friends who corresponded as refugees across five continents after the Nazis occupied their Czech homeland. The authentic words of people who lived, loved, and hoped were revealed to me in a secret treasure trove of 400 WWII-era letters. Their stories remain and their lives offer an opportunity for young and old to understand why we should care.

I believe an effective way to educate about this issue is to help others gain empathy by deriving lessons from individual stories and their influence on the present. With this in mind, I’ve worked with educational professionals to develop and share lesson plans in English and German from real WWII experiences as well as incorporating modern relevance. Please access them and share with others: www.joanieschirm.local/teachers

I’m especially thankful to the following organizations for their faithful work in educating future generations and playing a role in making this possible.

1. A Pass Educational Group (www.apasseducation.com) Led by Stephen Gibson, Director of Social Studies Development, A Pass created English version lesson plans with State and Federal standards – available at www.joanieschirm.local/teachers
2. International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen, Germany – governed by an International Commission with representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, and the United States – the ITS serves as the center for documenting National Socialist persecution and the liberated survivors. Under the guidance of Susanne Urban, ITS Head of Research and Education, select displaced persons’ stories from Adventurers Against Their Will were developed into an Education Booklet – available in German in PDF:

www.its-arolsen.org/de/forschung-und-bildung/bildung/unterrichtsmaterialien/abenteuer-wider-willen/index.html

1. Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Just Read Florida! Adventurers Against Their Will is on the 2015 Recommended Reading List, High/Grades 9-12 among only fifteen books (including classics To Kill a Mockingbird and A Separate Peace).

http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/recommended-reading-lists/celebrate-literacy-week.stml

1. FDOE 2015 Summer Reading List – High/Grades 9-12

http://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/recommended-reading-lists/summer-reading.stml

1. The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida – Through the guidance of Executive Director Pam Kancher and Resource Teacher Mitch Bloomer, many educational programs are brought forward for teachers.   http://www.holocaustedu.org/partners/partners_links/

1. Mackin Educational Resources, the industry leader, and global distributor of print and digital media to PK-12 schools and libraries added AATW to their recommended reading list for 49 countries and 17,000 schools and districts.
2. Fall 2015, I will speak at the annual conferences of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the Florida Council for the Social Studies (FCSS), and the Florida Association of Media in Education (FAME).

I welcome the chance to work with other educational organizations. joanie@joanieschirm.local  …

and to hear from interested Corporate or Individual sponsorship for education programs.

Joanie Holzer Schirm, Global EBook Award Winner: Best Biography:

ADVENTURERS AGAINST THEIR WILL

Recent news from Prague’s Pravo, Novinky.cz

http://www.novinky.cz/zena/styl/372545-joanie-holzer-schirmova-dobrodruhy-proti-sve-vuli.html

AATW Testimonial: “A brilliant and compelling account of men and women caught in the turbulence of war…”

– Madeleine Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State