Blessed is the Match Project
Blessed Is the Match:
The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, produced by Katahdin Productions, is
the first documentary feature about Hannah Senesh, the World War II-era poet
and diarist. Senesh was captured and executed by the Nazis in 1944 when she parachuted into Hungary as part of a rescue team of Jews
from Palestine who were attempting to rescue Hungarian Jews at the end of WWII.
Surprisingly, this was the only military rescue mission for Jews during the
Holocaust. With unprecedented access to the Senesh family archive, this powerful story unfolds
through the writings and photographs of Hannah and her mother, Catherine
Senesh.
Facing History and Ourselves is pleased to be the educational partner for this film. We have developed a study guide to accompany the film and support teachers as they introduce Hannah Senesh and her story to students. This guide includes classroom strategies and activities that will support students as they consider the significance of Senesh's life and the legacy that she leaves for young people today. Students study Senesh's poetry, letters and diary entries as they consider themes such as adolescent voice, heroism, and activism, as well as the historical context of the film.
This guide is intended to act as a menu of ideas for how to
incorporate Blessed Is the Match into
a middle or high school course. It provides suggested activities that can be
chosen according to the focus subject area, age of students, and amount of time
that can be allotted to the film.
Facing History and Ourselves will also lead teacher workshops around the film and study guide during the 2008-2009 academic year in the following U.S location: Memphis, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, New York and Brookline, MA.
