Download - The Many Layers of the Holocaust
Guidelines for Teaching the Holocaust
The Many Layers of the Holocaust
Introduction: Define the Holocaust
Use the USHMM definition of the Holocaust to begin your unit.
Ask the students to record one question that they have about the
Holocaust on the handout and then post these questions in the room,
checking them off as you answer them.
Layer 1: Translate Statistics into People
On your own, read through your id card, answering the questions on
your handout about the person.
2. In your group, share which victim group your person belonged
to and which country he/she was from. Record this information in
the chart on the back of the handout.
What patterns do you notice with the id cards on the
timeline?
Types of VictimsJewishGypsyJehovahs WitnessHandicapped
NationalityPolandAustriaFranceYugoslaviaGermanyAustriaGreece
Layer 2: Avoid simple answers to complex questions
In your group, deal out the Berlin law cards until they are all
gone.
2. On your own, read through your cards and answer the questions on the handout about them.
3. In your group, read all of your laws aloud and share which
one you chose as the most surprising or unreasonable.
What patterns do you notice with the Berlin Laws on the
timeline?
Layer 3: Do not romanticize history.
In your group, distribute the events cards and then find the dates
on The Road to the Final Solution handout.
2. Take turns reading the information about each event, including captions of pictures.
How do the historical events explain the patterns on the
timeline?
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