This lesson will begin by explaining the roots of anti-Semitism in Europe and Germany. It will then discuss how the Nazis gradually moved toward the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” a plan to annihilate the Jewish people, after gaining power. By analyzing the dynamics of discrimination, students will explore the mechanisms that cause the animosity of one hypothetical family, the Muellers, toward their neighbors, the Rosenbachs, to lead to a deadly confrontation. After joining the Nazi Party, the Muellers watch as the Gestapo evict and deport their neighbors to an unknown place. Like the Muellers, most German collaborators were ordinary people: cultured, polite, and far from sadistic. Many, however, turned out to be either murderers or accomplices to murderers. How did this happen?
The first lesson will discuss the importance of learning about and discussing the Holocaust, highlighting...
