BEWARE! - a non-fiction work slated for anyone interested in the Holocaust but especially for educators and their pupils (particularly students of middle and high school age).

Its purpose is to have the reader experience a visceral accounting of the insanity that was this period in history. Nothing can begin to duplicate the real feelings of those who experienced the slaughter and the terror associated with this time. No one can truly describe what it was like to be a Jew trying to survive from the 1930’s to the end of World War II, and after. The intention of this book is a sensory representation based on the voices of those who were there. Exposure to the images of the agony of the Holocaust experience serves to create an individual’s transformational understanding.

This book is not a list of people, battles, chronologies or historical or political leaders. The structure of this book is an attempt to replicate the organized chaos which was the environment in which Jews found themselves throughout Europe. This includes the aftermath of the War and resettlement in a country where they could be assimilated and treasured.

It is however a detailed multi-sensory vehicle which allows readers the opportunity of “seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting” this infamous era. The objective is allowing the reader to experience this crucial time on a gut level—getting to readers “where they live”.

The ultimate goal is to let the individual think for him (her) self about the perpetrators and the victims. Considering that the National Crime Prevention Council reports that 20-43 of middle and high school students have reported being victims of cyber bullying, let alone other types of bullying, it is especially important to see how destructive disparagement and maltreatment can be, and where it can lead in society. The final objective: there are consequences to actions, as well as the absence of them.

This is an emotional text and not an easy book to read; it is civically, however, a necessary one.

Betsy J. Bocher, BA, MS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. DEDICATION

III. THE BOOK

IV. LESSONS FOR SOCIETY

V. AMONG THE RIGHTEOUS

VI. POEM

VII. QUOTES FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE ABOUT TOLERANCE, JEWS

AND CIVILITY

VIII. VOCABULARY LIST

IX. “OVER THE RAINBOW”

X. EXERCISES – anti-intimidation, harassment and bullying

XI. QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

XII. SURVIVOR REFERENTS

XIII. INSPIRATION AND SOURCE LIST

XIV. QUOTES - A CHRONOLOGY

XV. “HATIKVAH”

XVI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

XVII. QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

XVIII. ADDENDUM: ONE VOTE

XIX. ATTRIBUTIONS

“I cannot recall the last time I encountered a work designed for (classroom) instruction with such depth, substance and ease of use. “Beware! The Holocaust- A Multi-Sensory Approach is a compelling and comprehensive guide to the teaching of the Holocaust and related themes so relevant to today’s attention. Specific and user friendly, it not only encourages parents and teachers but enables them to easily access lessons for historical background. It encourages critical thinking ranging from history to language arts and beyond with trans-curricular and state mandates thoroughly incorporated. Most compelling is the author’s approach to bullying, decision-making, empathetic responses and ethical and moral questions that parallel conditions and events that we face today. The source material is deep, relevant and current. The exercises are thought provoking and easily adaptable to a range of subjects. This text should be seriously considered for educational and public use.”

Lois M. Genovese, high school history teacher, The South Jersey Holocaust Coalition

“The unique approach of this book ‘bring to life’ the types of indescribable agony and pain that the victims suffered. The starvation none of us ever endured, the heinous acts, and the fear of what had to be tortuous death are offered imagery that will become part of the reader’s cellular memory. There is exposure to a reality that cannot be understood unless one lived it, but the meaningful challenge here is a focus on the audacity of individuals who allowed these behaviors to occur and evolve. A student can ‘see’ and ‘hear’ and ‘experience’ on a very personal level the unfathomable atrocities that took place.”

Diane L. Storti, primary school educator

“This effort will undoubtedly contribute to further understanding with an accompanying revulsion of the aberrant behaviors and despicable deeds of Hitler and the proponents of the Nazi movement. It will also lead to an awareness of the actions of daily life that can easily penetrate the veneer of civilized man, bringing forth the inner nature of the ‘beast’ within us. This book reminds future generations of young people that the cry “Never Again” must reverberate in perpetuity.”

Joan M. Giuliani, professor of political rhetoric and communication for college and graduate students

Betsy J. Bocher is a reading specialist and literacy coach who has  taught all age groups.  She was an adjunct professor at Cumberland County College, NJ.  Recognized in the year 2000 with “The Woman of  the Millennium Award in Education” by the Easter Seals Society of New Jersey for her contributions to education and educational advocacy, she has had leadership roles on the boards of a children’s mental health facility, an early education pre-school and several educational honor societies.  She has been a PTO president and has worked on committees for the gifted and school-based planning as well as a superintendent’s advisory board.

After spending time as an award winning amateur international style ballroom dancing competitor, she married a combat veteran. She currently engages in speaking engagements as relates to the Holocaust and anti-bullying initiatives. She also raises funds for "The Heroes to Heroes National Foundation" which helps veterans who suffer from physical, spiritual and moral injury and Post Traumatic Stress.

Betsy Bocher lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband, Gordon, author of "Ghostrider in the Sky", a fictionalized account of his life in special operations in the Viet Nam War and many other rescue missions. She has two children and one grandchild for whom she hopes she models understanding and tolerance.