Introduction
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles made a pride crushing impact on Germany. Forcing Germany to take full blame for their actions in World War I and forced to pay war retributions to Allie countries, Germany quickly fell into a Great Depression. German citizens where homeless, unemployed, hungry, and looking for hope. Unfortunately, that hope came in the form of totalitarian leader, Adolf Hitler.
As many of us know, the rise of Hitler did not end the suffering of the Germany people, but in fact, increased their pain thought the implementation of the “Final Solution.” A project that would target many people who did not fit the “Aryan Race,” and selected them for extermination.
However, as students sitting in a United States classroom, you may wonder what did American citizens know about this horrific event? What did they do to intervene and protect these poor innocent people?
Task
Your task today is to find out exactly what American citizens knew about the tragic event of the Holocaust, and the actions the United States took to help or ignore this situation. You are to utilize the links below to answer the questions on your worksheet, gathering information on their knowledge. You will want to gather as much information as possible to help with completing your assignment for this lesson.
Process
Review the following information in these American newspaper articles, then answer the corresponding questions on your worksheet on page 21 -22.
“German Students, Nazis Stage Nationwide Book Burning.” https://newspapers.ushmm.org/events/german-students-nazis-stage-nationw…
“Hitler Announces Nuremburg Race Laws” https://newspapers.ushmm.org/events/hitler-announces-nuremberg-race-laws
“Nazi Plan to Kill All Jews Confirmed” https://newspapers.ushmm.org/events/nazi-plan-to-kill-all-jews-confirmed
“FDR Shelters Refugees in Oswego, NY” https://newspapers.ushmm.org/events/fdr-shelters-refugees-in-oswego-ny
Evaluation
Now that you have conducted your research and understand the information America had access to, create a diary entry on page 20. You will pretend you are living in America during this time period and discuss:
- Opinion on this event
- 5 or more facts to support your opinion (you can use quotes)
- Explain why it’s important that you learn about this significant tragedy.
*Note: This will be submitted for a grade. So make sure you include all of the requirements. If you feel you won’t have enough room on page 20, then write on a separate piece of paper.