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?

Ask students what they know about the other groups persecuted by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Can they come up with other examples of groups that were the targets of Nazi violence?

Explain to students that the Nazis’ idea of creating a superior Aryan (white, European descent) race meant that anyone who did not meet these criteria was endangered . Although there was not a specific organized pogrom to eliminate the African Germans, an unknown number were sterilized, incarcerated, or murdered.

Direct students to the resource by The Holocaust Explained from the Wiener Holocaust Library. Scroll down to the section titled, ‘Black People’ or choose it from the list on the left side of the page.

Have students read through this section, taking notes on each of the topics: Employment, Education, Sterilization and Imprisonment, and End of War. When taking notes, students should build a list of acts of social and legal discrimination as well as physical actions and violence against Black people in Germany.

Come together as a class. Ask students to look down at the notes they have written down. Ask students if they are surprised by their list. Did they expect there to be so many actions taken against Black people? What actions stood out the most?

At the end of this resource it implies that Black people could have been targeted for mass murder if Germany had not been defeated. What can you deduce from the parallels between the mistreatment of Jews and Blacks that supports this statement?

If necessary, review the Nuremberg Race Laws or the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools.

Explain to students that a string of anti-Jewish legislation came into effect in Germany in 1933. These laws segregated Jews from Germans and restricted where they could work, who they could marry, and where they could attend school.

Direct students to the resource, Law Limits Jews in Public Schools by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Discuss the following questions in an open discussion:

1. Why did the Nazis call this a law “against overcrowding”?
2. What purpose(s) did it serve to reduce the amount of Jewish students in schools and universities?
3. How might separating Jewish children from their German classmates impact how they will view one another later in life?

Explain to students that the Nuremberg Laws were the first official step in systematic persecution of Jews in Germany. Creating this definition was not an easy task, it took years for German officials to agree on what being Jewish meant. This initial step in identifying and separating Jews from society was essential to carry out the persecution that followed.

Take the students through the resource, Nuremberg Race Laws by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. With a partner, ask the students to go through the resource and take notes using the 3Ps method, jotting down what they find a) Profound b) Puzzling and c) Propelling.

In order to familiarize yourself, and your class with this model, please look over this guide: 3Ps: A Critical Reading Guide.

Have the pairs partner up with another group to form groups of four. As they gather in these groups, provide them with the following instructions:

1. Go over what you and your partner took notes on as part of their 3Ps. Perhaps the new pair can clear up your puzzling section, if not be sure to ask the teacher to go over it.
2. Discuss the three critical thinking questions located at the bottom of the resource.
3. Come up with your own thought-provoking question with your group. The question should attempt to take what we learned from this lesson on the Nuremberg Laws and relate it to something in the present day.

Give students 20 minutes to complete these tasks and use the last 10 minutes to hear what the groups came up with for their questions.

Begin by asking your students if they have heard of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. What does it state? What was the theory applied to?

Show students a YouTube video titled, Key Historical Concepts in Holocaust Education: Race Doctrine by Yad Vashem. Before starting the video, give students the list of questions. Let them know they will have a chance to watch the video a second time.

1. What did the Nazis base the categorization of races from?
2. What did this theory state?
3. How did Hitler alter this theory to fit his preconceived notion of the division of races?
4. Where did Jews fall in his hierarchy of races?
5. What did Hitler say would happen if Aryans were to mix with the lesser races?

Give students a few minutes to finish writing down their answers. Watch the video a second time if needed and then go over the questions as a class.

Divide the class into groups of four. Provide them with this quote by American novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Toni Morrison, “There is no such thing as race. None. There is just a human race – scientifically, anthropologically.”

In their groups, ask students to have a discussion with the questions below:

1. The video placed heavy influence on the importance of race and hierarchy of humans. How does this quote combat that view?
2. In what ways is race still an important part of society today?

Reconvene as a class to open up the discussion. Were there any disagreements within the groups?