Life Stories

Aims
In this learning path learners:

• Get to know the stories of several people affected by antigypsyism, antisemitism, racism and discrimination against LGBT+.
• Reflect on positive achievements in addressing discrimination and the things that haven’t changed.
• Gain skills to work with historical sources.
• Work in small groups to exchange ideas about the effect of discrimination on people.
• Prepare a presentation for the larger group and get acquainted with a variety of stories from different periods in history.

Go to the learning path Life Stories

Download the educators´ guide
This includes tips and extra information per track

You can find our educators’ guide for distance learning here.

A collection of all ten life stories
This document contains all the information of the ten life stories which students can explore in learning path 3. Each story has a short biography, a timeline, quotes and sources for each person.

Structure
This learning path consists of one track (lesson) with a number of steps.

• The learners are introduced to 10 personal stories.
• They first pick one for themselves and learn briefly about that person, then go on to work in small groups, sharing stories. The stories all deal with different forms of discrimination, such as antisemitism, racism, and discrimination against Roma and LGBT+.
• Each group then looks at photos and quotes and chooses one person’s story to look into more deeply. A timeline of that person’s life gives an overview. As a group, learners prepare a presentation for the class.

The historical biographies were chosen to contribute to intercultural historical learning. The focus is not on a particular period, though the Nazi era plays an important role in many of the lives presented here. The contextual information given is limited. The aim is to reflect on how personal lives are affected by discriminatory measures. Care has been taken to present people not only as victims but also as people with their own lives and identities.