Dreyfus Accused
Read through a translation of the famous text J’Accuse! and answer questions based off of the text. Students will learn about bias, perspective, and the construction of history.
Lesson Duration: 60+ Minutes
Lesson Plan
Hitler Youth and Kristallnacht
This lesson centers on interviews of Alfons Heck who became a high-ranking member of the Hitler Youth. This lesson will allow students the opportunity to hear his recollection of Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass.”
Enduring Understanding
The desire for people to belong, coupled with unrelenting propaganda, aided by the belief that the Jews were inferior beings, led to actions being taken by some Germans to harm their former friends and neighbors.
Essential Question
- 1How did so many citizens come to believe that the Jews, those who had been close friends and neighbors of so many, were enemies of the state?
Readiness
Ask students what they might already know about Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass.”
Input
Provide a brief overview of Kristallnacht with the students. Use the resource, Kristallnacht by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Holocaust Encyclopedia article as a resource for this. You do not need to go over the entire article, merely use it as a reference to provide some background information.
Output
Divide the class into groups and ask them to watch the video Confessions of a Hitler Youth.
Ask them to answer these questions:
- Why do you think Alfons Heck believed so strongly in Hitler and the Nazi’s message? Why do you think he continued to believe in this message even after witnessing Kristallnacht?
- Do you think it would have been possible to prevent the events of Kristallnacht?
- Based on what Alfons Heck tells us about what he witnessed, why do you think he said, “From now on, not one of us could ever maintain that we did not know what was in store for the Jews”?
- What was meant by the comment, “Children are like empty vessels”? What is the danger in this?
Wisconsin Academic Standards
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Teacher Primer
Know Before You Go
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Lesson Plan
Mock Paris Peace Conference
Students will simulate the negotiations done during the Paris Peace Conference. This activity will help students to understand the challenge faced when negotiating terms after World War I.
Enduring Understanding
The different players of the Paris Peace Conference all had their own agendas and ideas on repercussions.
Essential Question
- 1Is it possible to negotiate terms that everyone can be pleased with?
Readiness
Teacher's Note
Prior to this lesson students should have a general knowledge and understanding of World War I. If not, please go back to one of the lessons on WWI to prepare students for this lessons.
Open up the lesson with this simple activity: Imagine you have to split one pizza among four people. One person is gluten free, one is a vegetarian, one is allergic to olives, and the other LOVES meat. How do you compromise? What kind of pizza can you order that everyone could agree to?
You may want to draw a pizza on the board and have students raise their hands with options for crust and toppings.
Input
Teacher's Note
Mock trials and simulations are appropriate for this topic as it does not place students in the role of victim or perpetrator. In other lessons on the Holocaust, we caution against using simulations and role play activities.
Explain to the class that they will be divided into three groups in order to simulate the negotiations for the Paris Peace Conference. This document will provide the three groups with the information they will need in order to speak on behalf of either France, Britain, or the United States.
Divide the class into three groups and assign them to be France, Britain, or the US. Ask the students to read the materials for their country to understand where they stand in the negotiations.
Output
The worksheets that will be used below can be found on the Treaty of Versailles Simulation resource.
Provide students with the Options for Negotiation (page 4) so they are able to see what their options are during the negotiations.
It would be beneficial if you can arrange the classroom in a manner that would allow the three groups to converse openly during the negotiations, such as forming a giant circle with all chairs facing towards the center.
As the teacher you will be the one facilitating the negotiations. Using the Options for Negotiation (page 4), ask the first question to the class as a point for negotiation. You may not have time to go over every question so read them through and pick out which ones you find the most suited for your class. Provide students with the Negotiation Worksheet (page 5) to record the terms of agreement they were able to come up with.
Wisconsin Academic Standards
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Teacher Primer
Know Before You Go
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Lesson Plan
Mapping Stories of Extermination
Explore an interactive map and tap into first-hand accounts from various sites of massacre across Eastern Europe, a space that came to be known as the Bloodlands.
Enduring Understanding
Mobile killing squads massacred over one million Jews in the first years of the war and were aided by the neighbors of the victims.
Essential Question
- 1Why were some people willing to turn their neighbors and friends over to the Nazis or take part in murder themselves?
Readiness
Explain to students that one of the tactics used by the Nazi regime in their attempt to mass murder was the use of Mobile Killing Units, or the Einsatzgruppen. Under the cover of war, these groups marched into territories where they targeted and killed over half a million people, primarily Jews.
Input
Teacher's Note
This lesson is best used after an introduction to the SS through other lesson plans within this topic, so make certain that your students know what the Einsatzgruppen are.
Navigate the Yahud-in Unum map. The map is dotted with red and blue marks, each indicating a site of a massacre committed by the SS. It is recommended that you and your class familiarize yourself with navigating the map–zooming, dragging, clicking in and out of the sites.
Then, select a single country to focus on as a class. Centering attention in this way helps generate a sense of greater accomplishment at the end of the lesson.
Output
After selecting a country, refer to the map of SS movements. Note which SS groups would have been in the country and when–how long has this community been suffering from war? What might be their level of fear, hunger, or desperation when the SS show up?
Now, divide the class into groups of 3.
Each group must:
- Choose a site that is documented online (red).
- Examine all of the information available (text, pictures, videos, testimonials, etc.) and select the most significant and interesting information about the events that happened here.
- Create a presentation for the class using a selection of the materials provided by Yahud-in Unum. The presentation should attempt to answer the following questions:
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- How does this local story contribute to our understanding of the Holocaust?
- What does this location teach us about intolerance? Indifference? Power?
- What is the importance of discovering these buried stories?
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As the groups present, collect their answers to the major questions. These lessons can then become touchstones for continued discussion and inquiry about the Holocaust, about intolerance and about exploring the past.
Wisconsin Academic Standards
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
BH1.a: Individual Cognition, Perception, and Behavior
BH1.b: Personal Identity and Empathy
BH2.a: Relationship of People and Groups
Geog1.a: Tools of Geography
Geog1.b: Spatial Thinking (Map Interpretation)
Geog2.a: Population and Place
Hist1.a: Cause
Hist1.b: Effect
Hist3.b: Perspective
Hist4.a: Historical Context
Teacher Primer
Know Before You Go
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.