Memory Keeper Teacher Guide Memory Keeper
Instructional Guide: Echoes of Auschwitz Speech Project
Resource Type
Teacher Facilitation Guide
Lesson Purpose
This lesson guides students through the rhetorical analysis of Elie Wiesel's "After Auschwitz" speech and empowers them to find their own voices as "witnesses through history." Students will explore how Wiesel uses testimony, silence, and the weight of memory to convey a universal warning. The final product is an original speech that honors the victims and addresses the modern relevance of the Holocaust.
Objectives
Analyze the rhetorical strategies used by Elie Wiesel.
Identify core themes of "witnessing" and "memory."
Draft and deliver a commemorative speech with a clear purpose and emotional resonance.
Instructional Sequence
1
The Weight of Witness (Analysis)
Begin by reading Wiesel's speech aloud. Have students highlight phrases related to "silence" and "memory." Use the Testimony Toolkit Slides to discuss the rhetorical context (The 50th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz).
Key Discussion Prompt: "Why does Wiesel say that to remain silent is to become an accomplice to the executioner? How does this set the stakes for your own speech?"
2
Drafting the Blueprint
Distribute the Witness Words Organizer . Guide students to choose a specific focus: the danger of indifference, the importance of individual stories, or the legacy of a specific survivor or group.
Ensure students understand that their goal is not just to summarize history, but to create a "call to memory" for their audience.
3
Polishing the Voice
Review the Speech Standard Rubric with students. Emphasize that "Emotional Resonance" is not about being loud or dramatic, but about the sincerity and gravity of their words.
Differentiation & Extension
Support for Emerging Writers
Provide sentence stems for the organizer (e.g., "The silence of the past reminds us that...").
Focus on one specific rhetorical device (Repetition) to use throughout the speech.
Extension for Advanced Learners
Incorporate a secondary source or direct quote from another survivor (e.g., Primo Levi).
Analyze the use of paralipsis or anaphora in Wiesel's text and replicate it.
Included Materials Checklist
Testimony Toolkit Slides
Visual aid for analyzing Wiesel's speech and defining project goals.
Witness Words Organizer
Structural outline for students to plan their introduction, body, and call to action.
Speech Standard Rubric
Criteria for content, rhetoric, delivery, and emotional impact.
Testimony Toolkit Slides Voice of Witness
Honoring the Echoes of Auschwitz
Analysis Rhetoric Testimony
Elie Wiesel
Survivor • Author • Nobel Laureate
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference."
Wiesel dedicated his life to being a witness —someone who tells the story of those who can no longer speak.
Context: 1995
Delivered at the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. He speaks not just to the survivors, but to the ghosts of the camp and the future of humanity.
The Tools of Testimony
Silence
Wiesel often uses silence as a theme. He asks: how do we speak when words are insufficient to describe the horror?
Repetition
The rhythmic use of phrases to hammer home the gravity of the event. (e.g., "After Auschwitz...")
Moral Appeal
Challenging the audience's sense of duty. To forget is to murder the victims a second time.
Now, You Are the Witness
"To listen to a witness is to become a witness." — Elie Wiesel
You will craft a 2-3 minute speech that honors the memory of the Holocaust.
Focus
Choose a theme: Indifference, The Power of Name, or The Duty of Memory.
Goal
Challenge your audience to remember and to act in the face of modern injustice.
Discussion Break
In "After Auschwitz," why does Wiesel speak directly to the dead?
How does this affect the living who are listening?
Witness Words Organizer Witness Words
Speech Blueprint & Outline Organizer
Name:
Date:
The Core Message
What is the central idea or warning you want your audience to take away?
Introduction
The Hook & The Context. How will you break the silence?
Testimony
Include a specific historical detail, a name, or a quote from Wiesel.
The Warning
Connect the past to the present. Why does this memory matter today?
Conclusion
The Call to Action. What is the audience's duty?
Rhetorical Devices to Include
Repetition
Rhetorical Question
Imagery
Speech Standard Rubric Speech Standard
Assessment Rubric: Echoes of Auschwitz Project
Total Points
/ 100
Criterion Distinguished (25) Proficient (20) Developing (15) Beginning (10) Testimony & Depth Understanding of the Holocaust and Wiesel's themes.
| Demonstrates profound understanding of 'witnessing'; uses specific historical evidence and nuanced themes. | Clear understanding of historical context; uses evidence from the text to support a central theme. | General understanding of the Holocaust; themes are present but may lack depth or specificity. | Limited understanding shown; content is superficial or lacks connection to the core task. |
| Structure & Devices
Organization and use of literary tools.
| Perfectly structured with sophisticated use of repetition, anaphora, or imagery to enhance impact. | Logically organized with clear intro/conclusion; effectively uses at least two rhetorical devices. | Follows a basic outline; rhetorical devices are attempted but may feel forced or simplistic. | Disorganized or lacks clear progression; few or no rhetorical devices used. |
| Voice & Impact
Sincerity, tone, and the 'Call to Memory'.
| Voice is exceptionally sincere and urgent; creates a powerful 'Call to Memory' that resonates deeply. | Maintains a solemn and respectful tone; clearly articulates the duty of the audience. | Tone is appropriate for the subject matter, though impact may be inconsistent. | Tone is inappropriate, casual, or fails to engage the gravity of the subject. |
| Delivery
Posture, eye contact, and pacing.
| Exceptional command of pace and pause; maintains strong eye contact; delivery enhances the words. | Good volume and pacing; mostly maintains eye contact with audience. | Audible but may speak too quickly; relies heavily on notes/reading. | Difficult to hear or understand; lacks eye contact; very distracted. |
Strengths
Areas for Growth
Post-Speech Reflection
In one sentence, how did writing and delivering this speech change your understanding of the duty to "witness"?
