Contextualization
Watch a compelling video about antisemitism as it manifests in the world today, with insights from global experts on the subject.
Antisemitism undermines the foundations of democracy.
At the opening of the video, Samatha Power says, “it would be a grave mistake to view antisemitism as something that merely affects the Jewish people.” Provide this short quote to your students before viewing the video and prompt them to pre-write about it. What do they think it means? How can this be so? Give them 5 minutes to compose some thoughts and then ask them to share.
Watch Antisemitism Today by the USHMM. The video is complex and might be broken down for clarity by pausing between the following sections.
At the conclusion of each section, ask students to reflect on what they understood, what confused them, and what questions they have about the subject. Give space to address these insights.
Beginning to 1:35: What is antisemitism and why it is a problem for democracy
1:35 – 3:00: Two non-governmental manifestations, Islamic & Right Wing extremism
3:00 – 4:35: Antisemitism and its relationship to anti-Zionism and Holocaust denial
4:35 – End: The threat to society created by antisemitism
After the discussion of the video is over and students are feeling comfortable with the information, return to the quote highlighted by Samatha Powers:
“It would be a grave mistake to view antisemitism as something that merely affects the Jewish people.”
Ask your students to expand on their initial writing by answering the following questions:
Give students 10 minutes to reflect on these questions.
If time permits, have students share their reflections in small groups or full class discussion.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Learn about the complex and trying time that Germany experienced during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933).
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s first democracy; meaning leaders were tasked with a complete makeover of institutions, political culture, education, and judiciary systems.
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
1:20-2:32 Politics and the arts
2:32-4:08 Outsiders and Insiders
4:09-End Growing popularity with the Nazi party
Open up a discussion about how the Nazi party aimed to solve the problems prevalent during the Weimar years.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Explore what Germany was like after the Treaty of Versailles and how this set the stage for the Weimar years. Students will be introduced to the Nazi party at its early stages.
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s first democracy; meaning leaders were tasked with a complete makeover of institutions, political culture, education, and judiciary systems.
Explain to students that they will be reading an overview of the Weimar Republic and how that era helped foster the rise of Nazism. Discuss with students that the creation of the first democracy in Germany seemed to happen overnight, making it a time of confusion and excitement in politics, culture, and society as a whole.
Direct students to the Echoes & Reflections resource, The Weimar Republic and the Rise of the Nazi Party. Have them read through the document using the 3Ps method- taking notes on what they find a) Powerful 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.
Split the class up into groups of four or five. Give students a chance to try to help answer each other’s puzzling reflections and share their more profound insights. Then ask groups to share what remains puzzling to them. Allow 10-15 minutes for group work.
Finally, assign each group one of the discussion questions below. Double up if necessary. Allow the group 5 minutes to formulate a response that they can share with the class in large discussion thereafter.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Navigate the complex and trying time of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) by exploring readings and testimonies from the era.
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s first democracy; meaning leaders were tasked with a complete makeover of institutions, political culture, education, and judiciary systems.
Ask students what they think Germany was like following the end of World War I. What might they expect it to have been like, after a war that saw them lose a great deal of power? Would they expect that the initial response would be radical democracy? Would they expect that democracy could lead to Nazism?
Pull up the resource, ‘The Weimar Republic: The Fragility of Democracy‘ by Facing History and Ourselves. Scroll to the bottom where all of the readings are located. Point out the different titles of resources that represent all that was happening during this brief period in German history.
Click on the reading titled, ‘Virtual Essay: Free Expression in the Weimar Republic‘ Read through the first paragraph and click through some of the images with the class. They will be assigned different readings from this page.
Divide the class into groups of three to five. Assign each group a reading. You may choose others, but recommendations include ‘Rumors of Betrayal’, ‘When Money Had No Value’, ‘Women in the Weimar Republic’, ‘A New Economic Crisis’ and ‘Voices in the Dark.’
Have students read through their article in groups and prepare to share what they learned from it with the class. Students should be able to answer what contribution it played into the fragile democracy.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Contextualize the experience of Americans in the late 1930s by highlighting the social and economic facts of the day and examining news artifacts from the era.
Americans were aware of the rise of Fascism in Europe during the years prior to the Holocaust and many supported this movement.
Ask students whether they can identify how their opinions about the world are shaped. What are the things that influence their perception of what is going on?
Then, set the stage for what Americans would have been experiencing in 1938. Ask your students, what do they know about the US in 1938? Its economy? Sports? Life? How did people at that time get their information- newspapers, movies, radio? How might their views of the world have been shaped?
Have students watch the video American Newsreel from USHMM’s Americans and the Holocaust exhibit website. Begin by watching the first 2:15, through the Silver Shirts newspaper campaign.
Prompt students to consider the content of the first two minutes in large discussion or via pair-and-share.
Continue watching the video through 4:45, with the meeting of Mussolini and Hitler and then stop to ask questions about the information being distributed in America:
Finally, watch the last two minutes of the video, which is an excerpt from March of Time which gave Americans a glimpse into life in Nazi Germany. After the video, ask students to draft short answers to these questions and either generate discussion from them or collect as an assignment:
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Why did the US fail to act after there was confirmation of mass murder against European Jews? Guide students through the disappointing history of the US State department’s obstruction of the truth of the Holocaust.
The U.S. knew about the Holocaust, but failed to act in response to it until it was almost over.
Briefly, ask students if they believe that the US was heroic in their effort to stop the Holocaust. Why do they believe what they do? What evidence do they have to support their position? Then, review the Holocaust Timeline at Echoes & Reflections to take a look at 1941 and 1942. Note some key dates, including the deployment of the Einsatzgruppen in 1941 and the Wannsee Conference in 1942.
Then introduce the Ringer Telegram, by way of the USHMM Americans and the Holocaust online exhibit, (can be found under the section titled “Cold-Blooded Extermination”) which found its way to US officials in August 1942. Begin by showing the full image of the telegram and asking students to read it. What do they understand of the messages that is being conveyed? What is the warning in these words?
After they have investigated the primary source document, read together the description of “cold-blooded extermination” on that same page for context.
Ask students to reflect on this historical monument. What would they have done if they were in a position of power and heard of these acts of violence?
Then, introduce students to the State Department cover up. Read the first part of this section together and ask students what questions emerge in their minds. Ask them to record for themselves, what would they still like to know and what confuses them about this response.
Ask the students to pair up and read the biography of Breckenridge Long via the USHMM Americans and the Holocaust site. Before they begin, prompt them to say their questions aloud to their partner. As they read, they should be attempting to answer these questions by writing down information that pertains to them.
Finally, if time permits, groups can share what they discovered and what remains unknown about this cover-up story.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
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.
The different players of the Paris Peace Conference all had their own agendas and ideas on repercussions.
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.
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.
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.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Watch videos by Simple History explaining the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the reparations on Germany that followed.
The admittance of the “War Guilt Clause” forced Germany to accept complete responsibility for initiating World War I, meaning they would be liable for all material damages.
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.
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.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Follow the evolvement of antisemitism from its origin to its use in racial Nazi ideology. Students will break into groups to discuss questions on antisemitism, scapegoating, and the effects of hate speech.
Nazi racial ideology fed off of pre-existing antisemitic prejudices.
Ask your students if they know why the Nazis persecuted Jews, specifically? What is their understanding of this?
Ask your students if they think antisemitism first started during the Nazi era.
Would they consider antisemitism to be a form of racism? Why or why not?
Play the video, Why the Jews: History of Antisemitism by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Divide the class into groups of three or five to discuss the questions from USHMM found underneath the video. Assign each group one of the Discussion Questions to discuss amongst themselves.
Ask each group to write down some thoughts their group had and have them be prepared to share what they came up with to the class. Give groups 5-10 minutes for their discussions before reconvening as a class. Have each group present what they discussed. Encourage the students listening to share their thoughts, opinions, and questions on the other groups’ answers.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.
Students will learn about Adolf Hitler’s past leading up to the Holocaust and how these events could have influenced his antisemitic ideology.
Adolf Hitler’s strong antisemitic views were present for the majority of his adult life.
Ask students what they know about Adolf Hitler. What were his ideas?
Explain to the students that they will be reading an overview of some major events in Hitler’s life and his growing interest in antisemitism.
Direct students to the reading, Hitler’s antisemitism, Why did he hate the Jews? by Anne Frank House. Have students take notes according to the 3Ps method- noting what they find a) Powerful 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.
As a class, go over what students wrote down for their 3Ps. Take some time to clear up any questions students may have from their puzzling section.
Divide the students into groups of three for a group discussion. Let students know that there is no right or wrong, the exercise is here to foster discussion.
If time permits, come back together as a class and ask groups to share what they discussed.
This lesson meets the following Academic Standards required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Before you teach, use our teacher primer to freshen up on your content knowledge.