NJ Holocaust Grades 9-12 Curriculum: Unit 2
Unit Topic: From Prejucide to Policy in Nazi Germany
Grade(s): 9-12
Unit Goal: Students will develop a thorough understanding of how prejudicial policies developed in Nazi Germany, examining the progression from discrimination to systematic persecution and the devastating impact on targeted groups. Students will gain insight into the mechanisms of state-sponsored oppression and the consequences of unchecked prejudice and authoritarianism.
Objectives:
- Investigate how the societal and economic repercussions of Germany's defeat in World War I, coupled with the perceived injustices of the Treaty of Versailles, contributed to the widespread acceptance of Hitler’s nationalist and antisemitic ideologies among segments of the German population
- Identify and explain the key characteristics of fascism and investigate how propaganda, nationalism, and scapegoating were used by fascist leaders to consolidate power, leading to the marginalization and persecution of minority groups.
- Assess the responses of various segments of German society to the Nazis’ discriminatory policies, evaluating the factors that influenced individuals' choices to conform or oppose.
- Explore how Nazi propaganda was utilized to normalize prejudice and dehumanize targeted groups, analyzing specific campaigns and messages that facilitated the acceptance of discriminatory policies.
- Explore how various institutions, including the legal, education, and medical systems, participated in the establishment and enforcement of anti-Jewish policies, while evaluating the broader implications of institutional complicity.
- Investigate the increasing antisemitic rhetoric during the 1930s, culminating in the events of Kristallnacht, and evaluate its impact on the Jewish community, including the intensification of violence and the shift towards more aggressive policies of exclusion and persecution.
- Examine the obstacles encountered by individuals and families trying to emigrate from Nazi Germany, including restrictive immigration policies, financial barriers, and the bureaucratic complexities involved in obtaining visas and safe passage, as well as the broader implications of international responses to the refugee crises.
- What factors in Germany lead to the demise of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party?
- How did state-sponsored antisemitism amplify prevailing attitudes of Germans toward Jews?
- How did the Nazi regime use propaganda to normalize prejudice and justify discriminatory policies against Jews and other targeted groups?
- How did Nazi laws and policies evolve from discrimination to genocide, and what did these changes reveal about societal attitudes toward targeted groups?
- In what ways did individuals and institutions either support or resist the implementation of Nazi policies, and what factors influenced their decisions?
- What obstacles did Jews encounter in their attempts to flee Nazi Germany, and how did these challenges impact their decisions and chances of survival?
- The social, economic, and political turmoil following World War I created an environment in which extremist ideologies could gain traction, emphasizing the importance of context in understanding the rise of oppressive regimes.
- State-sponsored antisemitism in Nazi Germany intensified and legitimized existing negative attitudes toward Jews, creating an environment where discrimination, violence, and hatred were widely accepted.
- The use of propaganda by the Nazi regime effectively influenced public opinion, dehumanizing targeted groups and making their persecution acceptable in the eyes of society.
- Nazi laws and policies used and manipulated deeply ingrained societal attitudes of hatred and prejudice.
- Individuals and institutions supported or resisted Nazi policies based on factors such as fear, personal beliefs, moral values, and pressure to conform. Understanding these choices helps us recognize the impact of personal responsibility and the challenges of standing up against unjust regimes.
- Jews faced numerous obstacles in their attempts to flee Nazi Germany, including strict immigration laws, limited resources, and the difficulty of finding safe countries to accept them. These challenges made escape difficult, often impossible, highlighting the harsh realities of seeking refuge during the Holocaust.
HITLER’S RISE TO POWER AND NAZI IDEOLOGY
- (Facing History) *Spanish resources available
- (Museum of Jewish Heritage)
- (USHMM) *Spanish resources available
- (Lappin Foundation)
- (Facing History) *Spanish resources available
- (Facing History) *Spanish resources available
NAZI PROPAGANDA
- (USHMM)
- Is A Picture Always Worth 1000 Words? (Leo Baeck Institute and Defiant Requiem Foundation)
- (iWitness)
- with Teaching Guide (St. Olaf College) *Posters available in French
ANTI-JEWISH POLICIES AND DECREES
- (Echoes & Reflections)
- (iWitness)
- (Facing History) *Spanish resources available
KRISTALLNACHT - NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS
- (Facing History) *Spanish resources available
- (Echoes & Reflections)
- (IWitness)
- (Museum of Jewish Heritage)
DIFFICULTIES OF IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
- (USHMM) *Spanish resources available
- (Echoes & Reflections)
- (Facing History)
- Two Years in the Life of Adolph Markus (Leo Baeck Institute)
- (Liberation 75)
UNIT LITERATURE
- by Alexandra Zapruder - unit-specific lessons are linked below
HITLER’S RISE TO POWER AND NAZI IDEOLOGY
- The Berlin Boxing Club -Robert Sharenow
- How Did Adolf Hitler Happen? -National WWII Museum
- How American Racism Influenced Hitler - The New Yorker
- The Forgotten Lessons of the American Eugenics Movement - The New Yorker
NAZI PROPAGANDA
- -USHMM
- Nazi Propaganda and the Outbreak of World War II -USHMM
- Nazi Propaganda and the Myth of Aryan Invincibility - Life Magazine
- Why propaganda is more dangerous in the digital age - Washington Post
- The New Propaganda War - The Atlantic
ANTI-JEWISH POLICIES AND DECREES
- Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation -Anne Frank, Ari Folman, David Polonsky
- El Diario de Anne Frank *Spanish Language Edition
- We Were the Lucky Ones - Georgia Hunter
- 1933: How Did Americans React? -USHMM
- American Public Opinion and the Holocaust -USHMM
KRISTALLNACHT - NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS
- From Neighbors to Enemies: When a Community Disowned a Girl -USHMM
- ‘It’s Not That the Story Was Buried.’ What Americans in the 1930s Really Knew About What Was Happening in Germany -Time Magazine
DIFFICULTIES OF IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
- The Unanswered Letter: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help -Faris Cassell
- Artifacts Tell Six Stories of Escape -USHMM
- - Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center
- 1933: How Did Americans React? -USHMM
- American Public Opinion and the Holocaust -USHMM
- (IWitness)
- (USHMM)
- (USC Shoah Foundation)
- Companion Educational Resource (Echoes & Reflections)
- (IWitness)
Media Literacy
- (Checkology)
- (Checkology)
- (USHMM) *Spanish resources available
- (Newseum)
- (Facing History)
- The Hitler Letter: Understanding the Rhetoric of Hate (Museum of Tolerance Lesson)
- (PBS Learning Media)
- (PBS Learning Media)
- Propaganda Techniques in History and Today (Museum of Tolerance Lesson)
US History + Government
- (USHMM Virtual Exhibit) with
- (PBS Documentary) with Discussion Guide
- (PBS American Experience)
- (Film)
- (Yale Fortunoff Video Archive)
- (Facing History)
- (PBS Learning Media)
Current Events
- Obstacles to U.S. Immigration: 1938 and Today (Leo Beck Institute)
- (IWitness)
- Immigration and Refugees: Comparing the Contemporary Refugee Crises to Historical Immigration And Refugee Movements (The University of North Carolina)
Biology and Psychology
- ” (PBS American Experience)
- (USHMM)
- (USHMM)
- “Emma, Carrie, Vivian” (Hidden Brain)
Art and Music
- Creating a Modern-Day Propaganda Poster (National Constitution Center)
- (PBS Learning Media)
- (Yad Vashem)
- (Music and the Holocaust)
World Languages - French
- (Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center)
- Premiers repères: Un guide préparatoire à l'enseignement de l'Holocauste
- Films: La Rafle (2010), Un Sac de Billes (2017)
- Pyramid of Hate (ADL)
- (Southern Poverty Law Center)
- (United Nations)
- (USHMM) *Spanish resources available
- Holocaust Survivors Project of South Jersey (Stockton University)
- 6.2.12.CivicsPI.4.a: Compare and contrast socialism, communism, fascism, and liberal democracy, analyze the extent to which they promote and protect civil, political, social and economic rights for people, and explain the reasons for their growth or decline around the world.
- 6.2.12.EconEM.4.a: Analyze government responses to the Great Depression and their consequences, including the growth of fascist, socialist, and communist movements and the effects on capitalist economic theory and practice.
- 6.2.12.HistoryCC.4.c: Analyze the extent to which the legacy of World War I, the global depression, ethnic and ideological conflicts, imperialism, and traditional political or economic rivalries caused World War II.
- 6.2.12.HistoryCC.4.g: Use a variety of resources from different perspectives to analyze the role of racial bias, nationalism, and propaganda in mobilizing civilian populations in support of “total war.”