Matilda Kalef -- Three Promises

The Kalefs were one of the Belgrade's oldest families, tracing their roots back more than 300 years. Then the Nazis swept into Serbia in 1941... While scores of relatives were being shot and gassed, Dona Bat Kalef fled with her two daughters, Breda and Matilda, to a Catholic church in Banovo Brdo. "Can you protect us?" she asked the priest. Father Andrej Tumpej did indeed save Dona and her daughters, and this film tells their story.

Study Guides

YUGOSLAVIA

After the First World War, the Kingdom of Serbia became part of the newly founded "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes", which stretched from the Western Balkans to Central Europe. This territory was ethnically very diverse.

JEWISH BELGRADE

The first written records of the presence of Jews in Belgrade date back to the 16th century when the city was under Ottoman rule. At that time Belgrade boasted a strong Sephardic community that was concentrated in the central Belgrade neighborhood called Dorcol.

SERBIAN JEWRY IN WWII

The destruction of Serbia's Jewry was carried out in two distinct phases. The first lasted from July to November 1941 and involved the mass internment and murder of Jewish men, who were shot as part of retaliatory executions. The second phase, between December 1941 and May 1942, included the incarceration of women and children in the Semlin Judenlager and their gassing in mobile gas vans.

SEPHARDIM

A Sephardic Jew is a Jew descended from, or who follows the customs and traditions of, Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) before their expulsion in the late 15th century. They are referred to as Sephardim, as “Sepharad” means Spain in Hebrew.  For religious purposes, the term Sephardim also refers to all Jews who use a Sephardic style of liturgy, and therefore includes most Jews of Middle Eastern background, whether or not they have any historical connection to the Iberian Peninsula.

Lesson plans for this film

22 results
For grades Documents

Courageous People Project

Civic activism

Students work on the questions of “what is an act of moral courage” and “what is required to act courageously”. They explore the past and the present to discover courageous...

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Holocaust and Human Rights

Civic activism

The subject: "Learning about the Holocaust and Human Rights" was selected as part of a school activity program and particularly as  part of the lesson, "The Joy of Reading", it was...

10

Breda and Matilda Kalef: "Three Promises"

History
12

3 lives

History

The project is done by a group of 6 students for Spanish elective class where the students first watched Kalef movie by Centropa then based on the movie, created their...

9

The family - The root gives life to a tree. The family gives life to mankind.

History

Grade of Class:

primary school students aged 11-12 students 13-14 and their parents Number of students in one class: 15 to 17

The familyThe root gives life to a tree...

6

"Three Promises" - Lesson Plan

History

Aims:

-       Identifying causal relations between characters and events

-       Helping the students develop critical thinking skills through the analysis of historical sources (a film)

-       Raising students’ consciousness...

11

"Three Promises" Interactive Film Script

History

The interactive film scripts combine the scripts of the Centropa Films with the links metioned in the Study Guides, thus marking various historical, cultural and geographical references.

You can use...

"Three Promises" Interactive Film Script

History

The interactive film scripts combine the scripts of the Centropa Films with the links metioned in the Study Guides, thus marking various historical, cultural and geographical references.

You can use...

Lesson plan on the Centropa film "Three Promises"

History
8

The Power of a Promise

etika, hit- és erkölcstan
Reflecting about who we are and how we behave are central to the High Holiday experience. Beginning with Elul and running through Simchat Torah, Jews ask forgiveness for our sins...
10, 11, 12, 6, 7, 8, 9

Using the Kalef film in Slovenian schools

History

 I decided to use film Three promises, as it involves Slovene people. I focused more on the life story of Breda and Matilda, not so much on the Holocaust. 

The...

9

Three Promises: Personal Stories as Historical Material

History

This lesson plan uses group work, creative writing, and multimedia to teach subjects including History, Literature, Civics, Social and Political Education, Philosophy, Language etc. It is also useful in discussions...

11

Life During World War II

History

This is a history project but because we want our students ultimately to teach each other, we started with an introductory video conference during which students asked each other questions...

11

"Three promises": A project about the Kalef family

History

This project uses family photos from the Kalef family to trigger a discussion about memory.

8

Centropa Biography Film/Stolpersteine Assignment

History, other projects
In this project, students work in pairs to read Centropa biographies, create a 5 minute video about the interviewee, and design a Stolpersteine (commemorative stone) for them.
6, 7, 8, 9

Looking back: A child’s recollections of the Holocaust through the eyes of the children of today

History
In this cross-cultural project, three Jewish school teachers assigned their students to read the same text using slightly different assignments. Students in all classes produced art in response to the...
10, 11, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Jewish People and Gentiles

Civic activism, History
Our textbooks have very little information on the Holocaust. Students are familiar with the impacts of the Holocaust in Germany and Poland but they know very little about Eastern European...
10, 11, 6, 7, 8, 9

Lo Ta'amod: A Jewish Values Family Education Program

etika, hit- és erkölcstan

In this family education program, we apply Centropa’s stories from our past to reflect on our values, and translate that learning into action for the present and future. The goal...

Sećanje na žrtve Holokausta

other projects

Pošto učenici uče jako malo o Holokaustu na časovima istorije, mislila sam da treba nešto raditi i na času odelj.starešine. Gimnazijalci imaju i sociologiju i građansko vaspitanje kao i psihologiju...

8

Наставна јединица: „Три обећања“

History

Getting to know and “adopting” my neighborhood

etika, hit- és erkölcstan, History
A year-long project that includes several parts—making videos and a photograph tour of the local Jewish history in Thessaloniki, creating a Holocaust library for the school, creating an exhibition for...
10, 11, 12, 9

Promises

History, other projects

The broad theme of these lessons is human connection, and a more specific theme is promises: how people keep promises, or don’t, and what happens in either situation. Students are...

10, 11, 12, 7, 8, 9