El Otro Camino: 1492 (Centropa)

High School (Grades 9-12)

A Centropa film tracing Sephardic Jews from Spain’s 1492 expulsion to Sarajevo, with free lesson plans.

Lesson Plan

In 1492, the same summer Columbus set sail, Spain expelled its Jews after more than a thousand years of Jewish life there. Many found refuge in the Ottoman Empire, where Sephardic communities in cities such as Istanbul, Salonika, and Sarajevo kept their Ladino language and traditions for centuries. This short documentary from Centropa follows that story to Sarajevo, where most of the community was murdered in the Holocaust, and where, during the siege of the city in 1992, the 500th anniversary of the expulsion, the small Jewish community chose to help all of its neighbors.

Questions Students Explore

  1. Why were the Jews of Spain expelled in 1492, and where did they find refuge?
  2. How did Sephardic Jews keep their language and traditions alive for 500 years?
  3. How can a community that has suffered intolerance choose to respond differently?

What Students Do

  • Watch a 12 minute documentary, available in Spanish, Ladino, or Hebrew audio with English subtitles.
  • Trace the routes of the Sephardic diaspora from Spain to North Africa, Western Europe, and the Ottoman Empire.
  • Explore Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language of Sephardic Jews.
  • Discuss how memory of persecution shaped the Sarajevo Jewish community’s choices during the war of the 1990s.

At a Glance

Grade level: Grades 9 to 12 (a Centropa lesson on Ladino is designed for middle school)
Film length: 12 minutes
Languages: Spanish, Ladino, or Hebrew audio, with English subtitles
Source: Centropa

About this resource

This film and its lesson plans were created by Centropa, not JIMENA. JIMENA recommends them as a companion to our lessons on Sephardic and Middle Eastern Jewish communities. The film and teaching materials are free on Centropa’s website.

Watch the film and get the lesson plans on Centropa  Opens on centropa.org

Procedures

Before You Teach

  • Preview the film on Centropa’s website and choose the subtitle language that fits your class.
  • Choose a lesson plan. Centropa offers several guides for this film, including a lesson on Ladino, language of the Sephardic Jews and Roads, an introduction to Sephardic history.
  • Prepare students for content about expulsion, the Holocaust, and war. Invite, but never require, students to share family connections to these histories.
Body of Lesson

Suggested Sequence

  1. Before viewing (10 min). Ask: What happens to a community’s language and traditions when it is forced to leave its home? Show a map of Spain, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire.
  2. Watch the film (12 min). Students note one place, one tradition, and one decision the community made.
  3. Map the journey (15 min). In pairs, students trace the routes Sephardic Jews took after 1492, including to Morocco and other parts of North Africa as well as the Ottoman lands, and mark where Ladino was spoken.
  4. Discuss (15 min). How did memory of past persecution shape the way Sarajevo’s Jewish community responded to the siege of 1992? What does the title, “The Other Path,” mean?
Conclusion

Reflection

Students write a short reflection: What does it mean to “take another path” when you have experienced intolerance? Give one example from the film and one from history or your own community.

Assessment Ideas

  • Formative: viewing notes, the map of Sephardic routes, and discussion.
  • Summative: the written reflection, or a short presentation on one Sephardic community and how it preserved its traditions.
Extension Activities
Resources and External Links