Explore the concept of the bystander through the story of the 1938 Évian Conference, where representatives from 32 countries and 24 NGOs expressed sympathy for the Jews, but few offered to actually help.
Essential Questions
- What responsibilities do nations and leaders have when confronted with injustice and human suffering?
- How does inaction, especially by those with power, contribute to the spread of violence and persecution?
- What can the failures of the Évian Conference teach us about the dangers of being a bystander?
Big Ideas
- The Cost of Inaction: When nations choose silence or sympathy over action, the consequences can be catastrophic for those in need.
- Bystanders in Power: Being a bystander is rarely passive and is oftentimes a deliberate choice made by governments, institutions, and individuals.
- Moral Leadership Matters: Moments of crisis reveal whether decisions are guided by values or by self-interest.
Meet the representatives of the 32 countries and 24 NGOs who attended the July 1938 Évian Conference, convened to solve the pressing problem of Jewish refugees. Among them was Golda Meir, a representative of Mandatory Palestine. Over the course of the nine-day conference, they learned about the thousands upon thousands of Jews trying to flee. Every single country expressed sympathy for the Jews, but few offered to actually help. Use the accompanying questions and activities to guide students in a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be a bystander and what silence, fear, or indifference can mean in moments of moral crisis.
How to use this guide
This guide is designed to enhance your students’ engagement with the video. You can explore the video together or utilize a flipped classroom approach, assigning the video (in full or in segments) for students to watch at home, then using class time to unpack ideas together through reflection, discussion, or hands-on activities. Choose the approach that best fits your students and classroom setting.
Discussion Questions
- The Role of the Bystander: How do you view the role of bystanders during the Holocaust compared to the perpetrators? In what ways can inaction contribute to atrocities?
- Bystander Effect: The “bystander effect” was coined by social psychologists in 1964. They argued that people are less likely to intervene in an emergency situation if others are present. Why are people more likely to stay silent when others are around?
- A Quote from Dr. King: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his book, Stride Toward Freedom: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Is Dr. King right to equate passive acceptance with perpetuation and silence with cooperation?
Learning Activities
- “First They Came” Reflection: Students should read “First They Came” by Martin Niemoller and then write a reflection on what they learn about being a bystander.
- Four Corners Activity: Elie Wiesel wrote: “The killer killed and the Jews died and the outside world adopted an attitude either of complicity or of indifference. Only a few had the courage to care. These few men and women were vulnerable, afraid, helpless – what made them different from their fellow citizens?… Why were there so few?… Let us remember: What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander.” Use a Four Corners lesson to discuss if students agree with Wiesel that the “silence of the bystander” hurts the victim more than the “cruelty of the oppressor.”
- Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
- University of Massachusetts, The Three Ds of Active Bystandership