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KS3 Case Study Questions

General Questions:

• What motivated each of the people in the case studies to act as they did?
• Why do you think most of these people were unwilling to think of themselves as ‘heroic’?
• What might different people have thought of them at the time and why? E.g. Friends, those they rescued, the Nazis.

For further consideration:

Find and consider stories of other individuals who ‘made a difference’ in such circumstances (such as Oskar Schindler or Irene Gut) and who were motivated by quite specific ideals, desires or experiences.

Check out the background to the Rwandan genocide in 1994 (and terms such as ‘Interahamwe’). [The HMD website materials for 2004 can help here.]

1. Andrée Geulen Herscovici
   1. How did Andrée change during this time?
   2. What do you think Andrée meant when she said that she ‘grew up very fast’?
   3. Why would the rescuers take only the children?
   4. How relevant to her actions do you think it was that she was ‘a rebellious teenager who loved to argue about politics’?
2. Feng Shan Ho
   1. What can we learn from this source about Ho’s character?
   2. What do you think motivated him to act?
   3. Suggest possible reasons why Ho was not recalled to China during this time.
3. Sula Karuhimbi [See the Paul Rusesabagina case study below for more background on the Rwandan genocide]
   1. How did Sula acquire the reputation of being a ‘witch’?
   2. What can we say about Sula from this source?
   3. Why do you think there were so few people who were prepared to help Tutsis during the killing?
   4. Why does Sula not admit she acted heroically?
4. Frank Foley
   1. Why did Foley make a good spy?
   2. Do you think that the fact he was a spy might have made him more likely to help Jews escape? Give reasons.
   3. What do you think was the bravest aspect of his actions?
   4. Was Foley a ‘good citizen’ even though he broke laws? What is your idea of a ‘good citizen’?
5. Irena Sendlerowa
   1. To what extent do you think her father’s work influenced Irena?
   2. In what different ways did Irena show courage?
   3. What is her hope for the future?
6. Janusz Korczak
   1. What can we learn from this source about Korczak’s character before the war?
   2. Why do you think Korczak chose to stay with the children, even though he almost certainly knew they were doomed?
   3. In the ‘Ghetto Fighters’ Museum in Israel, the centre of the exhibition is a room dedicated to Korczak. For what reasons do you think people have found his life and example so inspiring?
   4. Find out more about a) life in the Warsaw ghetto and b) the UNESCO charter for children’s rights.
7. Paul Rusesabagina
   1. What reasons can you give from the source for the terrible situation in April 1994? What factors had caused the build up of resentment?
   2. In what ways did Paul manage to help those inside the hotel? What risks did he take?
   3. What can we learn about Paul from the source?
8. Helen Bamber
   1. What motivated Helen to go to Belsen?
   2. What was the realisation that Helen came to?
   3. What strengths do you consider Helen to have? In what way has she ‘made a difference’?
   4. Find out more about Bergen Belsen and its liberation.

• KS3 Case Study Questions (pdf)