Intended audience: High school science students, adult education settings

The curriculum module is designed to supplement existing Holocaust education materials that are widely available in the disciplines of humanities, history, and the arts. Our tool is unique in that it can be used to teach about the Holocaust using science. It is designed to use the enthusiasm that surrounds modern forensic science to engage young learners in a science-based activity that also teaches the Holocaust.

This first module contains a DNA Shoah Project Introduction designed to familiarize participants with our project goals and how we plan to achieve them. The activity then provides learners with a historical context and insight into the impact of the Holocaust through survivor video testimony. The short video segments are punctuated by discussion questions to help facilitate thoughtful discourse. After the historical context is set, the activity moves to a science introduction, which outlines the basic science behind the project and reviews the concepts crucial to our project operations. The final component is an exercise in which participants perform an example forensic reconstruction, using real, non-project, forensic data to construct an individual’s unknown DNA profile. Supplemental materials include a student worksheet PDF, which has pertinent vocabulary and worksheets for the activity and a teacher’s supplemental PDF which includes activity objectives and worksheet keys.

Download the curriculum module.