The Holocaust &
Genocide, Resource Unit
Gregory Tyree
ED639
Winter 2008
Table of Contents

Introduction






People and Places
Vocabulary for Day One
ODE and NCSS
Standards covered
Activities (Eight Days)
Homework for Day Four
Evaluation

Content/Concepts


General Summary
Objectives



Multiple Choice
Short Answer
Resources



Teacher
Student
Media
Intro

The theme of this unit is to address the concept of the
Holocaust. The historical facts are presented and
discussed to connect this information to prior
knowledge. This will identify the victims of the
Holocaust and teach where and when these events
occurred. This discussion will then turn to long-term
impacts from the events of the Holocaust. The impact
on the Holocaust from decisions made by American
Corporations and the American Government will also
be considered. Students will also gain an understanding
of the impact of these events on the lives of the people
involved through a first hand account filmed in Faces of
the Holocaust.
Intro continued

The students will also learn about other
instances of genocide in world history and
compare them to the Holocaust. They will see
the similarities and differences after independent
study in small groups. Students will then
present their findings to the class. They will
required to complete a vocabulary foldable and a
writing assignment. Learning will then be
evaluated by a multiple choice test with short
answer questions.
Intro continued
Cognitive and Affective Objectives




Students will be able to identify the key events
of the Holocaust
Students will be able to identify the important
countries involved in the Holocaust as well as
their leaders.
Students will be able to explain the importance
of the ghettos and concentration camps
Students will understand and identify who was
targeted by the Third Reich and why.
Intro continued
Cognitive and Affective Objectives





The unit seeks to connect the students’ prior
knowledge of the Holocaust to the facts presented in
the lessons included.
They will have an understanding of the nature of the
life for those who experienced it.
An understanding of the life of a victim in the
concentration camp.
Understanding the role the USA played by not acting
politically on these atrocities until it was too late
An understanding on the impact of American
Corporations on the Nazi agenda.
Content

People




Franklin Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Adolph Hitler
Groups







Nazi
Jews
Poles
Slavs
Gypsies
Homosexuals
Refugee

Places









Europe
United States
Germany
France
Soviet Union
Netherlands
Austria
Hungary
Poland
Vocabulary for Day One Activity







Holocaust
Genocide
Concentration camp
Appeasement
Undesirables
Ghettos
Kristallnacht


Synagogue
Anti-Semitism
NCSS Standards




I. Culture and Cultural Diversity
II. Time Continuity and Change
III. People Places and Environments
IV. Global Connections
ODE Standards

History, Grade 9

11. Analyze the consequences of WWII including:


C. The Holocaust and its impact.
People in Societies

1. Analyze examples of how people in different cultures view
events from different points of view.


A. Creation of the State of Israel.
2. Analyze the results of political, economic, and social
oppression and the violation of human rights including:

B. The Holocaust and other acts of genocide, including that’s that
have occurred in Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Iraq.
Day one-The Holocaust





1. Free writing. Students work either in pairs writing down what
they already know about the holocaust. The intent is to engage
prior learning of the students.
2. Classroom discussion covering what the students have written
about. The teacher dispels any inaccurate information and
identifies any gaps in learning.
3. The teacher conducts a formal PowerPoint lecture that
addresses the historical facts covering the Holocaust.
4. Question and answer session at the end of lecture if needed.
5. Students are to create a foldable covering vocabulary that are
identified in the lecture, and written on the board.
Day Two- Concentration Camps


1. Teacher leads a short discussion about the
concept of a concentration camp. Students put
forth their prior knowledge, then the teacher
explains and identifies what they were.
2. Show the story of Murray Weisman from
Faces of the Holocaust, running time 43
minutes.
Day Three-Long-term impacts



1. Students are to show their foldable to the
teacher and show that their vocabulary is
defined and complete.
2. Lecture and class discussion are given to
consider the impacts of the Holocaust including
the creation of the state of Israel.
3. Log on to www.cnn.com to show current
videos of the conflict in the Gaza strip.
Day Four-Corporate Collusion


IBM and the Holocaust
View the following youtube video that is an excerpt
from the movie The Corporation.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4MsTidMFYc
Class discussion covering the concept of corporate
collusion.
Writing assignment for homework over the level of
responsibility IBM has over how their technology was
employed during the Holocaust.
Day Five-Genocide Introduction



1. Vocabulary quiz at the beginning of class.
Turn in homework, and discuss the students’
opinions.
Class discussion on the following question:



Do events like the holocaust occur today?
Class lecture on genocide.
Choose small groups for the following day and
explain that the class will take a trip to the
Library/Media Center to work in these groups.
Day Six-Genocide

Students break into small groups to research other
accounts of genocide.



i.e. Armenia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Iraq.
These groups will identify the who, where, when, what,
and how of each event as well as the impact. They will
also identify the parallels to the Holocaust.
The teacher takes the students to the school
Library/Media Center to work in their groups for the
rest of the day.
Day Seven-Genocide Pt. 2



Students continue to research their event. When
finished they will create a presentation for the
class
Teacher gives instruction for a presentation.
Students can either create a poster board display
or build a PowerPoint presentation.
Groups work to complete the presentation.
Day Eight-Genocide Pt. 3 & Review



Student groups from the previous class session
explain and identify their event to the class.
Presentations will be graded on the students’
ability to fully identify the event in question.
After all the events have been explained the
teacher will lead a class discussion over the
similarities to the Holocaust.
A class review to prepare for the unit assessment
to take place at the next class meeting.
Evaluation

Multiple Choice

All of the following
people were classified as
undesirables except…





A. Jews
B. Homosexuals
C. Poles
D. French
E. Gypsies

Multiple Choice

Guarded installations
which gathered and
exterminated undesirables
were called…




A. Ghettos
B. Stalag 17
C. Concentration Camps
D. none of the above
Evaluation

Short Answer
What was the “night of broken glass”? Why was it
important?
 What are concentration camps? What is a ghetto?
How are they different?
 Who was targeted by the Nazi Party and why?

Day Four Homework


Q) On a scale of one to ten, how responsible is IBM
for the deaths that occurred in the Holocaust?
Write a paragraph discussing the rating that you gave.
This paragraph must consist of 5-7 sentences that
clearly define your argument. I want you to be able to
defend your argument to the class. Keep in mind that a
good argument explains the Who, What, When, Why,
and How as well as your opinion. This paragraph will
be checked for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, so
write it carefully
Presentation Rubric

Presentation identifies the Who, What, When, Where,
How, Impact/Importance.



Project and Presentation overall appearance 10 points
PowerPoint Presentations show a firm grasp of how to
use the technology along with organization of topics.



20 points
Technology 10 points
Organization 10 points
Poster boards show organization and creativity.


Creativity 10 points
Organization 10 points
Teacher Resources






www.dinah.com This link contains information about foldables
and manipulatives in the classroom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4MsTidMFYc A link to
the relevant video excerpt of The Corporation on the website
www.youtube.com.
www.thecorporation.com This site is the official site for this
movie.
www.ibmandtheholocaust.com This is the website for Edwin
Black’s book IBM and the Holocaust.
www.cnn.com For use with Day Three Activities, teacher should
look for relevant and current conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Faces of the Holocaust a film that relates the accounts of those
who lived through the Holocaust.
Student Resources

Challenge to Genocide: Let Iraq Live by Ramsey Clark. A comprehensive
collection of essays and detailed reports. This book addresses the genocidal
events in Iraq. (Book)

Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwanda Genocide and the International
Community by Linda Melvern. Linda Melvern, a journalist and former
consultant to the Military One prosecution team at the International Criminal
Tribunal on Rwanda, portrays in her latest book entitled Conspiracy to
Murder: The Rwandan Genocide one of the most appalling acts in modern
history. Published in April 2004 to coincide with the commemoration of the
tenth anniversary of the 1994 genocide, which caused the death of some
800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, the book attempts to recapitulate the
events that took place right before and during the hundred days that followed
the plane crash which killed both Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda
and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi. (Book)
Student Resources

Genocide in Bosnia The Policy of "Ethnic Cleansing"
by Norman Cigar In this study, Norman Cigar provides the first scholarly study of genocide in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, arguing that it is neither the unintentional result of civil war nor the
unfortunate by-product of rabid nationalism. Genocide is, he contends, the planned and direct
consequence of conscious policy decisions made by the Serbian establishment in Serbia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Its policies were carried out in a deliberate and systematic manner as part of
a broader strategy intended to achieve a defined political objective—the creation of an expanded,
ethnically pure Greater Serbia. (Book)

Vergeen: A Survivor of the Armenian Genocide by Mae Derdarian This is the gripping true
story of a girl's indomitable will to survive the Armenian Genocide. Through a first-hand account
of Vergeen's recollections, the brutalities endured by 2 million Armenians come to life for today's
reader. Destined for slaughter in the blistering Syrian desert, 13-year-old Vergeen and her
widowed mother are deported from their home and forced to march hundreds of miles. During
the long journey, Turkish guards sell Vergeen to an Arabic nomad, who keeps her as a slave for a
year before she escapes to find sanctuary with a young accountant in Syria. This inspiring heartwrenching story of tragedy and courage will make anyone who thinks they have a rough life today
realize today's generation has an easy life. (Book)
Student Resources

IBM and the Holocaust, by Edwin Black. The stunning story of IBM's
strategic alliance with Nazi Germany -- beginning in 1933 in the first weeks
that Hitler came to power and continuing well into World War II. As the
Third Reich embarked upon its plan of conquest and genocide, IBM and its
subsidiaries helped create enabling technologies, step-by-step, from the
identification and cataloging programs of the 1930s to the selections of the
1940s. (Book)

Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust by Alan Zullo.
These are the true-life accounts of nine Jewish boys and girls whose lives
spiraled into danger and fear as the Holocaust overtook Europe. In a time of
great horror, these children each found a way to make it through the
nightmare of war. Some made daring escapes into the unknown, others
disguised their true identities, and many witnessed unimaginable horrors.
(Book)
Student Resources


The Holocaust by Martin Gilbert. A comprehensive history of
the Holocaust from the rise of Hitler to power in 1933 to the
defeat of Germany in 1945. Based on German and Jewish
documentation, including material collected for the Nuremberg,
Eichmann and other war crimes trials, with further personal
testimony of eye-witnesses and survivors, and interviews
conducted by the author. (Book)
The Holocaust, Maps and Photographs by Martin Gilbert. 27
maps and 53 photographs, giving a perspective on the Holocaust
for young people, including five maps of Jewish life before
Hitler's coming to power, and maps on Jewish resistance, Jewish
children in hiding, and Righteous Gentiles. (Book)
Student Resources


Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction by Martin Gilbert.
Kristallnacht marked the beginning of the systematic eradication
of a people who traced their origins in Germany to Roman times
and was a sinister fore-warning of the Holocaust. By setting the
tone for the terrible war to follow, it shaped the second half of
the twentieth century. Gilbert’s text is a well respected and very
well accepted piece of work. (Book)
Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers by
Filip Muller. Filip Muller's firsthand account of three years in the
gas chambers. One of the few prisoners who saw the Jewish
people die and lived to tell about it, Muller has written one of
the key documents of the Holocaust. A very detailed description
of day-to-day life. (Book)
Media Resources

www.youtube.com This site has several portions of the
movie The Corporation for free.

www.wikipedia.com I use this as a springboard for
generating ideas for research. I also stress that the site
is not necessarily a credible source, and cannot be used
as a project source. However, it does contain links to
more reputable and respected sources. It can also be a
great resource for pictures and videos.
Media Resources

www.history.com The internet site for the History Channel.
This has a wealth of appropriate information and suggestions
for further research. This has both text and video sources.

www.cnn.com A multipurpose site for the connections to
current events in the Gaza strip as well as a research tool for the
student projects.

www.bbc.com An excellent site for getting a decidedly less
American point of view. Also offers text and video as well as
links to other sources.
Media Resources

www.ushmm.org The Museum has identified topic areas for you to consider
while studying the Holocaust. An introduction to the topic areas is essential
for a sense of the breadth of the history of the Holocaust. It also contains
information on other acts of genocide and links to different sources.

www.unitedhumanrights.org The UHRC operates in modes of campaigns.
Each campaign is geared toward one government who distorts, denies, and
deludes its own history to disguise past and present genocides, massacres, and
human rights violations. Campaigns will last up to five years. They are
structured in phases and steps, which include education, awareness, political
activism, petition drives, and mainly consumer boycotts. These phases are to
reduce tax revenues that we, as Americans, provide to such governments who
in turn use them for denial efforts. Their website is has a wealth of
information on many different genocidal events.
Media Resources


www.about.com A great site for basic
information and pictures on almost any topic. It
is also easily reached even through school
internet filters.
www.holocaustsurvivors.org Survivor accounts
and pictures along with links to other resources.
It also contains audio clips of actual survivors
and their stories.
Media Resources


www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org A site built with the idea
of improving relations between the Jewish communities
of America and Israel. Lots of pictures and good
information about the Holocaust from a unique
perspective.
www.amnesty.org Amnesty International is a worldwide
movement of people who campaign for internationally
recognized human rights for all. A great resource on
current events that can be termed genocide.
Media Resources

Hitler’s Pawn Margaret Lambert was a superior German-Jewish athlete who
excelled in the high jump, but on her road to the 1936 Olympics, she
encountered a terrifying roadblock: the rise of the Nazi Party. This HBO
Sports documentary explores the hopes and heartaches experienced by
Lambert when her dream of competing for Germany in the Berlin games was
clouded by the rise of Adolf Hitler's political movement--at a time when
Jewish athletes were being expelled from German sports clubs (video)

Schindler’s List. The film presents the indelible true story of the enigmatic
Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, womanizer, and war profiteer
who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. It is the
triumph of one man who made a difference, and the drama of those who
survived one of the darkest chapters in human history because of what he
did. (video)
Media Resources

The Corporation The film charts the development of the corporation as a
legal entity from its origins as an institution chartered by governments to
carry out specific public functions, to the rise of the vast modern institutions
entitled to some of the legal rights of a person. One central theme of the
documentary is an attempt to assess the "personality" of the corporate
"person" by using diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV; Robert Hare, a
University of British Columbia Psychology Professor and FBI consultant,
compares the modern, profit-driven corporation to that of a clinically
diagnosed psychopath. The film focuses mostly on the corporation in North
America, especially in the United States. The film is composed of several
vignettes examining and critiquing corporate practices, and drawing parallels
between examples of corporate malfeasance and the DSM-IV's symptoms of
psychopathy. (video)

Faces of the Holocaust Interviews with holocaust survivors and a part of:
Holocaust collection from the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center. (video)
Media Resources


Hotel Rwanda. Historical drama film about the hotelier Paul
Rusesabagina, during the Rwandan Genocide. This film is based
on true events that took place during the genocidal violence that
erupted in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi groups in 1994
when the Hutu military and Interahamwe militias killed almost
1,000,000 Rwandans in a 100 day period. (Video)
Welcome to Sarajevo. Journalist Floyd from US, Michael
Henderson from UK and their teams meet the beginning of
Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports they find an
orphanage run by devoted Mrs. Savic near the front line.
Henderson gets so involved in kids' problems that he decides to
take on the children, Emira, illegally back to England. He is
assisted by American aid worker Nina. (Video)
Media Resources



Jakob the Liar (1999) A fictional and entertaining account about
life in the ghettos. A good depiction of the day to day life in the
ghetto. (video)
The Pianist (2002) Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) was a
World War II-era Polish pianist who lived in the Warsaw ghettos,
escaped from Nazi concentration camps, and, thanks to music,
lived to tell about it. The film is based on his autobiography,
Pianist, published in 1946.
ANNE FRANK: THE WHOLE STORY FACTS (2001)Based
on Melissa Muller's book ANNE FRANK: A BIOGRAPHY,
this film covers young Anne Frank's life from her childhood
before the war in Amsterdam, through the harsh war years
covered in her diary, to her final days leading up to her death in a
Nazi concentration camp.