Unifying Themes

The Social Studies K-12 Framework identifies ten Unifying Themes. The following are suggested ways to connect the Unifying Themes to the Holocaust resources in order to provide comprehensive teaching on this topic:

Individual Development and Cultural Identity

Examine how Jewish identity and culture were targeted during the Holocaust, as well as how individuals and groups resisted Nazi oppression

Development, Movement, and Interaction of Cultures

Explore how Nazi ideology promoted a racial hierarchy and sought to eliminate certain groups, leading to the genocide of six million Jews and other targeted populations (people with disabilities, Roma and Sinti, LGBTQ+ individuals, etc.)

Time, Continuity, and Change

Analyze the historical roots of antisemitism, the rise of Nazi Germany, and how the Holocaust shaped global human rights policies and modern perspectives on genocide

Geography, Humans, and the Environment

Consider how the Nazi regime used geography to control populations (ghettos, concentration and death camps, etc.) and the role of territorial expansion in Hitler’s war strategy (Lebensraum)

Development and Transformation of Social Structures

Investigate how Nazi policies led to systematic discrimination, segregation, and genocide, as well as how different social groups were affected by and responded to these policies

Power, Authority, and Governance

Explore how totalitarianism, propaganda, and laws (such as the Nuremberg Laws) enabled state sponsored genocide and how the international community responded

Civic Ideals and Practices

Examine the role of bystanders, collaborators, and resistors, and how the Holocaust influenced the development of human rights laws, war crime trials (Nuremberg Trials), and policies such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems

Investigate how the Nazi regime exploited forced labor, confiscated property, and controlled economic resources to sustain its war and genocidal efforts

Science, Technology, and Innovation

Investigate how medical experiments, industrialized killing (gas chambers, railways for deportation, etc.), and military technology were used to carry out the Holocaust

Global Connections and Exchange

Examine how international relations shaped the responses to the Holocaust, including the roles of other nations (such as the United States) during World War II, refugee crises, and post-war efforts to address genocide through institutions like the United Nations