Tell students that they will be watching a video on the aftermath of World War I. Ask students why they think it is important to study World War I when setting the groundwork for Holocaust education.

Watch the video, Chapter 1: Aftermath of World War I and the Rise of Nazism, 1918-1933 by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

While the students watch, have them answer the following questions:

1. What was the political and economic scene like after World War I?
2. What did Hitler do while in jail? How might his incarceration have helped his public image?
3. How did Hitler get into a position of power? Was he elected?
4. How did the emergency decree get signed? What impact did it have?

Go over the questions as a class, clearing up any points of confusion any of the students may have.

Open up a class discussion with the questions below using pre-writing or pair-and-share if appropriate for your students.

1. Advances in technology meant that war became more destructive, the video mentions the introduction of poison gas. What advancements in war have been made since World War II that cause more destruction? Are there any advantages to the new methods of war?
2. Why do you think it was so hard for Germans to accept that they had lost the war?
3. Were there any signs you noticed that could have foreshadowed what was to come?

Ask students how they might go about solving a problem under difficult circumstances. (Maybe they want money for a game system that their parents do not want to pay for. Perhaps their parents do not approve of them spending time with a new friend.) How does being faced with a difficult problem help inspire creativity?

Watch the video, Facing History Scholar Reflections: The Weimar Republic by Facing History and Ourselves once through as a class. Watch it a second time pausing after the following sections to discuss. Ask students what questions they have about the clips. Go through the questions that accompany each clip.

Beginning – 1:11 Intro to Weimar and the end of WWI

• How did the end of WWI set the stage for what was to come?
• Do you think the Allies had other options than the terms they set at Versailles?

1:20-2:32 Politics and the arts

• Name some ways German society changed during the early Weimar years?
• What are some of the most interesting developments during this era, in your opinion?

2:32-4:08 Outsiders and Insiders

• What was the event that led to rising popularity for the extremists?
• What is opportunism?

4:09-End Growing popularity with the Nazi party

• How do you think the Nazi party was able to gain so much traction?
• Why did people follow Nazism? Was it because of their anti-Jewish stance or for other reasons?

Open up a discussion about how the Nazi party aimed to solve the problems prevalent during the Weimar years.

1. What problems were people facing?
2. How did the Nazi party benefit from these hard times?
3. How were people convinced by their rhetoric?

Explain to students that they are going to be watching a video that will help explain the Treaty of Versailles, which brought an end to World War I and set the terms for the interwar period. Since Germany started WWI, do they suppose the Treaty was kind to them or unkind?

Watch YouTube videos, The Treaty of Versailles, What Did the Big Three Want? 1/2 and The Treaty of Versailles, Terms of the Treaty 2/2 from Simple History.

While the students are watching, have them take note of some things that stood out to them. Were they aware that Germany did not have a seat at the negotiation table?

Divide the class into groups of four. Have them discuss their first reactions to the contents of the video amongst themselves. Give 5 minutes for them to address their first impressions and questions that they have about the video. Ask them thereafter to share these thoughts with the large group and ask their questions to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Then review the discussion questions as a class.

1. Did you think the reparations decided in the Treaty of Versailles were fair?
2. What are the consequences of imposing such harsh punishments on Germany?
3. Would it have been more constructive to focus on how to settle international disputes during this conference?
4. What do you think the long-term consequences and challenges ahead for Germany might be?

Ask each group to return to discussion and address these questions. Give 10 minutes for discussion and then ask each group to respond to one question in an effort to kick off broader conversations about each.

Ask students what they already know about propaganda. What is it? What purpose does it serve? How is it similar and different from other efforts to persuade people?

Watch the 6 minute video – The Power of Nazi Propaganda with students. Replay the video if necessary
While they watch the movie, have students answer the following questions:

1. What was the logic behind using red in so much of Nazi propaganda?
2. How were the Jews portrayed in Nazi propaganda?
3. Hitler believed that the spoken word, rather than the written word, was responsible for all the great events in history. How did his public speaking feed into this?

Divide the class into groups of three to five to discuss the questions below. Have one person in the group be responsible for taking notes and writing down their answers. Pull up the images of Nazi propaganda below for the groups to look over while in their groups. These images come from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

• “He Bears the Guilt for the War!”
• “The Poisonous Mushroom”
• “The German Student”

1. Why did the Nazis use propaganda to advance their political aims?
2. Where do you find propaganda in your life today? Consider advertising, political messaging, and other examples.
3. When does propaganda become dangerous?
4. What is the best weapon against being manipulated?
5. How do you think learning about Nazi propaganda can help us today?

If time permits, reconvene as a class to go over the answers the groups came up with. Have students add to their notes with responses from their classmates.