Four-Period Pacing Guide

Guiding Questions:

How did historical antisemitism evolve into Nazi ideology?
What allowed Hitler and the Nazi Party to rise to power in Germany?
How did Nazis consolidate power and use indoctrination to control German society?

Learning Objectives:

Trace long-term antisemitism in Europe and how it was politicized by the Nazis
Explain how the aftermath of WWI contributed to political instability in Germany
Identify key milestones in Hitler’s rise to power (1919–1934)

Image Analysis
- Analyze a historical antisemitic image and a 1930s Nazi propaganda poster
Mini-Lecture + Timeline Activity
- Brief history of antisemitism
- Historical overview: Treaty of Versailles → Weimar Republic → Rise of Nazi ideology
- Nazi consolidation of power
- Indoctrination strategies: education, Hitler Youth, book burnings
- Role of propaganda and scapegoating
Primary Source Analysis (Group Work)
- Excerpts from Mein Kampf and early Nazi speeches
- Nazi Education and youth movement accounts
- Propaganda posters
Student Response
- Short written response: What conditions do you think made Nazi ideas appealing to some Germans?
Exit Ticket
- Why do people follow harmful ideologies?

Guiding Questions:

How did the Nazi regime use laws and propaganda to strip Jews and others of their rights?
What were the daily realities of life under persecution?
How did Nazi governance of occupied countries differ and why?

Learning Objectives:

Identify the legal and social tools used to dehumanize Jews adn marginalized groups
Describe daily life for Jews in Nazi Germany and occupied territories
Identify other victimized groups (Roma and Sint, male homosexuals, disabled, etc.)

Mini-Lecture
- Holocaust in different occupied countries: Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark
Primary Source Stations
- Nuremberg Laws (1935) and supplemental laws
- First-person diary excerpts (Rutka’s Notebook, etc.)
- Visual propaganda & posters
Ghetto Map & Photo Analysis
- Students analyze images of ghettos and maps of where ghettos were established
Class Discussion
- How do laws and everyday actions work together to isolate people?
Exit Ticket
- List three tools the Nazis used to control or isolate Jews

Guiding Questions:

What were the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) and "Holocuast by Bullets"?
What was the "Final Solution," and how was it carried out?
What were the different experiences of victims in camps and killing centers?

Learning Objectives:

Map Activity
- Identify and differentiate between labor camps, concentration camps, and extermination centers (Auschwitz, Treblinka, etc.)
Video or Testimony Clip
- Brief, age-appropriate clips from USC Shoah Foundation, Yad Vashem, or US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Primary Source Analysis
- Nazi official documents from the Wannsee Conference (simplified excerpts)
- Excerpts from testimonies or camp liberation reports
- Diary entries or letters
Student Reflection
- How did individuals in labor camps, concentration camps, and extermination centers demonstrate resilience and strength despite their circumstances?

Guiding Questions:

How did people resist or respond to the Holocaust?
How did governments and the international community react to news of the genocide?

Learning Objectives:

Jigsaw Reading Groups
- Resistance: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Swing Kids
- Rescuers: Individual (Tina Strobos, Gino Bartali, etc.) and diplomatic (Sugihara, Sousa Mendes, etc.)
- Partisan fighters in Eastern Europe
- International Response: Evian Conference, U.S. media reports
- Bystanders and collaborators
Class Discussion
- What options did people have under a totalitarian regime?
Assessment Option
- Write a brief argument: Who holds responsibility for the Holocaust? Just the Nazis, or others too? Explain your reasoning.
Exit Ticket
- What can we learn from those who resisted?