Girl in the Blue Coat

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: “Blue and the Meaning of Colors in Occupied Amsterdam”

Blue has a special meaning in the context of the Jewish Holocaust. In 2021, Israeli artist Yishai Jusidman explored the relationship between blue and the Holocaust in his exhibit “Prussian Blue,” which featured dozens of paintings and photographs, all of which used the eponymous color. For Jusidman, “[Prussian blue] came to embody the Holocaust and became the lens through which he—and by extension viewers—could examine the horrors of the past.” The color Prussian blue was first created in Berlin at the turn of the 18th century, and it was the color of the uniforms worn by German soldiers until World War I. Here’s an additional layer of meaning: Jusidman discovered that the Nazis used a cyanide-based pesticide (called Zyklon B) that tainted the walls of the gas chambers with a blueish hue. You can read more about the exhibit “Prussian Blue” here at Medialine, and here in The Times of Israel.

The color blue is also featured prominently in Girl in the Blue Coat. In this activity, you will create two visual pieces—these could be drawings, paintings, or collages—that convey two of the book’s core themes or messages. In your visual pieces, you will pay special attention to the use of color to communicate those messages. Before you begin, first think of the various colors that are associated with the book’s historical setting and geographical location:

• Consider the colors of the flag of the Netherlands (red, white, and blue).
• Consider that orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family.
• Consider the colors of the markings, imposed upon the Jewish population by the Nazis.

When you are ready to begin creating your visual pieces, decide what themes or messages from the book you want to convey. Then, select a color palette before you begin drawing or fleshing out the visual elements of your visual pieces. Once everyone in class has created their visual pieces, you will present them to the class and explain the reasons behind your works of art.

Teaching Suggestion: This exercise will encourage students to express their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the book in a visual, graphic manner. For students who are not confident in their drawing skills and/or for those who prefer to work in “multimedia,” make sure students have access to collage material. Also give students a very brief primer on abstract art, and suggest they choose colors and shapes like those to convey the book’s messages.