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 that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here:
Research briefing 4. Spaces of killing
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.
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’
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/