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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

The Nuremberg Laws

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Activity Overview
This activity examines the purpose and impact of the Nuremberg Laws. Students will read brief historical overviews and analyze the laws to gain an understanding of the role of these laws in discrimination and indoctrination of the German people. This will include an examination of Mischlings in Nazi Germany. Students will complete an activity in which they illustrate some of these laws, using the Bavarian Quarter Memorial in Berlin as a model. 
Grade Level
7-12
Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
RH2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate, objective summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
WHST7: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Social Studies Framework
10.5 UNRESOLVED GLOBAL CONFLICT (1914–1945): World War I and World War II led to geopolitical changes, human and environmental devastation, and attempts to bring stability and peace.
10.5d Nationalism and ideology played a significant role in shaping the period between the world wars.
10.5e Human atrocities and mass murders occurred in this time period.
SEL Benchmarks
2A. Recognize and build empathy for the feelings and perspectives of others.
2B. Recognize and affirm individual identities as well as individual and group similarities and differences, including those rooted in culture, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ability, etc.
3A: Consider individual and collective social, emotional, and physical safety and well-being, as well as social context in making decisions.
Objectives
Students will summarize the purpose and key components of the 1935 Nuremberg Laws and their supplemental laws to understand how legal measures institutionalized antisemitism and racial discrimination in Nazi Germany.
Students will analyze the language and implications of the Nuremberg Laws, including the classification of Mischlings, to evaluate how these laws contributed to the indoctrination of the German population and the marginalization of Jewish citizens and others deemed "non-Aryan."
Students will demonstrate their understanding by designing visual representations of specific Nuremberg Laws, drawing inspiration from the Bavarian Quarter Memorial in Berlin to express the everyday impact of these laws on individuals' lives.

Essential Question

How were laws used to create a "German National Identity" and legalize acts of discrimination and hate?

Materials

Citizens No More: The Nuremberg Laws and the Fall of Rights
Mischlinge Reading
The Nuremberg Laws Reading
Bavarian Quarter Reading
Supplemental Laws Reading

Activity

1. Have students read the introductory material on the Nuremberg Laws.  Discuss with students the concept of an “in group” and an “out group” which can make it possible for acts of discrimination and hate. 

  • Show students the diagram of racial categories delineated in the Nuremberg Laws  
  • Discuss the concept of Mischlinge and the story of Werner Goldberg 

2. Post different excerpts of the Nuremberg Laws on large sheets of paper. In small groups, with each student having their own marker, hold a silent conversation where the following questions are considered: 

  • What’s the purpose of this law? 
  • Who benefits? Who hurts? What are the effects? 
  • How does this law define a German National Identity? Who is excluded from this identity? 

Students can respond to one another on the piece of paper and can discuss more than these questions. 

  • Discuss the concept of Mischlinge and the story of Werner Goldberg 

3. In the Bavarian Quarter, a neighborhood of Berlin, the community memorializes the Nuremberg Laws and supplemental legislation through illustrations of the laws.  Show them examples. Distribute the sheet with examples of these laws.  Assign a pair of students a different law and instruct each group to design their own memorial for their law.