A clandestine curriculum of resistance : hope, survival, and determination in the Warsaw Ghetto, 1939-1942 / by Susan J. Berger

My research is a socio-historical study of the clandestine curriculum of resistance in the Warsaw ghetto against the Nazi regime from 1939 to 1942. That curriculum of resistance evoked new ways of learning and making meaning to the lives of its Jews. A central question of this research includes: What was the clandestine curriculum of resistance in the Warsaw ghetto? Through testimonies, documents, written words, and artistic performances, attempts were made to make sense of both the genocide they were surrounded with as well as challenge each individual to make sense of their own lives in a rapidly changing atmosphere. This is what I call the clandestine curriculum of resistance. Looking at several educative forces and experiences that survived the destruction of Warsaw's Jewry, this study seeks to understand the clandestine curriculum of resistance in the Warsaw ghetto.How do we define curriculum? How do people learn? There is formal and informal education, as well as self-education. Learning and education take place in different arenas and settings. Where should education take place? Looking at numerous dimensions of a clandestine curriculum of resistance in the Warsaw ghetto and its affects on this community helps us broaden the boundaries of curriculum inquiry.