Inspire your students with the untold story of American upstanders who risked their lives to help desperate refugees.
Ken Burns' new documentary Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War tells Martha and Waitstill Sharps' extraordinary story. Our 3 lesson plans use 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.
Bring the courageous and compelling story of Martha and Waitstill Sharp to life in your classroom.
An American minister and his wife undertook a rescue mission to help save Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation.
Motivate your students to think about their responsibility toward others in light of the Sharps' work in Czechoslovakia.
Discover the complexities of Martha Sharp's rescue project by analyzing letters and other primary sources.
Facing History is an educational partner of the documentary film and companion book, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War. The film, directed by Artemis Joukowsky and celebrated filmmaker Ken Burns, can be seen on PBS.
Find family photos, letters, and other primary sources that reveal the political landscape when the Sharps planned their rescue. The lessons draw upon many of the primary sources in this collection.
Refugees from the Sudetenland, following its annexation by Germany, arrive in Prague, Czechoslovakia, ca. October 1938.
Portrait of Waitstill Sharp, a Unitarian minister who aided and rescued refugees with his wife, Martha, in Europe during World War II.
Europe with nations and borders as they were during World War II.
Nazi troops guard the sparse crowd on hand to witness Germany's armed forces parade through the former Czechoslovakian capital, Prague. Thousands of German troops and mechanized units took part in the two-hour march on March 30, 1939.
Martha Sharp's high school yearbook: "Hope Blue and White 1922".
Facing History is the lead educational partner for Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War, a multimedia project that includes a documentary film and companion book. Learn more about the project and watch a special message from filmmaker Ken Burns inviting you to tune into the premiere on PBS on September 20!