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<\/a><\/p>\nWe then discussed the Diary of a Young Girl and the Anne Frank story. Participants shared their experiences when they first read the book. Some shared that it was through the book and because of the book that they really understood what happened during this time and that it lead to further reading about the Holocaust. One of the teachers spoke about how her students reacted when they <\/em>first read the book. They had read the version that had censored some of the details about Peter and Anne. How does one address an issue like this? Talk about it? Or not?<\/p>\n Meena Malhotra answered this question by first explaining the reasons behind the censorship of the book and then addressed the fact that while it is important to not sweep the issue under the rug, it is also important to first assess ones students\u2014understand their levels of maturity.<\/p>\n In that context, one of the teachers spoke about how it is difficult for students to relate to what has happened way back in the past. This point actually lead very nicely into our next activity which was done in groups\u2014where each group had to discuss the relevance of the Anne Frank story in todays world and how they would use it in their classrooms.<\/p>\n One of the groups spoke about how human rights education is a very vast topic and cannot really be defined. They then spoke about how the Anne Frank story can be used to discuss empathy and the \u2018importance of being happy\u2019 and the value of gratitude. Many young people today have the means to dream and no real constraints, whereas Anne Frank lived in a reality where there was no future, but she did not let go of her dreams.\u00a0 Another group spoke of the book as the evolution of a young girl. One of the participants spoke about how she relates living together in a restricted way\u2014as Anne did\u2014with Big Boss<\/em>, a popular reality show. She also spoke about how the book teaches us \u2018a survivor spirit\u2019. The emotions that Anne had are also very relatable to the present world. This group felt that it is not possible to keep what had happened during the Holocaust away from the present\u2014what with Syria, ISIS and so on\u2014something that children are very much aware of, thanks to MUN and other such activities. These topics and the topic of the Holocaust can be introduced to children at a younger age, using age appropriate resources\u2014 books and movies. Another group spoke about how the book can be used in English classes as a tool to improve creative expression, diary writing and so on. The history teacher can use the book to teach the Second World War.<\/p>\n The Human Rights Defenders module, developed by PeaceWorks as a resource for teachers deals with the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust, bringing into the narrative other human rights violations that have occurred over the years. Each has activities based on the arts\u2014be it literature, film or fine arts. After a brief presentation on the module, we moved onto the next activity\u2014Propaganda Then and Propaganda Now. Again, in groups, the participants discussed aspects about Propaganda\u2014such a critical component of Hitler\u2019s strategy\u2014then and now. The participants agreed that propaganda has evolved a lot in terms of content and ways of dissemination\u2014given that now social media plays such a huge role in how we get our information. Content is also much less focused.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n