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History at key stage 3 (Year 9)
Unit 19: How and why did the Holocaust happen?
Section 6: What happened when people found out about the Holocaust?
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Objectives |
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- about the ways in which the Allied liberation of the camps revealed the full horror of the Holocaust, and the evils of the Nazi regime
- to explain contemporary Allied attitudes to those involved in running the death camps
- to assess the immediate and longer-term effects of the death camps through the sources, including the recollections of Holocaust survivors
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Use Richard Dimbleby's news report on the 'Liberation of Belsen', or similar news footage, to introduce the question. Focus initially on what happened to the Nazis involved in running the death camps. Explain the attitudes of the Allies to (a) major players and (b) minor participants. Ask pupils to discuss/debate the appropriateness of treatments and to focus on the Nuremberg Trials, the fate of those industrialists who collaborated with, and profited from, the Nazi regime and the problems associated with survivors' claims on their property. Provide pupils with copies of contemporary newspaper articles and ask them to identify the attitudes they indicate.
- Explain that after liberation many camp survivors found themselves in 'displaced persons' camps in Germany run by the Western Allies. Although they had survived the Holocaust, many survivors were faced with a new set of problems. Present the pupils with a series of statements on cards. In pairs, discuss these statements and arrange them to show the effect on an individual survivor, by using a concentric circles 'ripple-diagram' device.
- Use appropriate video/audio extracts and/or read a selection of Holocaust poetry,
eg 'Shipment to Maidanek' by E. Fogel; 'Never shall I forget' by E. Wiesel; 'I saw a mountain' by M. Szulsztein, to conclude this section.
- Help pupils to identify the feelings and attitudes expressed, and to consider how a historian might use these sources.
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- describe and explain contemporary attitudes to those responsible for the death camps
- demonstrate an understanding of the impact of death camps on their inmates
- represent the effects of surviving the Holocaust upon individuals by presenting thoughts in a diagrammatic format
- identify reasons for the post-war difficulties of displaced persons
- recognise an author's standpoint and how it affects the meaning
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Points to note |
- Care is required in preselecting visual images that do not simply seek to produce a 'shock effect' among pupils.
- If appropriate, as part of the study of the trials, reference can be made to statements by leading Nazis about their attitudes to the camps' victims.
- The theme of 'displaced persons' caused by the Holocaust, leading in due course to examples of immigration to a great many nations - most notably the newly established state of Israel, can be developed in relation to other mass migrations of peoples and consequent multicultural assimilations or conflicts.
- Statements relating to the survivors may include coming to terms with things they have witnessed, feelings of 'guilt' for having survived, a lack of information about the whereabouts of family and friends, the loss of pre-war possessions, etc.
- The use of poetry written by survivors provides an opportunity for links with English and for building on work on comparable poetry, such as that from the First World War.
- Citizenship: the discussion of the treatment of war criminals can be compared with a current example. This would contribute to pupils' understanding of issues of fairness and justice.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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