Unit

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War

These lesson plans use the Ken Burns’ documentary "Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War" to explore what motivated Waitstill and Martha Sharp to help refugees.

Published: February 26, 2021

Last Updated: February 26, 2021

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Unit

Language

English — US

Subject

History

Grade

6–12

Duration

Three or more 50-min class periods

The Holocaust

Overview

Ken Burns’ documentary Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War tells Martha and Waitstill Sharps’ extraordinary story. Our 3 lesson-unit uses excerpts of the film, personal letters, photographs, and thought-provoking questions to help you to explore what motivated the Sharps’ mission, the dilemmas they faced, and the impact of their courageous actions.

Watch the trailer here.

This unit supports a 3 day exploration of Martha's and Waitstill Sharp's story. It includes:

3 lessons
Videos, readings, and handouts that correspond with activities

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War is a multimedia project, including a documentary film and companion book. This robust collection tells the extraordinary true story of an American couple who risked their lives to save scores of imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation across Europe.

Artemis Joukowsky, the film’s co-director and producer and co-founder of No Limits Media, is the grandson of Waitstill and Martha Sharp and has spent decades researching their story. He is the author of the companion book, featuring a foreword by Ken Burns, published by Beacon Press.

Facing History and Ourselves is the lead educational partner for Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War. Facing History has created educational materials for the film that bring the story alive for students as they engage with materials from the Sharps and the people they rescued.

Read PBS’s official press release on the film premiere.

Lesson Plans

Lesson

Students are introduced to upstanders Waitstill and Martha Sharp, an American minister and his wife who undertook a rescue mission to help save Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation.

Martha and Waitstill Sharp wave to a crowd before leaving New York City for Europe. Martha wears a corsage of flowers on her coat and holds a bouquet of flowers in her left hand. Stamped in ink on verso: "Photo by William T. Hoff, New York Municipal Airport"

Lesson

Students activate their thinking around being an upstander and their responsibility toward others in light of the Sharps' mission work in Czechoslovakia.

Picture of Jewish Refugees during World War II

Lesson

Students discover the complexities of Martha Sharp's rescue project by analyzing historical correspondences.

Children stand in front of a sign reading Maison d' Enfants USA

Lesson

Students are introduced to the many factors that influenced Americans’ will and ability to respond to the Jewish refugee crisis, including isolationism, racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism.

A crowd of American men and women hold signs protesting Nazi Germany's actions.

Lesson

Students explore the intertwined personal stories of Jewish refugees who attempted to flee to the United States and the American rescuers who intervened on their behalf.

Four people pose for a photo in front of a large window.

Lesson

Students will explore some of the causes and consequences of denying the Armenian Genocide and reflect on the role of public art to commemorate difficult histories.

A mural by Arutyun Gozukuchikyan a.k.a. ArtViaArt in Los Angeles.

Lesson

Students analyze images and film that convey the richness of Jewish life across Europe at the time of the Nazis’ ascension to power.

Shabbtai (Shepske) Sonenson takes one of the shtetl's Hebrew teachers for a ride on his new motorcycle.

Lesson

Students learn about the events and choices of the Armenian Genocide and explore the consequences of the genocide from the perspective of survivors.

Fleeing from death. An Armenian mother on the heights of the Taurus Mountains.

Lesson

Students develop a contract establishing a reflective classroom community as they prepare to explore the historical case study of this unit.

A high school student writes on a piece of paper.

Lesson

Students consider the ways in which World War I intensified people’s loyalty to their country and resentment toward others perceived as a threat.

Map showing major alliances and advances of the Central and Allied powers during World War I.

Lesson

Students turn their attention to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of a strong current of ethno-nationalism rooted in Turkish identity.

A group of men gather to pose at the Young Turk Revolution Declaration.

Lesson

Students examine how choices made by individuals and groups contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Parade of the Political Administrators in Nuremberg, Germany.

Lesson

Students deepen their thinking about memory and identity by reflecting on the stories of Holocaust and Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants.

portrait of Holocaust survivor Sonia Weitz

Unit

Explore the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism and the humanitarian refugee crisis it provoked during the 1930s and 1940s.

Lesson

Students are introduced to the enormity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and look closely at stories of a few individuals who were targeted by Nazi brutality.

A crowd of women and children, some with Stars of David patches on their clothing.

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Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War