Chess Set

Suggested time: 20 minutes
Grades: 8+

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Read Imprisoned in Ghettos. View the images of the chess pieces and examine the 3D model. Be sure to look at the 3D model from all angles, including the bottom of the piece.

1. Make a list of the physical features of the chess set that you find interesting or significant (e.g. materials used, construction, decoration, symbols)? 
2. The chess pieces were created from chewed bread in the Warsaw ghetto where starvation was the most common cause of death. Why do you think the Jewish man in the ghetto used his bread rations to create these works of art?
3. It is suggested that the German guard accepted the chess set as a bribe from the Jewish man imprisoned in the ghetto. What questions would you ask the guard about how he acquired the chess set?
4. How do you think Rosa Nagel felt about receiving this chess set from the German guard before he surrendered to the Americans? 
5. The chess set was donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) to inform future generations of students, historians and researchers about the history of the Holocaust. What responsibility does the VHEC have to ensure the artefact is preserved and its provenance (origin) is accurately represented?
6. Can a single artefact yield more than one interpretation of history?   

Extension Questions:

The chess set has been in the possession of many people since its creation by a Jewish man interned in the Warsaw ghetto.  Each change in ownership was the result of a human interaction during the Holocaust and its aftermath: from victim to perpetrator to witness to museum.

With this in mind, what does the chess set tell you about:

1. The complexity of human interactions during and after the Holocaust? 
2. How we construct knowledge and derive historical significance from artefacts?