The Holocaust

1. The Holocaust American History, 9th Grade World War II Mary Ellen Buechter Ed 439 Professor Helms Feb. 6, 2002

2. Objectives • At the end of this section you will • 1. Have a general understanding of the Holocaust • 2. Learn factual information about the Holocaust • 3. Know where to look for further information about the Holocaust • 4. Be aware of societal circumstances that led to the Holocaust • 5. Be able to discuss our prejudices in today’s society • 6. Discuss and learn how to prevent tragedies like the Holocaust • 7. Learn how to work together to make the world a better place

3. Materials Needed • Computer, projector, screen • Computers for students with internet access, printers and word processing software • Textbook • Story from Reader’s Digest • 40 copies of the Newspaper Supplement “The Holocaust” (Dayton Daily News)

4. Holocaust in Pictures • Review these sites • http://www.remember.org/camps/ • http://www.remember.org/witness/

5. Definition • The Holocaust was a Nazi effort before and during World War II to murder anyone considered undesirable under the program of Adolf Hitler. • The chief target of this hatred and destruction were the Jews of Europe, and during the Nazi years about 6 million people were killed in slave camps or gas chambers. • Nazi philosophy sought to create a master race dominated by blond, blue-eyed Aryan features and also sought to eliminate the mentally or physically handicapped, gypsies, Slavs and homosexuals.

6. Vocabulary

7. Vocabulary Review(Group work activity) • Write each vocabulary word on paper. • Define each word using the text, dictionary or computer. • Make a puzzle with the words on • http://puzzlemaker.com/

8. Hitler Hitler, it can be said with all objectivity, was a failure as a boy and young man. He was unable to demonstrate conviction or industry of any sort. He never completed high school, and he barely survived by doing odd jobs. His negative attitude was formed early in life. He blamed his lack of success on everyone but himself. He had a hatred, totally unfounded, of Jews whom he blamed for his lack of success. But Jews were not his only hatred. He had no use for democracy or democratic procedures, and he particularly hated anyone who disagreed with him. He would become hysterically enraged at any opposition to his opinions. Hitler was an Austrian by birth and a German by choice. In 1914 he moved to Germany. When WWI broke out in 1914, he joined the German army. In the army, Hitler “found” himself and developed qualities of leadership. After the war, Germany was in chaos. People were poor, hungry, jobless, and disillusioned. Hitler capitalized on German discontent and, with others, formed a new political party, the members of which were called Nazis. The charismatic Hitler led the party to eventual domination of Germany. Hitler’s rise to power was marked by ruthless persecution of all who opposed him. His particular targets were the Jews of Germany and of other countries his armies conquered. He picked on the weak and the helpless and in the process had millions of Jewish children and adults murdered by his storm troopers. How he conducted the war is another story, but in the end he lost. Finally, he killed himself as the Russians and Americans were storming the last bastion of his empire---Berlin.

9. Hitler’s Goals • Eliminate any power the Jews possess • Eliminate citizenship for the Jews • Eliminate the Jewish population

10. October, 1939 Deportations Ghettos December, 1939 Lodz Labor Camps Soviet Union Gas chambers Wannsee Conference Final Solution End of the War Eichmann http://www.pbs.org/eichmann/study2.htm/ Activity: Print the story of Eichmann on the web address and highlight the dates/words listed above. What sentence would you give him for his war crimes?

11. Attitudes Then/Today • Prejudice • Resentment • Mistrust • Jealousy • Fear Class Discussion: What attitudes do we (society) have today that reflect these same attitudes the Nazis had toward the Jews? How can we as a society overcome these attitudes? Have attitudes in society improved since WWII? How and why?

12. Attitude Activity • Write one attitude you have that affects how you act/react to others. • Do not put your name on the paper. • The teacher will read the attitudes and the students will list suggestions for changing that attitude. • Discuss how to make changes in your life one day at a time.

13. Nuremberg LawsSept. 15, 1935 • Marriage between Jews and non-Jewish Germans are forbidden. Marriages performed in violation of this law are invalid, even if the marriage was entered into outside of Germany. • Relationships between male and female, Jews and Germans, are prohibited. • Jews must not employ German maids in their homes who are under 45 years of age. • Jews cannot display the German flag. • Only a person who is of German ancestry can be a citizen. Jews are subjects, but not citizens, of Germany • The Reich (German) citizen, a person of German blood, is the only holder of full political rights. • A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich (Germany), cannot vote and cannot hold public office. • Jews cannot attend public schools, go to theaters, vacation at resorts, or reside or even walk in certain sections of German cities. • Jews are required to wear arm bands or badges bearing the six-pointed Star of David to publicly identify themselves as Jewish.

14. Kristallnacht and After • Read page 6 of the newspaper and answer the questions on a separate piece of paper. • Click below and read about the activities of those two days. • http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-knacht.htm

15. Timeline Review the timeline of the Holocaust through this link. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html Activity: Make your own timeline. List at least 10 items on your timeline, include month, day and year of activity and draw a picture/diagram with each item.

16. Death Camps • Review pages 8 and 9 of your newspaper. • Read the information about the death camps. • Review the maps on the pages and answer the questions about the concentration and death camps. • Review the site below. http://www.nizkor.org/faqs/auschwitz/auschwitz-faq-03.html If you were in the Nazi army and assigned to a death camp, what would you do when you were told to kill? Write 1 paragraph.

17. Death Tolls • Make a graph of the following death tolls using your text book and the internet. • 1. Total murdered in each camp location. • 2. Total murdered by nationality. • 3. Total murdered by sex and age. • 4. Total murdered by direct killing and those who died by disease/starvation. • This site will assist you: • http://www.vho.org/GB/Journals/JHR/11/3/Nordling335-344.html

18. How Could This Happen? • List on the board the events leading up to the Holocaust. • Make stop signs along the way and each time explain how the Holocaust could have been stopped? Include by whom, where, and when.

19. Our Freedoms • What document guarantees our freedoms? • Using your textbook, list and explain the first ten amendments. • Write a brief summary of how two of those amendments, if they were in place in Nazi Germany in 1930, could have prevented the Holocaust.

20. Liberation • Review the following web site. • http://www.remember.org/mooney/full_version.html • Class discussion • 1. Why did the allies wait so long for the liberation of the death camps? • 2. Who liberated which camps? • 3. What did the soldiers find when they arrived? • 4. Was that the end to the problem? What happened next?

21. In My Hands • Listen to the Reader’s Digest version of the book. Activity: Write a short book report on the story.

22. Images • Review the web site below and print three images from the Holocaust. Write a short explanation of your image. Include the date of the photo. • http://remember.org/image/index.html

23. Holocaust National Museum • The greatest tribute to the Holocaust. • Visit the Museum in Washington, D.C. • Review this site, discuss location, travel distance, time and cost. http://www.ushmm.org/