Our textbook

Teacher guidance for Understanding the Holocaust: How and why did it happen?

To support teachers using our textbook we have developed extensive guidance materials. These are all housed on this page. Here you will find teachers' notes, supplementary resources, and links to relevant courses.

We have organised the guidance below to reflect the structure of the textbook. You will find guidance for each Chapter within each Unit.
As part of these guidance materials we want to develop an area where teachers can share feedback, top tips, useful resources and lesson materials that have been developed in response to the textbook. If you would like to find out more about this exciting opportunity please contact Helen McCord.
  1. Teacher guidance: Introduction

    The aim of these guidance materials is to provide support for teachers using the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education KS3 textbook ‘Understanding the Holocaust’ with their students within their programme of Holocaust education. All of our resources and guidance materials uphold the pedagogical principles that underpin the textbook. It aims to:

    • Deepen student knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and encourage student enquiry and critical thinking.
    • Challenge the key myths and misconceptions around the Holocaust as identified in our ground breaking research and other common misunderstandings as identified through our experience in Holocaust education. Read our research briefing here.
    • Humanise the victims of the Holocaust, by recognising that all victims of the Holocaust were individuals with agency, with lives before the Holocaust, using personal experiences and accounts throughout in a sensitive way.
    • Demystify the perpetrators, by using case studies that show that the murder and persecution of the Jews of Europe was committed by a wide range and number of individuals, organisations and regimes, encouraging reflection upon issues of responsibility and complicity.
    • Respect the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance recommendations for teaching and learning about the Holocaust.

    To support you as you use the textbook in the classroom these guidance materials provide the following:

    • Access to our online CPD courses: Access our online CPD courses to enrich your subject knowledge and explore effective pedagogical approaches to teaching about the Holocaust.
    • Access to UCL CfHE classroom materials and online lesson materials: Access our lesson materials, resources and lesson plans which are based on empirical research into classroom needs and informed by the latest in Holocaust pedagogy.
    • Support for further student enquiry: Link to partner organisations to access suitable materials and resources to support your students with further enquiry into some of the issues raised in the textbook.
    • Guidance for recommended further reading materials: View recommended further reading materials to enrich your subject knowledge of the Holocaust and engage with some of the latest Holocaust scholarship.
    • Access to supporting student materials: Access resource materials linked to the textbook to support your students in reflecting upon and securing their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust.

    This textbook was written in direct response to the results of the Centre’s 2016 research and landmark study ‘What do students know and understand about the Holocaust?’. Our research identified a number of student misconceptions and misunderstandings. Further common misunderstandings have been identified through our experience in the field of Holocaust education. On each unit overview page there is a ‘Develop knowledge and understanding’ section. Here we have summarised the key knowledge and understanding that students will develop as they work through each unit, enabling them to challenge those misconceptions and misunderstandings that we have identified.

    In each chapter section in this guidance, where it is applicable, you will also find a summary of the key myths and misconceptions identified in our research.  We explicitly aim to challenge these in each textbook chapter and through our supporting materials. Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Additionally and where relevant, in each chapter section in this guidance you will find a link to our appropriate research briefing document.

    Throughout the textbook we have included various activities that are meaningful, rigorous, encourage historical thinking and enable teachers to assess the knowledge and understanding of their students as they progress through the units and individual chapters. There are six thematic units in the textbook which are organised chronologically. The following assessments are a feature of each unit:

    In each unit:

    Think historically task: On each unit overview page  there is a ‘Think historically’ task. These tasks enable you to assess the historical understanding that your students will develop through studying this Unit of the textbook. Each ‘Think Historically’ task addresses a second order concept such as chronology, change and continuity, significance or interpretation.

    The BIG question: On each unit overview page for units 1 – 5 there is a section relating to the BIG question ‘How and why did the Holocaust happen?’ The textbook is designed to help your students to answer both of these important questions. As students work through the textbook they will build upon their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust which will enable them to answer these questions in more detailed and rigorous ways. In this guidance you can access ‘Knowledge and understanding organisers’. These will allow your students to organise the new knowledge that they gain from each unit and to reflect upon their understanding and their emerging response to the BIG question at regular intervals.

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge-and-Understanding-Organisers-Introduction

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge-and-Understanding-Organisers-Units-1-to-5

    DOWNLOAD: The BIG question writing frame

    Discuss: On each unit overview page there is a section entitled ‘Discuss’. We have identified some important questions that you may wish to explore and discuss further with your students. Successful classroom discussion around some of these issues and others raised in the textbook require a safe space for free expression where evidence and truth are respected. It is important to be explicit about classroom expectations in such a scenario, and to model to your students an appropriate way of discussing this highly sensitive subject. You should be explicit about the expectations of such a discussion and may wish to develop a class agreement or written document for your students to read and refer to.

    In each chapter:

    Think About: Throughout the textbook there are a range of ‘Think About’ activities. The aim of these is to provide an opportunity for students to reflect upon and consider some of the complex issues raised by the textbook chapter content. They enable students to secure their understanding of the key knowledge that the chapter has introduced. Some of these ‘Think About’ activities also provide an opportunity for cross curricular delivery of Holocaust education. They encourage the exploration of issues that may be raised in the RS, Citizenship and PSHE classrooms, for example, the complexities of resistance, responsibility and justice. In the chapter sections of this guidance you will find supporting materials for both students and teachers to assist with some of these ‘Think About’ activities.

    Activities: Within each chapter there are a range of ‘Activities’. The aim of these is to provide an opportunity at regular intervals for students to consolidate the key knowledge and understanding that they have gained from each chapter. They allow teachers to regularly assess student progress and they encourage further student reflection and engagement with many of the complex issues raised by the content of the chapter. The ‘Activities’ assess a range of skills; including the use of historical second order concepts such as change and continuity, significance and interpretations. In the chapter sections of this guidance you will find supporting materials for both students and teachers to assist with some of these ‘Activities’.

    A number of ‘Activities’ throughout the textbook require students to undertake further research into an individual, an event or a concept. When facilitating this opportunity for your students it is important to be mindful of ICT safeguarding procedures. Given the nature of some of the materials that students may encounter when undertaking online research about the Holocaust and related issues we strongly recommend that you direct students to the recommended sites and organisations for which we have provided links. You will find these recommendations within the relevant chapter sections of this guidance.

    Glossary of terms:

    DOWNLOAD: Printable Glossary of Terms

  2. Unit 1: Jewish life in Europe

    The BIG question: How and why did the Holocaust happen?

    As students work through the textbook, they are encouraged to reflect upon the knowledge that they have gained from each Unit. They will then apply this knowledge and demonstrate their understanding by developing their answer to the BIG question ‘How and why did the Holocaust happen?’

    Students can record their emerging knowledge and any prior knowledge that they may have in the first of the ‘Knowledge and Understanding organisers.’

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge-and-Understanding-Organisers-Units-1-to-5

    Reassure students that they will build upon this knowledge throughout this study as they move through the Units in the textbook. Students will naturally have a great deal of questions about the Holocaust. It is important to allow space and time for students to reflect upon and question the material. In the event of students asking a question which is very difficult or complex, you could offer to research the question with the student or reassure them that some of these questions will be addressed as they move through the Units in the textbook. When teaching about the Holocaust it may be that students have questions that are very difficult or not possible to answer in a straightforward way. Avoid giving simple responses to complex questions and reassure students that it is okay not to have all the answers when studying such complex historical events. Encourage students to record their initial questions in the first of the ‘Knowledge and Understanding organisers.’  These can form the basis of discussion and reflection as students work through the subsequent Units of the textbook.

    The textbook cover

    The story behind the photograph:

    Gyorgy (George) Pick is the boy seated closest to the teacher. He was born on March 28, 1934 in Budapest, to Jewish parents, Istvan and Margit Pick. After Hungary allied itself with Nazi Germany, Georgy’s father lost his job. Beginning in 1940, Istvan was conscripted into the Hungarian labour service. During his absence, Gyorgy and his mother remained in their home in Budapest and Gyorgy attended a Jewish school. In June 1944 they were forced to move to one of the specially designated “yellow star” houses in the city.

    In September 1944 Istvan’s battalion moved to Budapest and in October his commander warned the members of his unit that they would be sent to Germany the following day. During the 24-hour leave the men were given prior to their transfer, Istvan went into hiding. He sought the help of a former Hungarian business associate, Gyorgy Gyekis, who sent him to a textile factory. The factory was supposedly manufacturing uniforms for the Hungarian army, but in actuality, had ceased production and was used as a hiding place for approximately 170 Jews, including close to 100 women and children. The factory was established by Imre Kormos (Kohn), a Hungarian Jew living on false papers. Kormos operated four factories where 1100 Jews were hidden.

    In November 1944, one month after arriving at the factory, Istvan sent a message to Margit and Gyorgy telling them to join him. Shortly after the Picks were reunited in the factory, Kormos was betrayed to the Gestapo. The informer also disclosed the locations of three of Kormos’ four factories. Five armed members of the State Security Police raided the factory where the Picks were hiding. Fortunately, the Jews were able to evade arrest by bribing the police. Kormos was tortured for two days but he did not disclose the location of his fourth factory, thus giving those hidden there a chance to escape. He was sentenced to death, but managed to escape and survive the war.

    A few days after the raid, Gyorgy was transferred with the rest of the children in his factory to a building under the protection of the International Red Cross. Because there was no food there, Gyorgy left and rejoined his parents in the textile factory. Soon after his escape, there was an Arrow Cross raid on the Red Cross safe house, during which the children were rounded-up and shot on the banks of the Danube.

    Gyorgy and his parents remained at the factory until December when they were brought to the new central ghetto. They were liberated by the Soviets one month later on January 18, 1945. Though Gyorgy and his parents survived, 161 members of their extended family perished in the Holocaust. The Picks immigrated to the United States in 1956. The image was donated by Gyorgy to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. No information exists about what happened to the rest of the children in the photograph.

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Photograph Number: 14679

    Why we chose this image

    Many different considerations went into the choosing of this image as the textbook’s cover. These considerations were rooted in our educational principles and reflected the pedagogical approach we employed throughout the book.

    We wanted to use a different image than those usually associated with the Holocaust. We feel that the image of children – both Jewish and non-Jewish – in happy times invites consideration of who the Jewish people were and their place in broader European life before the war. Also, it is a ‘regular’ image, the kind of which all of us have as memories from our childhood or our children’s early years in school. It is a photograph taken not to be used as evidence of any kind, but as a tender memoir. At the same time, the viewers’ knowledge of what happened after the image was taken makes confronting the children’s innocent smiling faces incredibly disturbing and saddening. This knowledge invites viewers to look again at the image, to think about their relationship and response to it, and to consider what they ‘do’ with their knowledge of this dark and traumatic history.

    The image acts as a gateway, an access point to a tragic and compelling story of devastation and loss. All 161 members of Georgy’s extended family were murdered; thereby creating an indelible void at the heart of Georgy’s life. Such personal devastation was, of course, experienced by millions of others and magnified on a continental scale. In this way, there is added significance in how Georgy’s story takes place in Hungary where the actions of the Nazis and their collaborators between May and July 1944 spoke of a fervent determination to obliterate Jewish life.

    But the image speaks more than a tragic story. Significantly, it also tells a story of incredible human perseverance, a remarkable story of rescue, resistance and survival.

    Further inquiry: Who were the Pitel family?

    Students could undertake further research into the lives of the Pitel family and what happened to them during the Holocaust. The research could be undertaken at the start of their study or could be revisited after students have worked through some of the subsequent Units of the textbook.

    Students will find further information about the Pitel family here.

    If students hover and click upon each individual shown in the image they can read a short biography about them and view a Page of Testimony submitted in their memory. See the example here.

    Students may be interested in the process of collecting information for Pages of Testimony from surviving relatives. They can view this short tutorial from Yad Vashem here.

    Additional resources for teachers

    Open access lesson materials: ‘Ordinary Things’: Provides a way of starting a series of lessons on the Holocaust.

    Online CPD course: ‘Authentic Encounters with the Holocaust: A starting point for teachers’: This 45 minute course seeks to answer the question ‘How do I start a scheme of learning on the Holocaust?’

    Online CPD course: ‘6 things your students should know about the Holocaust’: This course is designed as a starting point to acquaint you with some of the main issues arising from the Centre’s research and it introduces some practical ideas about how to start addressing them in the classroom.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That before the Holocaust Jewish people lived in countries all across Europe.
    • That Jewish people were employed in all types of jobs, and the majority were not wealthy.
    • About some of the ways in which Jews contributed to their communities and countries.
    • That Jewish people had many different beliefs and identities.
    • That Jews in Germany were a very small minority – less than 1 per cent of the German population.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • All Jews owned businesses and were rich
    • Germany had more Jewish people than anywhere else
    • ‘Jews’ and ‘Germans’ were different from one another
    • Jews were persecuted simply because of their religion

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Further enquiry: Pre-war Jewish life

    Students can undertake further research into pre-war Jewish life using the Wiener Library’s ‘The Holocaust Explained’ website. They can discover more here about a range of individuals from across Europe and watch survivor testimony about life before the Holocaust in 3 short videos.

    To discover more about the diversity of Jewish life in communities across Europe students can use this page from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Here they can view a map showing the distribution of Europe’s Jewish population in 1933 and they can consider the similarities and differences between Jewish life in Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

    Additional resources for teachers

    Open-access material – ‘Life in Plauen’: What does life in Plauen reveal to us about the paradoxes and contradictions of Jewish and non-Jewish relations in Germany in this period?

    Open-access material – ‘German Jews and the Holocaust: the Gumprich and Voos families’: Using rare home movie footage students engage with some of the challenges faced by German-Jewish families in the months before the Second World War.

    Online student materials – ‘Being German and Jewish: Living in hope in uncertain times’: These lessons are intended for Year 9 students studying the Holocaust. They have been designed to be taught as a sequence of five 30 minute lessons via an online platform. The lesson material is an adaptation of the classroom lesson ‘Life in Plauen’.

    Online classroom materials – ‘Jewish life in Warsaw before the Holocaust’: These lessons are intended for students in Year 9 or above. They have been designed for student directed home study or teacher directed study, there are materials to support both approaches. We recommend that you divide the content into two manageable 40 minute lessons.

    Short film – ‘The way we lived: Exploring Jewish life and culture’: This resource provides essential context for the study of the Holocaust. It highlights the diversity of Jewish life and culture before the Second World War.

    In 1933, 9.5 million Jewish people lived in Europe. Jewish people had lived in Europe for over 2,000 years and there were Jewish communities in every European country. Using this map, you will discover where Jewish people lived and how they lived. You will hear from individuals about their family life and their communities as they were before the Holocaust.

    Develop knowledge and understanding:

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That prejudice against Jews has existed in Europe for 2,000 years.
    • About the many ways in which Jews have been persecuted throughout history.
    • What antisemitism means and how it differs from religious prejudice.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • All Jews owned businesses and were rich
    • Germany had more Jewish people than anywhere else
    • ‘Jews’ and ‘Germans’ were different from one another
    • Jews were persecuted simply because of their religion

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefings that are relevant to this textbook chapter content here and here.

    Support for in chapter activities:

    Support for Activity p. 17

    Here are some recommended websites to assist your students in carrying out this research:

    Find out what happened at York in 1190: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york/history-and-stories/massacre-of-the-jews/

    Discover how Jewish persecution was linked to the Crusades: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-crusades

    Support for Activity p.19

    ‘What is antisemitism? Explain antisemitism in your own words.’

    To assist students in answering this question they can watch the following clips from the IWM ‘The Way We Lived‘ resource:

    • Why did people hate us?
    • Roots of antisemitism

    They can undertake further research using this page from the Wiener Library’s ‘Holocaust Explained’ website.

    Suggested activities

    Further enquiry – research individuals

    Students could choose one of the individuals listed below and undertake further research into their life, their career and their achievements.

    Here are some recommended websites to assist your students in carrying out their research:

    Albert Einstein: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Einstein

    Bela Guttman: https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/bela-guttmann-hmd-2019/

    Gerty Simon: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/may/26/gerty-simon-uk-show-revives-lost-work-of-photographer-who-fled-nazis and see chapter 5.4 a case study about Gerty’s son, Bernd Simon.

    Ida Rubenstein: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rubinstein-ida

    Janusz Korczak: https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/janusz-korczak/

    Additional resources for teachers:

    ‘Etymology of antisemitism’ –

    DOWNLOAD: Etymology of antisemitism

    https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/antisemitism/spelling-antisemitism

    Spelling of Antisemitism | IHRA

    Students should revisit their initial Knowledge and Understanding Organiser.

    Now that they have studied Unit 1 they can reflect upon their new knowledge and understanding. What new information, ideas or understanding do they have about this big question?

    Students should add this new knowledge to their Knowledge and Understanding Organiser Unit 1.

    Encourage students to consider what questions they still have. What else would they like to know?

    DOWNLOAD: OneDrive_1_08-02-2024 Knowledge_and_Understanding_Organisers_Unit_1

     

  3. Unit 2: Nazi Germany 1933-1939

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • About who the Nazis were and their key ideas.
    • How and why many Germans willingly supported Hitler and the Nazis.
    • About how the Nazis falsely and unfairly blamed Jews for many of Germany’s problems.
    • That Hitler and the Nazis did not seize power by force but were invited into government.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • Jews were to blame for the crises in interwar Germany
    • Hitler and the Nazis seized power in Germany by force

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p. 22: 

    ‘Why did Hitler become the leader of Germany in 1933?’

    Use resource sheet 2.1.1 to help students to organise their knowledge of understanding of the appeal of the Nazi party, rising levels of support for the Nazis during the Great Depression and how and why Hitler becomes the leader of Germany in January 1933.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 2.1.1

    Additional resources for students

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-nazi-rise-to-power/

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nazi-rise-to-power

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading materials

    Evans, R, J.  (2004) The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis destroyed democracy and seized power in Germany. Penguin.

    Noakes, J and Pridham, G. (1983 – 1998) Nazism 1919 – 1945. A documentary reader, 4 volumes. University of Exeter press.

    Pridham, G. (2016) Hitler’s Rise to Power: The Nazi Movement in Bavaria 1923 – 33. Lume Books.

    Reece, L. (2012) The Nazis: A warning from History. BBC Books.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • About the ways in which the Nazis controlled peoples’ lives after 1933 and how they used terror and violence.
    • What concentration camps were and why they were created.
    • That the Nazis had a racist worldview which saw certain minority groups as enemies or threats.
    • How and why the Nazis persecuted different minority groups.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • All Germans were either brainwashed or lived in fear of Hitler and the Nazis
    • Jewish people were imprisoned and killed in concentration camps in 1933
    • All Nazi victims were treated in the same way for the same reasons

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Think About p.26

    ‘Are you surprised that the German people willingly gave information about each other to the Gestapo? Why might people have done this?’

    Resource sheet 2.2.1 provides further information and a case study to help students to answer the Think About.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 2.2.1

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about the early concentration camps in Nazi Germany 1933 – 39, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-camps/types-of-camps/concentration-camps/

    http://www.camps.bbk.ac.uk/themes/early-camps.html

    Additional resources for teachers

    Open access classroom material – ‘What was a Nazi concentration camp?’ Explore Nazi concentration camps further with your students using our open access lesson materials ‘What was a Nazi concentration camp?‘. This series of 3 lessons explore:

    • What was a concentration camp?
    • The German public and Nazi concentration camps
    • The first SS concentration camp: How did Dachau change between 1933 and 1945?

    Further reading materials:

    Evans, R, J. (2006) The Third Reich in Power: How the Nazis won over the hearts and minds of a nation. Penguin.

    Gellately, R. (1992) The Gestapo and German Society: Enforcing Racial Policy 1933-1945. Clarendon.

    Gellately, R. (2020) Hitler’s True Believers: How ordinary people became Nazis. Oxford University Press.

    Kershaw, I. (2001) The Hitler Myth: Image and reality in the Third Reich. Oxford University Press.

    Noakes, J and Pridham, G. (1983 – 1998) Nazism 1919 – 1945. A documentary reader, 4 volumes. University of Exeter press.

    Rees, L. (2012) The Nazis: A warning from History. BBC Books.

    Wachsmann, N. (2015) KL, A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps. Little, Brown.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That the Nazis had a racist worldview which saw certain minority groups as enemies or threats.
    • How and why the Nazis persecuted different minority groups.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • All Nazi victims were treated in the same way for the same reasons

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Suggested activities

    Further enquiry – How and why did the Nazis persecute different victim groups?

    Students can undertake further research into Nazi persecution of different victim groups using these websites:

    Jehovah’s witnesses:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses

    Disabled people:

    https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/disabled-people/

    Gay men:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/persecution-of-homosexuals-in-the-third-reich

    There is also a useful article here relating to the treatment of lesbians in the Third Reich and how this differed from that of gay men: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/lesbians-and-the-third-reich

    Black people:

    https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/black-people/

    Roma and Sinti:

    https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/the-porrajmos/

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about Nazi persecution of different victim groups, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-before-the-holocaust/pre-war-roma-life/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-before-the-holocaust/pre-war-homosexual-life/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/oppression/

    Additional resources for teachers

    ‘A history of the Roma genocide’: Dr Gerhard Baumgartner, Director of the Centre of the Austrian resistance, offers an accessible illustrated history of the Roma genocide.

    https://www.holocausteducation.org.uk/teacher-resources/subject-knowledge/history-roma-genocide/

    DOWNLOAD: Nazi policy towards gay women

    Students should revisit their Unit 1 Knowledge and Understanding Organiser.

    Now that they have studied Unit 2 they can reflect upon their new knowledge and understanding. What new information, ideas or understanding do they have about this big question?

    Students should add this new knowledge to their Knowledge and Understanding Organiser Unit 2.

    Encourage students to consider what questions they still have. What else would they like to know?

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge_and_Understanding_Organisers_Unit_2

  4. Unit 3: Jewish life under Nazi rule 1933-1939

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That during the 1930s the Nazis wanted to exclude German Jews from society.
    • How the Nazis used propaganda, violence and anti-Jewish laws to make life extremely difficult for Jews in Germany.
    • That the mass murder of Jews did not occur before 1939.
    • About the impact that persecution had on Jews in Germany.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • That there was a large and influential Jewish population in Germany
    • Organised mass killing of Jews began in 1933

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Suggested activities

    Further enquiry – Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany

    Use resource sheet 3.1.1 to allow students to explore Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany.

    • Where did people go?
    • Why these particular countries?

    Through the case studies of Anne Frank and those who immigrated to Shanghai students can research individual experiences of migration in more detail.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 3.1.1

    Further enquiry – Dr Michael Siegel

    Use these links to enable students to discover what happened to Dr Michael Siegel:

    https://newspapers.ushmm.org/blog/2017/12/19/dr-siegel/

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about how life changed for Germany’s Jews in the 1930s, students can undertake further research using this recommended website:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/oppression/

    Additional resources for teachers

    Classroom materials – ‘German Jews and the Holocaust’: Using rare home movie footage students engage with some of the challenges faced by German-Jewish families in the months before the Second World War.

    Classroom materials – ‘Life in Plauen’: What does life in Plauen reveal to us about the paradoxes and contradictions of Jewish and non-Jewish relations in Germany in this period?

    Online student materials – ‘Being German and Jewish: Living in hope in uncertain times’: The five lessons are intended for Year 9 students learning about the Holocaust in history, RE and citizenship. With the city of Plauen as a case study, students explore how Jewish and non-Jewish people lived alongside one another before the Second World War. The lesson material is an adaptation of the classroom lesson ‘Life in Plauen’

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • How the geographic expansion of Nazi Germany affected Jewish people.
    • How Jewish people responded to discrimination.
    • About key historical events, such as the Anschluss and Kristallnacht.
    • The challenges faced by Jewish people trying to leave Germany in the 1930s.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • Kristallnacht is not a word associated with the Holocaust

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Think About p.41: 

    ‘Why might historians describe Kristallnacht as a turning point?’

    Resource sheet 3.2.1 contains additional source materials to support students in answering this Think About question (p.41).

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 3.2.1

    Support for Think About p.42: 

    ‘Does the international community have a responsibility towards refugees?’

    https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/refugees-are-people-learn-from-their-experiences/

    Use this website link to access some useful resources to help your students to explore this Think About question (p.42).

    Suggested activities

    Further enquiry – The immediate aftermath of Kristallnacht

    Use the case studies on resource sheet 3.2.2 to give further context to Figure 3.8 ‘Roll call at the Buchenwald concentration camp for newly arrived prisoners, mostly Jews arrested during Kristallnacht; Germany, 1938’.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 3.2.2

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about how Jewish people were affected by the creation of ‘Greater Germany’, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/oppression/kristallnacht/

    https://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/Refugee-Voices

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading materials:

    Cesarani, D. (2016) Final Solution: The fate of the Jews 1933 – 49. Macmillan.

    Kershaw, I. (2008) Hitler, the Germans and the Final Solution. Yale University Press.

    Rees, L. (2005) The Nazis: A Warning from History. BBC Books.

    Students should revisit their Unit 2 Knowledge and Understanding Organiser.

    Now that they have studied Unit 3 they can reflect upon their new knowledge and understanding. What new information, ideas or understanding do they have about this big question?

    Students should add this new knowledge to their Knowledge and Understanding Organiser Unit 3.

    Encourage students to consider what questions they still have. What else would they like to know?

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge_and_Understanding_Organisers_Unit_3

  5. Unit 4: Europe's Jews in the Second World War

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That Jewish people had different experiences in different parts of occupied Europe.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • That all experiences of Jewish persecution were the same.

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefings that are relevant to this textbook chapter content here and here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Further enquiry 

    Students can use these websites to undertake further enquiry into the experiences of Jewish people in the following countries:

    Netherlands: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-netherlands and https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/occupation-case-studies/the-netherlands/

    Denmark: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/denmark

    France: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/france and https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/occupation-case-studies/france/

    Hungary: https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/occupation-case-studies/hungary/

    Romania: https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/occupation-case-studies/romania/ and https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/romania

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online CPD course – ‘Authentic Encounters with the Holocaust: A starting point for teachers‘. Learn more about the treatment of Jews in the Netherlands through this course which focusses upon the experiences of Leon Greenman.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • What ghettos were, why they were created, and what conditions were like in them.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Our 2016 student research showed that students had limited knowledge and understanding of the following:

    • What were ghettos?
    • Where were ghettos located?
    • How did the existence of ghettos relate to the development of the Holocaust?

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p.49

    In this chapter, the Activity asks that students research the life of Chaim Rumkowski and compare him to Adam Czerniakow. You may find that students express judgements of the actions undertaken by these figures or other victims that you find inappropriate. To address this, you could introduce your students to the term ‘choiceless choices’ developed by Lawrence Langer. Langer defined the choices made during the Holocaust as ‘choiceless choices’ “where critical decisions did not reflect options between life and death, but between one form of ‘abnormal’ response and another, both imposed by a situation that was in no way of the victim’s own choosing.” If students can understand that choices during the Holocaust were ‘choiceless choices’, it can help them to emphasise and understand the ‘choiceless choices’ faced by Rumkowski and figures like them, and not to judge them outside their context.

    Students can access these websites to undertake some research into Chaim Rumkowski, the leader of the Jewish council in the Lodz ghetto.

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/give-me-your-children-voices-from-the-lodz-ghetto

    http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/ghettos/rumkowski.html

    https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205839.pdf

    For further information about Adam Czerniakow, the leader of the Jewish council in the Warsaw ghetto students can use these websites:

    http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/ghettos/acdiary.html

    https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adam-czerniakow

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/film/adam-czerniakow-chairman-of-the-jewish-council-in-warsaw

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online student materials – ‘Jewish life in Warsaw before the Holocaust’: These lessons are intended for students in Year 9 or above. They have been designed for student directed home study or teacher directed study, there are materials to support both approaches. We recommend that you divide the content into two manageable 40 minute lessons.

    Online student materials: ‘Resistance and the Holocaust’: These lessons are designed for self-study as part of KS3 History.

    Online student materials – ‘The Warsaw ghetto uprising: exploring history, meaning and significance’: This resource centres upon a specific event, the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The material is designed for use with students in KS3 and KS4.

    Online student materials – ‘Janusz Korczak and the orphans of the Warsaw ghetto‘: This KS3 self-directed lesson supports learning in RS, Citizenship and History.

    Online student materials – ‘The struggle to survive: resilience and resistance in the Warsaw ghetto‘: This self-directed lesson is for students in Year 9 and above, exploring survival, resilience and resistance in the Warsaw ghetto. 

    These articles and accompanying resources may assist teachers to facilitate the activity in this chapter that focusses upon Jewish councils in the ghettos.

    https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-8/jewish-councils

    https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-9/choiceless-choices

    Further reading materials

    Langer. (1980) The Dilemma of choice in the Death Camps.

    Berg, M. (2007) The Diary of Mary Berg: Growing up in the Warsaw ghetto. Oneworld.

    Sem-Sandberg, S. (2011) The Emperor of Lies. Faber & Faber. (Historical fiction about Chaim Rumkowski and the Lodz ghetto).

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • About how and why Germany invaded the Soviet Union and the brutal nature of war in the East.
    • About how most Jewish people were killed in Eastern Europe from the start of 1942 to the middle of 1943.
    • About who the Einsatzgruppen were and how they were involved in the murder of around 2.2 million Jewish people.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Our 2016 student research showed that students had limited knowledge and understanding of the following:

    • The Einsatzgruppen and mass killing in Eastern Europe during the war.

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing ‘Research Briefing 4: Spaces of Killing’ that is relevant to this textbook chapter content: https://holocausteducation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/4.-SpacesOfKilling-download.pdf

    Support for in chapter activities

     Think About p.54

    What are your views on the actions of Johannes and his wife?

    Here is some further context to support this Think About:

    In 1954 Johannes Hahle’s wife sold her husband’s private collection of photographs (including the 29 colour photographs of Babi Yar) to a journalist and upon his death in 2000 the collection was resold. The colour photographs now reside in the archives of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research.

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about the ‘Holocaust by bullets’, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/creation-of-the-einsatzgruppen-1939-41/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/the-einsatzgruppen/

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading materials

    Browning, C. (2001) Ordinary Men. Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland. Penguin.

    Desbois, P. (2010) The Holocaust by Bullets: A priest’s journey to uncover the truth behind the murder of 1.5 million Jews. USA: Palgrave Macmillan

    Desbois, P. (2018) In Broad Daylight: The secret procedures behind the Holocaust by Bullets. New York: Arcade Publishing.

    Rees, L. (2005) The Nazis. A Warning from History. BBC books.

    University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, filmed survivor accounts. These need to be handled with caution as the interviews contain descriptions of the murders.

    https://iwitness.usc.edu/sfi/

    United Nations: Holocaust by Bullets

    https://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/docs/pdf/chapter7.pdf

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, special focus on Father Desbois, founder of Yahad – In Unum

    https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/desbois

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia entry

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/einsatzgruppen

    Yahad – In Unum

    An organisation specialising in fieldwork research into the ‘Holocaust by bullets’

    https://www.yahadinunum.org/

    Yahad – In Unum

    https://www.yahadinunum.org/what-is-the-holocaust-by-bullets/

    Yahad – In Unum

    https://www.yahadinunum.org/guide-to-the-holocaust-by-bullets/

    Yahad – In Unum. (n.d) Broad Daylight, Ten Years 2004-2014 (online book)

    https://www.yahadinunum.org/broad-daylight/

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • Why the Nazis created death camps, where these were located, and how European Jews were murdered in them.
    • That people all across Europe knew that Jews were being murdered.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • The killing of Jews was done secretly in remote locations
    • Concentration camps and death camps were the same thing
    • Auschwitz was the only camp where Jews were murdered

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Think About p.60

    Students can access this website to undertake further research into the deportations from the Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/greece

    Support for Activity p.62

    ‘What is the value of the photograph (figure 4.15)? Why is it significant? What questions does it raise?’

    This article on the Yad Vashem website will provide teachers with additional details and context about the Auschwitz Birkenau crematoria images. It will help you to explore the significance of these images with your students, as important evidence and as examples of resistance. We would not recommend that you share this resource in full with your students as the series of images in an enlarged view could be distressing for young people and the language of the article is challenging.

    https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/general/epicenter-horror-photographs-sonderkommando.html

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about ‘the Final Solution’, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/creation-of-extermination-camps/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/genocide-in-action-1941-1945/

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online CPD course – ‘Authentic Encounters with the Holocaust: A starting point for teachers‘: Through the story of Leon Greenman and his family learn more about deportations from Western Europe to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

    Open access lesson materials -‘What was a Nazi concentration camp?’ Explore Nazi concentration camps further with your students using our open access lesson materials. This series of 3 lessons examine:

    • What was a concentration camp?
    • The German public and Nazi concentration camps
    • The first SS concentration camp: How did Dachau change between 1933 and 1945?

    Open access lesson materials – ‘Ordinary Things’: Provides a way of starting a series of lesson on the Holocaust and introduces Auschwitz Birkenau.

    Further reading materials

    Cesarani, D. (2016) Final Solution: The fate of the Jews 1933 – 49. Macmillan.

    Kershaw, I. (2008) Hitler, the Germans and the Final Solution. Yale University Press.

    Rees, L. (2005) The Nazis: A Warning from History. BBC Books.

    Rees, L. (2017) The Holocaust: A New History. Penguin.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • About when and how the Holocaust ended.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Our 2016 student research showed that students had limited knowledge and understanding about how and why the Holocaust ended. Only 46.1% of students surveyed correctly knew that the end of the Holocaust came as a result of the Allied liberation of lands occupied by the German army.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Suggested activities

    Further enquiry

    Students can access this website to find out more about the death marches and to hear a short film of survivor testimony:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/death-marches

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about the death marches and the liberation of the camps, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/death-marches-1944-1945/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/how-and-why/how/liberation-1944-1945/ 

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online lesson materials, assemblies and tutor time activities – ‘Belsen 75 project resource pack‘: The Bergen-Belsen 75th anniversary programme aimed to provide young people in England with the chance to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the discovery of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British troops on the 15th April 1945, of the events that led to liberation, and of its aftermath. This resource pack supported that programme. It contains a series of resources to help teachers to deliver this history in an authentic and sensitive way.

    Online lesson materials – ‘Then and Now: Exploring the Dimbleby dispatch’: This series of self-study lessons focus upon the now famous radio broadcast made by Richard Dimbleby in the days after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The sessions encourage students to develop English language skills and enhance media literacy.

    Find out more about the liberation of Bergen – Belsen here through a range of articles and interviews relating to the Belsen 75 project. These include interviews with Mala Tribich who shares her experiences of Bergen-Belsen and its liberation and Jonathan Dimbleby who reflects upon his father Richard’s famous dispatch and it contemporary significance.

    Students should revisit their Unit 3 Knowledge and Understanding Organiser.

    Now that they have studied Unit 4 they can reflect upon their new knowledge and understanding. What new information, ideas or understanding do they have about this big question?

    Students should add this new knowledge to their Knowledge and Understanding Organiser Unit 4.

    Encourage students to consider what questions they still have. What else would they like to know?

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge_and_Understanding_Organisers_Unit_4[1]

  6. Unit 5: The Holocaust - Responses and responsibility

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • How Jewish people responded to their persecution, fought back and resisted the Nazis and their collaborators.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Correct the misconception Jewish people did not fight back against their persecution.

    Should you choose to share this with students it is very important to be clear that this is a misconception and it needs to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p.68

    When working upon this activity some students may focus on the physical resistance of partisan groups, but it is important to ensure that other forms of resistance are given equal attention. You may find it useful to use the concept of Amidah with your students, a Hebrew term meaning “standing up against” to explore these other forms of resistance. Yehuda Bauer writes that “[Amidah] includes smuggling food into ghettos; mutual self-sacrifice within the family to avoid starvation or worse; cultural, educational, religious, and political activities taken to strengthen morale; the work of doctors, nurses, and educators to consciously maintain health and moral fiber to enable individual and group survival; and, of course, armed rebellion or the use of force (with bare hands or with “cold” weapons) against the Germans and their collaborators.”

    Support for Activity p.69 / 70

    Students can access these websites to undertake further research into the armed revolts at the death camps of Treblinka, Sobibor and Auschwitz-Birkenau:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-uprisings-in-camps

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jewish-resistance

    Support for Activity p.71

    Students can access these websites to undertake further research into the Bielski partisans and Anne Frank:

    Bielski partisans: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-bielski-partisans

    Anne Frank: https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/

    Additional resources for students

    To find out more about Jewish resistance, students can undertake further research using these recommended websites:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/resistance-responses-collaboration/

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online student materials – ‘Resistance and the Holocaust’: These lessons are designed for self-study as part of KS3 History.

    Online student materials – ‘The struggle to survive: resilience and resistance in the Warsaw ghetto’: This self-directed lesson is for students in Year 9 and above, exploring survival, resilience and resistance in the Warsaw ghetto. 

    Online classroom materials – ‘The Warsaw ghetto uprising: exploring history, meaning and significance’: This resource centres upon a specific event, the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The material is designed for use with students in KS3 and KS4.

    Discover more about the Ringelblum archive here:

    https://www.jhi.pl/en/ringelblum-archive

    Further reading materials

    Tec, N. (2008) Defiance: Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Tec, N. (2013) Resistance: How Jews and Christians Fought Back against the Nazis: Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/tec-nechama

    https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/Publication_OP_1997-02.pdf

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • How hundreds of thousands of people from across Europe were involved with the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews.
    • That responsibility for the Holocaust was much wider than just Hitler and a few leading Nazis.
    • That those who refused to obey orders to kill Jews were not shot, but given other duties.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • The Holocaust was solely the responsibility of Hitler and a few leading Nazis
    • Those who refused to obey orders to kill Jews, were shot

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Suggested activities

    Students can access these pages on ‘The Holocaust Explained’ to enable them to consider further case studies relating to issues of collaboration and complicity:

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/resistance-responses-collaboration/german-collaboration-and-complicity/

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/resistance-responses-collaboration/collaboration-outside-of-germany/

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading material

    Browning, C. (2001) Ordinary Men. Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland: London: Penguin books.

    Kershaw, I. (2008) Hitler, the Germans and the Final Solution. Yale University Press.

    Rees, L. (2005) The Nazis: A Warning from History. BBC Books.

    Vanagaite, R. & Zuroff, E. (2020) Our People. Discovering Lithuania’s Hidden Holocaust. Rowman & Littlefield.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • About how some countries and some people tried to help Jews, but many did not.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Correct the misconception that no one, or no country, made efforts to help Jewish people.

    Should you choose to share this with students it is very important to be clear that this is a misconception and it needs to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p.77

    Students can access these websites to assist them with further research about the Danish efforts to rescue their Jewish population:

    https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/the-rescue-of-denmark-jews.html

    https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/rescue-of-the-jews-of-denmark

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/rescue-in-denmark

    Support for Activity p.77

    Students can access this website to assist them with further research about the Albanian moral code of ‘Besa’:

    https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/besa/index.asp

    Additional resources for teachers

    Online student materials – ‘Heroic actions of the Holocaust‘: These materials are aimed at KS4 students who have some foundational knowledge of the Holocaust and are suitable for deepening learning in RS, Citizenship and History. The lesson examines the heroic actions of individuals who tried to help Jewish people at great risk to themselves.

    Further reading materials

    Tec, N. (2013) Resistance: How Jews and Christians Fought Back against the Nazis: Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • What the British government knew about the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews and how they responded.
    • That Britain did not fight the war to save Europe’s Jews but argued the best way to help them was to defeat Nazi Germany and win the war.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • Britain fought the war to save the Jews of Europe

    Should you choose to share this with students it is very important to be clear that this is a false statement and it needs to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Suggested activities

    Case studies / further enquiry: How did the British government respond?

    Students can access these websites to undertake further research about the case studies (p.82):

    Jewish refugees and the Kindertransports

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/?s=kindertransport

    Bernd Simon

    https://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/a-bitter-road-online

    The Boys

    https://www.worldjewishrelief.org/about-us/the-boys

    http://ldhp.org.uk/

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p. 80: Timeline / sorting activity: What did the British government know and how did they respond?

    Use the card sort, resource sheet 5.4.1 to help students to sort the events on the timeline into two categories.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 5.4.1

    Support for Activity p. 83: Interpretations / extended writing: which of the three interpretations do you consider best reflects Britain’s response to the Holocaust?

    Use the writing frame, resource sheet 5.4.2 to help students to scaffold their written responses to this question.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 5.4.2

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading materials

    Bauer, Y. (2002) Rethinking the Holocaust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press

    Breitman, R. (1998) Official Secrets: What the Nazis planned, what the British and Americans knew. New York: Hill and Wang.

    Cesarani, D. (1996) ‘Great Britain’. In D.S. Wyman (ed.) The World Reacts to the Holocaust. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 599–641.

    Gilbert, M. (1981) Auschwitz and the Allies. New York: Henry Holt.

    Kushner, T. (1994) The Holocaust and the Liberal Imagination: A social and cultural history. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Lacquer, W. (1998) The Terrible Secret: Suppression of the truth about Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’. New York: Henry Holt.

    London, L. (2000) Whitehall and the Jews, 1933–1948: British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust. Cambridge: CUP.

    Wallis, R. (2014) Britain, Germany and the Road to the Holocaust. London: I.B. Tauris

    Wasserstein, B. (1988) Britain and the Jews of Europe, 1939–1945. Oxford: Institute of Jewish Affairs/Oxford University Press.

    Wyman, D.S. (ed.) (1996) The World reacts to the Holocaust. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Students should revisit their Unit 4 Knowledge and Understanding Organiser.

    Now that they have studied Unit 5 they can reflect upon their new knowledge and understanding. What new information, ideas or understanding do they have about this big question?

    Students should add this new knowledge to their Knowledge and Understanding Organiser Unit 5.

    Now that students have studied all of the information in Units 1 to 5 they should be in a position to provide a concluding answer to the BIG question.

    Use the resource sheet / writing frame ‘Concluding the BIG question:  How and why did the Holocaust happen?’ to help students to scaffold their extended written responses.

    DOWNLOAD: Knowledge_and_Understanding_Organisers_Unit_5

    DOWNLOAD: The BIG question writing frame

  7. Unit 6: Aftermath and legacy

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • How Jewish communities across Europe were devastated by the Holocaust and that most were lost forever.
    • About how other groups were victims of the Nazis and their collaborators.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:

    • All Nazi victims were treated in the same way for the same reasons

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p.86

    Students can access these websites to undertake further research into the treatment and persecution of these groups at the hands of the Nazis:

    Soviet civilians and prisoners of war:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-persecution-of-soviet-prisoners-of-war

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-army-and-the-racial-nature-of-the-war-against-the-soviet-union?series=25

    Political opponents:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/political-prisoners

    Polish civilians:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/polish-victims

    Disabled people:

    https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/disabled-people/

    Roma and Sinti ‘gypsies’:

    https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/genocide-of-european-roma-gypsies-1939-1945

    Additional resources for teachers

    Open access lesson materials – ‘The Void‘: These materials encourage reflection upon the loss of Jewish communities across Europe as a result of the Holocaust.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That many survivors continued to face difficulties after the end of the war.
    • That antisemitism did not end with the defeat of the Nazis.
    • That many survivors emigrated to other countries after the war, including Israel and Britain.
    • How Jewish survivors were not always welcomed in other countries after the Holocaust.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Correct the common misconceptions that:

    • The suffering of Jews ended on the day of liberation
    • Antisemitism ended when the Nazis were defeated
    • Jewish survivors were welcomed in other countries after the Holocaust

    Should you choose to share these with students it is very important to be clear that these are false statements and they need to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Activity p.89

    Students can access these websites to undertake further research into the Exodus and what happened to the Jewish survivors on board:

    https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-exodus-1947-quot-illegal-immigration-ship

    Support for Activities and Think About p.90 – 91

    In the document ‘Resource Sheet 6.2.1’ you will find useful contextual information and links to other resources that relate to the survivors mentioned in this chapter.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 6.2.1

    In the document ‘Resource Sheet 6.2.2’ you will find support for a guided discussion around Leon’s poem.

    DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 6.2.2

    Additional resources for teachers

    Open access lesson materials – ‘Legacy of the Holocaust: A note from Leon’: These materials encourage reflection upon the human impact and long term effects of the Holocaust.

    Develop knowledge and understanding

    To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:

    • That 99 per cent of those who were responsible for the Holocaust never faced justice and were not punished.

    Challenge myths and misconceptions

    Correct the misconception that all perpetrators of the Holocaust were punished.

    Should you choose to share this with students it is very important to be clear that this is a false statement and it needs to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.

    Support for in chapter activities

    Support for Think About p.93

    Students can access ‘The Holocaust Explained’ website to consider post war trials in more depth. They can also access information about the trial of John Demjanjuk, whose case was a turning point: ‘In 2011, the trial of 91-year-old John (Ivan) Demjanjuk set a new precedent in Germany. Until Demjanjuk’s 2011 trial, former Nazis were charged with individual murders, rather than ‘genocide’ or mass murder. As a result of this, to convict a former Nazi or collaborator of murder, the courts had to find direct evidence of their role in a specific crime, meaning that it was extremely difficult to charge.’ 

    Following Demjanjuk’s trial several other former Nazis were brought to trial to face charges of mass murder.

    https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/survival-and-legacy/postwar-trials-and-denazification/

    Students could access this article to consider other trials like that of Bruno Dey:

    The trial of Oskar Groening: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42698558

    Additional resources for teachers

    Further reading materials

    Fulbrook, M. (2018) Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi persecution and the quest for justice: Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  8. Conclusion: Deepening knowledge, remembrance & commemoration

    In the concluding activity, students are introduced to the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation’s project to construct a memorial and learning centre in central London. For more on this initiative, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-holocaust-memorial-foundation/about

  9. Glossary of terms

    Glossary

    Allied powers: The countries that fought against Germany. These include Britain, France (except the period of Nazi occupation 1940–44), the Soviet Union from June 1941 and the USA from December 1941, but there were many other ‘Allied’ nations.

    Allies: Countries which formally cooperate with each other for a military or other purpose.

     Anschluss: A German word for ‘union’. The word refers to the joining of Austria with Nazi Germany in March 1938.

    Antisemitism: Hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

    Assimilated: When someone becomes part of the wider society and culture.

    Axis powers: Those countries which fought with Germany. These include Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries.

    British Mandate of Palestine: After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, the League of Nations placed the Middle Eastern territory known as ‘Palestine’ under British control. It was referred to as the British Mandate of Palestine. The British ruled the area from 1920 until 1948.

    Castrated: When an individual loses use of the testicles, either by surgical or chemical action. Causes the individual to become sterile (unable to have children).

    Collaborators: People, organisations and governments that helped the Nazis persecute and/or murder Jews.

    Communist: A person who supports and believes in the principles of communism. Communism is a political ideology about how societies and economies should be organised. It argues, for instance, that resources and industries be collectively owned for the benefit of everyone.

    Compensation: Something, usually money, given to someone in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury.

    Concentration camps: Places where large numbers of people were kept as prisoners under armed guard.

    Curfew: A rule requiring people to leave the streets or be at home at a certain time.

    Death camp: Killing centres established by the Nazis in Central Europe during the Second World War. There were six sites: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Approximately 2.5 million European Jews were murdered at these places primarily by gassing in specially built chambers or gas vans. Roma and Sinti and other victims were also murdered in the death camps.

    Demonised: Something or someone portrayed as wicked and threatening.

    Deportation: Forcibly removing someone from one country to another.

    Dictator: A person who rules with total authority.

    Discrimination: Unfairly treating an individual or a group differently from others.

    Einsatzgruppen: special units of the Security Police and SD. With the help of the SS, police units, the army and local collaborators, the Einsatzgruppen conducted mass shootings in the Soviet Union, targeting Jews, Roma, communists and Soviet civilians.

    Emigrate: To leave the country you live in to move to a different country. This movement might be voluntary, or it might be forced upon someone by war, conflict, or natural disaster.

    Enabling Act: An act passed by the Reichstag (the German parliament) on 23 March 1933 which gave Hitler the right to make laws without the Reichstag’s approval for the next four years. It gave Hitler and the Nazis absolute power to make laws, which enabled them to destroy all opposition.

    ‘Euthanasia’ programme: Euthanasia means literally ‘good death’. It usually refers to causing a painless death for a seriously ill individual who would otherwise suffer. In the Nazi era, however, the term was used for a secret murder programme. Its goal was to kill people with mental and physical disabilities who, the Nazis believed, weakened the ‘Aryan race’.

    Expel: Force someone to leave a place.

    Genocide: Any act committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. In 1944, after witnessing Nazi brutality in occupied Europe, the Jewish-Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin invented the phrase ‘genocide’. The term combined the Greek word genos (race or tribe) with the Latin word cide (to kill). On December 9 1948 the United Nations declared genocide to be an international crime.

    Ghettos: Areas in towns or cities where Jews were separated by force from other people. Ghettos were overcrowded and living conditions were miserable. The first recorded ghetto was created in Venice, Italy, in 1516.

    Great Depression: The worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialised world. It started in 1929 in the USA but because Germany depended on American financial support it led to the collapse of the German economy.

    Interned: Being confined as a prisoner, especially for political or military reasons.

    Israel: A country between Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Established in 1948 as a Jewish state in a region that was formerly known as the British Mandate of Palestine. Many regard the land of Israel to be the ancient homeland of the Jewish people.

    Jehovah’s Witnesses: Christians who worship Jehovah, the God of the Bible. They have certain distinct beliefs. Many refused to serve in the army or accept the Nazi’s total power, believing that they were first answerable to God.

    Liberation: Setting someone free.

    Nazi Germany: The German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country.

    Neutrality agreement: An agreement between countries not to take military action against each other. In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a neutrality agreement known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact or the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

    Orthodox Jews: Jews who understand their religion – Judaism – in a traditional way and live their lives according to religious laws.

    Partisan: a member of an armed group formed to fight against an occupying force.

    Persecution/Persecuted: Being treated badly, usually because of ‘race’ or religious or political beliefs.

    Pogrom: An organised massacre of a particular group.

    Police state: A state controlled by a political police force that secretly supervises people’s activities.

    Political opponents: People who belong to a different party or who have different ideas and beliefs.

    Prejudice: An unfair opinion, judgement or feeling towards someone.

    Propaganda: Spreading information, which is often false or misleading, to persuade people to support a point of view or cause.

    Rations: A fixed amount of food or other necessities (such as soap) that each person is allowed to have.

    Refugees: People who have been forced out of their country and cannot return home safely.

    Remilitarise: To militarise again; rearm after being disarmed. After the First

    World War, the Treaty of Versailles did not allow the German army in the Rhineland. In March 1936, however, Hitler ordered German troops to enter it.

    ‘Resettlement’: An expression often used by the Nazis to refer to the deportation of Jews and others to sites of murder located in Eastern Europe.

    Roma and Sinti: Roma and Sinti are the largest European minority and have lived in Europe for over 1,000 years. ‘Sinti’ refers to the members of an ethnic minority that settled in Germany and neighbouring countries in the early fifteenth century. ‘Roma’ refers to the ethnic minority that has lived in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe since the Middle Ages. Some Roma migrated to Western Europe in the eighteenth century. Roma and Sinti is the real name of the so called ‘Gypsies’.

    Scapegoat: Someone who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes or faults of others.

    Shtetls: Towns or villages with a large Jewish population.

    Sub camps: Concentration camps and work camps often had a network of smaller camps attached to them, known as sub camps.

    Testimony: A spoken or written statement describing an event or experience.

    Trade Union: An organised association of workers in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.

    Work camps: Camps in which prisoners were forced to work as slave labourers.

    Yiddish: A form of German usually spoken by Jewish people in Eastern Europe at this time.

     

    DOWNLOAD: Printable Glossary of Terms