Workshop visits
Educational workshops allow children to approach the history of the Jews during the Second World War, while taking a look at Jewish life and cultural practices. After a presentation of the activity in the museum, children are introduced to various artistic activities.
New! Workshop visits on specific dates
Fates in times of war
THE CHILD HAS BOTH NAMES
For students in CM1 and CM2, Paris
Through the journey of a hidden child, the young public discovers the different stages of the exclusion of Jews in France under the Occupation. This period is reconstructed with the help of Yiddish songs, archival documents and family photographs.
Themes: Occupation, exclusion, antisemitism, rescue, hidden child.
Historical period: WWII.
Media: Archival documents.
Main activity: Individual plastic production.
SIMONE VEIL, A FRENCH HISTORY (CNRD)
For fifth grade, sixth and fifth graders, Paris
Through the journey of Simone Veil, née Jacob, the children discover a French Jewish family strongly attached to republican values, whose destiny changed during the Second World War. Using archival documents from the Jacob family, they address the history of the exclusion of Jews from France and then highlight the commitment of Simone Veil in the work of memory and the presence of the Righteous in collective memory.
Themes: Occupation, exclusion, anti-Semitism, deportation, Righteous in France, European construction, memories.
Historical periods: World War II, history of the present time.
Media: Archival documents, videos.
Main activity: Creation of a chronological timeline.
RESCUE AND RESISTANCE
THE STAR OF THE FIGHTER
For fifth-grade students, Paris
The workshop traces the journey of a Jewish resistance fighter. The children observe various forms of engagement, from rescue to armed struggle. Songs, objects and archival documents help to better understand the challenges of this plural resistance.
Themes: Occupation, exclusion, antisemitism, resistance, rescue.
Historical period: WWII.
Supports: Archival documents.
Main activity: Individual plastic production.
RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY
For fifth-grade students, Paris
By studying individual destinies, students discover the different forms of resistance, from the rescue of Jewish children to the liberation of the territory. Through the analysis of archival documents, they highlight the commitment of people from diverse backgrounds.
Themes: Occupation, rescue, clandestine networks, resistance.
Historical period: World War II. Archival documents, videos, music.
Main activity: Thorough study of archival documents to complete an individual booklet.
JOSEPH, JEAN, CLAUDE AND THE OTHERS...
For fifth-grade students, Paris
This workshop is based on the analysis of film excerpts about the lives of Jewish children in France under the Occupation. While analyzing the choices of staging and discovering the notions of cinematic language, students learn the story of hidden children.
Themes: Occupation, exclusion, antisemitism, rescue, hidden child, cinematic language.
Historical period: World War II. supports Film clips.
Main activity: Making a storyboard.
HISTORY AND CITIZENSHIP
US AND THE OTHERS AT THE CINEMA
For students in CM1 and CM2, Paris
Through excerpts from classic fiction films such as E.T. by Steven Spielberg (1982) and Edward in the Hands of Money by Tim Burton (1991), which recount a first encounter with the Other, children exchange ideas about prejudices and their relationship to otherness.
Themes: Prejudice, otherness, encounters, tolerance.
Historical period: History of the present time.
Supports: Excerpts from fantasy films.
Main activity: Individual plastic production.
US AND them: what is racism?
For students in CM1 and CM2, Paris
How do students today perceive racism? Between historical examples, plastic creations and exchanges, children are invited to broaden their reflection on the issue of rejection of the Other. The workshop thus aims to better understand the mechanisms of racism and provide useful tools for deconstructing prejudices more easily.
Themes: Prejudice, racism, anti-Semitism, exclusion, segregation.
Historical periods: Triangular trade, WWII.
Media: Archival documents, photographs, testimonies.
Main activity: Small group production of a poster.
STRANGE FOREIGNER
For students in CM1 and CM2, Paris
The storyteller invites children to a journey at the heart of Jewish folk tales and from five continents. Through these stories that summarize the spirit of a people, children discover the representation of "the stranger". They express themselves graphically and put into words their own representations.
Themes: Otherness, discovery, encounters, tolerance.
Historical period: History of the present time.
Supports: Contes merveilleux.
Main activity: Discovery of different tales and individual plastic realization.
By the way, what is it to be a Jew?
For students in CM2, 6th and 5th grade
On the eve of World War II, more than 300,000 Jews lived in France. So, what does it mean to be Jewish? From objects, melodies and images, students discover several facets of Judaism. Listening to nursery rhymes in Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish, Hebrew and Arabic serves as a support for the creation of an illustration.
Themes: Monotheisms, Jewish cultures, identities, diaspora.
Historical periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages, contemporary history.
Media: Cards, objects, music, games.
Main activity: Individual activity booklet.
PHILOSOPHY TO FIGHT PREJUDICE
For students in fifth grade, sixth grade and fifth grade, Paris
During a philosophical awakening session, the nature and forms of prejudice are discussed, as well as their links with discrimination, rejection, and hatred of others.
Themes: Prejudice, racism, anti-Semitism.
Historical period: Contemporary history.
Media: Photographs, videos, posters.
Main activity: Debate settled.
FREE TO CHOOSE ? INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY – SOMETHING NEW
For students in CM2, 6e, 5e
Themes: Otherness, freedom, responsibility, obedience/disobedience.
Historical period: Contemporary history.
Supports: Museum documents, photographs.
Main activity: Analysis of photographs, framed debate on a moral dilemma.
Dates:
- Thursday, March 12, 2026 from 9:30 to 12:00
- Tuesday, May 5, 2026 from 9:30 to 12:00
- Tuesday, June 9, 2026 from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
SPORT FACES DISCRIMINATION
For students from CM2 to 5e, Paris
From the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games to the present day, the workshop offers a reflection on the challenges of sport. It is based on the journeys of sportsmen and women, whose itineraries have strongly influenced societies. Based on the selected examples, the proposed activities (study of iconographic documents, debates, etc.) give significant attention to the issue of discrimination. An artistic production concludes the workshop: in connection with the themes addressed, the students imagine and create their own poster for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Themes: Occupation, antisemitism, exclusion, sexism, racism.
Historical periods: World War II, contemporary history.
Media: Archival documents, photographs.
Main activity: Small group production of a poster.
ART HISTORY
RESIST WITH ART AND LITERATURE
For fifth-grade students, Paris
From the rise of Nazism until the war, artists were committed to denouncing and testifying. Students discover this very special commitment through archival documents, photos and artistic reproductions. The analysis of the works of Charlotte Salomon, John Heartfield, Marc Chagall and Felix Nussbaum leads students to understand the role of artists in the Resistance.
Themes: Nazism, persecutions, propaganda, art, occupation, exclusion, resistance.
Historical periods: 1930s and WWII.
Media: Reproduction of works of art, archival documents.
Main activity: Creation of a photo collage.
THE STORY APPEARS
For students from CM2 to 5e, Paris
How can we see the images to better understand our history? This workshop on creating images offers an in-depth reading of a war poster. Children must analyze the graphics of words, symbols, and signs used, in order to better understand the elements of our history.
Themes: Censorship, propaganda, caricature.
Historical period: WWII.
Supports: Propaganda posters.
Main activity: Individual plastic production.
WANDERING MEMORY
For students from CM2 to 5e, Paris
What is the point of remembering? How does memory work? Who remembers and why? Christian Boltanski, Jiro Taniguchi, Muriel Bloch and many other artists have addressed these questions. From the discovery of very varied works (installation, comics, music, tale...), children will try to understand the main mechanisms of memory and its major functions. They will then discuss the use and role of commemorative plaques.
Themes: Memories, transmission, forgetting, memories.
Historical periods: World War II, history of the present time.
Media: Music, film excerpts, memorial plaques, book excerpts.
Main activity: Creation of a memory book.
good to know
Our activities for primary schools can be adapted for leisure centres and extra-curricular and extracurricular activities.
Cycles of specific educational workshops for schoolchildren in the city of Paris
PARIS UNDER OCCUPATION
This cycle consists of three activities: L'atelier Joseph, Jean, Claude and the others... (see above) at the Shoah Memorial, the visit to Le Marais sous l'Occupation, as well as the workshop La vie quotidienne dans le Paris de l'Occupation at the National Archives.
PREJUDICE, RACISM AND ANTISEMITISM
This cycle consists of three activities: the workshops Philosophy to fight prejudice and Strange Stranger (see above) at the Memorial, and a thematic visit Racism and anti-racism at the National Museum of the History of Immigration.
MEMORY AND HISTORY
This cycle consists of three activities: the workshops L'enfant aux deux noms and Aide-mémoire (see above) at the Memorial, and a workshop at school on Les plaques de mémoire et l'histoire des Justes in his neighborhood.
