Creating a Divide

Explain to students that before the Nazi rise to power the Jewish community was well integrated into German society, meaning that many Jews worked, went to school, and were part of the same social scene as their non-Jewish counterparts.

There are two short clips (1:45 and 1:29) that help illustrate this for students. Go to the iWitness website by USC Shoah Foundation and show them the clips from Margaret Lambert. It should be the first two clips on the page. Play the one where Margaret speaks about her childhood in Germany first. Next, play the clip where Margaret speaks about segregation and exclusion from anti-Jewish laws.

Ask students the following questions after they have viewed both clips:

• How did Margaret describe her childhood and her feelings about her being Jewish?
• What changed for Margaret after 1933?
• Do you notice a change in her behavior or attitude from one video to the next?

Explain to students that during the first six years of the Nazi regime, more than 400 legal restrictions were imposed on Jews and other groups. Ask students to pull up the resource on Antisemitic Legislation 1933-1939 from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This resource will show 29 examples of antisemitic legislation.

In groups of 2 or 3, assign one of the years from the list. Multiple groups can have the same year, especially years that have multiple items under it. In these groups, students will pick a specific law to learn more about. You can either assign them a specific law or let them pick one themselves under their designated year.

Have students go to the digital exhibition, State of Deception, by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Show them the different pages of the exhibition. As a class, go through the “What is Propaganda?” page. Show them how to get to the page showcasing the 1933-1939: Dictatorship section. This is where they will be working for this activity.

Provide this worksheet for students as they navigate the time frame 1933-1939.

Discuss the following questions in your small groups, then come back together as a class and share.

• How did the laws and decrees, paired with the propaganda, pave the way for further violence and persecution during the Holocaust?
• For what purpose did the Nazis control all aspects of media and culture?