South Carolina Voices: Lessons from the Holocaust - Teaching Lesson Ten
The Holocaust lessons were created to help students learn about the Holocaust from the testimonies of Holocaust survivors. Lesson 10 provides a glimpse of the after-effects of the experiences that these survivors endured and what their experiences should teach to all of us, and also some advice, such as avoiding generalizing based on nationality or religion: judge instead by a person's deeds.
Lesson Partners: ETV Education, Knowitall.org, South Carolina Council on the Holocaust
Grade(s):
- 7
- 11
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
None necessary, but computers with internet access and a word processing program will help students complete the lesson progression.
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Handout 10A: German Officers State Their Case; Handout 10B: Himmler Speaks To The SS Leaders
Lesson Progression
Motivate: Either the teacher or a student should summarize Overview VII for the class emphasizing the Nuremberg Trials. Point out that although these trials were unique in having an international panel of judges and prosecutors, they were conducted like other criminal trials. The defendants were charged in written indictments, represented by counsel of their own choosing, had the right to argue their own cases, could provide defense witnesses and evidence in their behalf, and could cross-examine prosecution witnesses.
The accused in the Nuremberg Trials were charged with crimes against humanity. Guilt or innocence was determined by a panel of judges from the major Allied powers: the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and France. Tell students that they are about to read explanations by two German officers who gave testimony at the trials about their reasons for participating in the Holocaust. Before distributing the handouts, have the class speculate on what defense the men will offer for their behavior.
Develop: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a copy of Handout 10A. As one student makes a list of the arguments Ohlendorf used to explain his behavior, have the other student create a list of counterarguments. Distribute Handout 10B to each pair and have students repeat this process exchanging roles. Note that Heinrich Himmler, referred to in Handout 10B, was the SS chief with responsibility for supervising the execution of the Final Solution.
When all pairs have completed the assignment, take turns letting each pair write one of the explanations they identified from Handout 10A on the board. Continue until all explanations have been identified and recorded on the board. Among the explanations suggested by the readings are the arguments that the officers were just following orders; to disobey would have been unpatriotic; it was not the responsibility of subordinates to make decisions, but only to carry them out; their military training had not prepared them to make decisions; the officers did not have enough information to make a decision about the rightness of their actions or involvement.
List all arguments on the board. Then have the students supply their counterarguments. If other students have counterarguments that vary significantly from the ones listed, have them state their counterarguments and record them on the board. Can these explanations and arguments be classified into some common categories?
Conclude by asking students whether they think German soldiers share the blame for the atrocities committed by the Nazis with the many millions of civilians who did not resist or protest these activities.
Explain to the class that they are about to hear a part of the speech delivered by Heinrich Himmler, chief of the elite military corps known as the SS. He had much of the responsibility for carrying out the Nazi Final Solution. This speech was given to top SS leaders at a meeting in Poznan, Poland, in 1943. Ask a good reader to read Handout 10B aloud or tape record it and play the tape for the class. Discuss reactions to Himmler's speech. Were students surprised by Himmler's pride in the slaughter? Why or why not?
Distribute Handout 10B before continuing the discussion.
1. What subject does Himmler say he is discussing? (the deportation and extermination of European Jews)
2. Why do you think he said that his topic could be talked about openly at that meeting, but not elsewhere? (The people in this group presumably shared his belief in the Final Solution and his commitment to the annihilation of the Jews.)
3. Why do you think Himmler said that SS leaders should feel proud about their part in the murder of Jews? (They should feel proud, because they remained "decent." It is a "glorious" page in German history.)
Before continuing discussion of Himmler's speech, write the word "decent" on the board.
4. What do you think Himmler meant when he said that the people who did this have remained "decent."
5. How does Himmler's definition of decency differ from what is usually meant by this term? (One definition of decent is morally praiseworthy.)
Have students write a monologue or speech in which a survivor such as Renee, Pincus, Rudy, or one of the other people students have read about responds to Himmler's speech.
Teacher Notes
Extend: As a class, create a Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for members of the armed forces. Students can define what they believe to be the obligations of soldiers to carry out orders with which they disagree. They can also decide if soldiers will be held responsible for carrying out orders that are later judged to be criminal acts.
Interested students might research and report to the class on some more recent trials of Nazi war criminals, on the explanations given by Serbian soldiers during the war in the former Yugoslavia for their participation in "ethnic cleansing," on the trial of former East German Communist leader Erich Honecker for his shoot-to-kill orders of East Germans attempting to escape across the Berlin Wall, or on the defense of Lieutenant Cally for his behavior at My Lai during the Vietnam War. Students can consult the Reader's Guide for articles on these suggestions or on the trial of Adolph Eichmann or Klaus Barbie. Others might find out about the work of famous Nazi hunters such as Simon Wiesenthal or Beate Klarsfeld.
HANDOUT 10A: GERMAN OFFICERS STATE THEIR CASE
At the Nuremberg War Trials, Otto Ohlendorf, an officer in the German army, was questioned about his leadership of mobile execution squads. These squads moved from place to place killing groups of people beside mass graves. Under Ohlendorf's direction, Special Task Unit D murdered about 90,000 Jews. Ohlendorf was a university-educated officer who held a Ph.D. degree. The document is part of his testimony at the Nuremberg Trials.
HANDOUT 10B: HIMMLER SPEAKS TO THE SS LEADERS
Evidence Presented at the Trial of Major War Criminals at Nuremberg. A speech by Heinrich Himmler, SS Chief, before SS leaders in Poznan, Poland, in 1943.
View ResourceLessons from the Holocaust Resource Guide
Teaching about the Holocaust is often limited by teachers' familiarity with the subject and the amount of time available for this topic. The materials in this guide were designed with these concerns in mind.
View ResourceIntroduction - The ETV Holocaust Forum
Thanks to a grant from the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust, ETV created a forum on the Holocaust to provide teachers access to a variety of resources when teaching their students about this tragic chapter from human history.
Seared Souls Glossary
Glossary to aid in the understanding of the series, "Seared Souls".
View ResourcePart 10: Never Again | Seared Souls: S.C. Voices of the Holocaust
This segment provides a glimpse of the after-effects of the experiences that these survivors endured and what their experiences should teach to all of us, and also some advice, such as avoiding generalizing based on nationality or religion: judge instead by a person's deeds. The point is made that most people are followers, and if we don't stop bigotry, racism, and prejudice, and educate people about what happened, then a holocaust could happen again.
View ResourceStandards
- 7-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes and effects of world conflicts in the first half of the twentieth century.
- USHC-7 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of World War II on the United States and the nation’s subsequent role in the world.
