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KS3 / KS4 / GCSE History: World War Two - Interview with Holocaust survivor Heinz Skyte who escaped to Britain

Video summary

Heinz, a Holocaust survivor, discusses the lure of the Nazis for young people in Germany during his childhood, and warns young people today to stay vigilant.

Heinz witnessed Jewish community buildings being set on fire around him in Hamburg and was ordered by his parents not to return home that day. The experience lead Heinz to flee Germany and join his brother in Leeds in the UK.

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Teacher Notes

This short film could be used to start pupils thinking about what history is and how history is important to learning today.

In groups they could be given an envelope with strips of paper inside, each with a different event written on it and the date that it occurred.

Pupils could go through these looking for a visual for each of the events and discuss the question 'Is this history?'

Once they have completed the task they could feedback to the rest of the class.

This topic appears in history at KS3 and KS4 / GCSE in AQA, OCR A, OCR B, EDEXCEL, EDUQAS and WJEC GCSE in England and Wales, and CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland.

It is also on the curriculum for 2nd, 3rd and 4th Level, National 4 and 5, and Higher in Scotland. It also appears in PSHE and PDE at KS3 and KS4.

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