Buchanan+Woman+Research

**Directions: You will select one book about a famous woman, read it, and use it to fill in the form below.** The book must be approved by me. You must also use one encyclopedia article for additional information. Feel free to use [|http://www.wikipedia.org]. Next you need to fill out the form and post it on your wiki page. **Also, you must create a slide show** of your famous woman using the website [|http://www.slidelicious.com]. Please embed your slide show on your wiki. Finally, create a bibliography using the site [|www.bibme.org] and add it to the end of this assignment. This will count as a reading grade and is worth 150 points. Name Katerina Buchanan ** ** Date March 24, 2009 BOOK TITLE: On Both Sides of the Wall ** Author: Vladka Meed Biography of: Vladka Meed Publisher: US Holocaust Memorial Museum **Early Years: Write what you have learned about the person’s early years. How did these childhood experiences influence the person’s achievements as an adult?**
 * Woman Research Project **
 * BOOK REPORT- Biography

Vladka Meed was the oldest of three children of Hanna and Shlomo Peltel. She was 17 when the German army entered Warsaw and was a member of the Jewish underground resistance. She took the name Vladka when she worked as a courier for the resistance. Vladka was involved in her community from when she was young. Her father was a salesman. He was a member of the Jewish Labor Bund, a socialist organization that fought for the rights of poor Jews. The bund played a key role in the resistance; many members of the Jewish Fighting Organization were from its ranks. When Vladka was 6, she went to the elementary school of the Jewish Labor Bund. Although her family spoke Yiddish at home, Vladka learned fluent Polish, which she learned in the bund school. Her knowledge of Polish was a key factor in her survival and her ability to work as a courier for the resistance. Vladka’s experiences during the war shaped the rest of her life. Vladka and her husband were active in Holocaust education and in advocating for survivors.
 * What were this person’s main accomplishments?

** Vladka’s book, written in 1948, tells the story of the Warsaw Ghetto told by a young woman who was a socialist. Elie Weisel described the book as "the first authentic document to reach the free world about the uprising and the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, or about the Holocaust in general." Vladka raised a family. Vladka has served as vice president of the Jewish Labor Committee and chair of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors. In 1981 the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors established a national registry to help survivors search for relatives and friends. This registry, in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, is named in honor of Benjamin and Vladka Meed. She has also received an honorary degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York for her unique contribution to human understanding and her ethical beliefs. She was the creator of the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teacher Training Program.

What factors influenced this person’s achievements?
 * Describe the goals of this person. Do you think this person was successful? Why or why not?

** Vladka wanted to survive the war and fight the Germans. She succeeded at this. After the war, Vladka wanted to be active in educating people about the evil Nazis and Jewish resistance during the war. She and her husband were very successful at this. Every teacher who goes on their Teacher Program to Poland teaches at least 30 students every year. Since 1984 about 30 teachers a year have made the trip. That’s 24 years times 30 teachers x 30 students.... 21600 American children. That’s a lot!!! ** What influence did this person have on the community, or the world? **  Vladka Meed was a member of the Zydowska Organazcja Bojowa (Jewish Fighting Organisation), during World War II. After the war she was: Director, weekly radio program, Jewish Labor Committee Yiddish Culture Department; chairman, culture committee of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors; vice president, Jewish Labor Committee. Since 1984 she was the founder and executive director of the teachers' training program on Holocaust and Jewish resistance.


 * What is your opinion of this person’s life and accomplishments?

**  Vladka is a very smart and courageous person. I am glad she was not murdered by the Germans because if she was, I would not have learned about her life. Her life and achievements amaze me. I think Vladka’s Mom and Dad would be very, very proud of her. ** Would you recommend this biography to others? Why, or why not? ** This is not an easy book to read. The writing is difficult to follow because of all the Polish names. It is a very sad story as well because of all the terrible things that happened to Jewish people during the war. It’s a very long book for a 5th grader to read, and you have to ask an adult to help explain some of the stories. I would recommend this book if you want to read about a very brave young woman, but I would recommend you read this when you are in high school.  Works Cited  "Google." Google. http://google.com (accessed March 30, 2009).  Meed, Vladka. //On Both Sides of the Wall//. New York: Schocken Books, 1993.  "United States Holocaust Memorial Museum." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. http://ushmm.org (accessed March 30, 2009). Created at http://bibme.org

[]

If you need help using this website, take a peek at Rohan's "How to use slidelicious" on his wiki page. [|http://mrja]

  