holocausts

Nazi Camps <- your first lab link

Concentration Camps, 1933-1939 <- your second lab link

Concentration Camps, 1939-1942 <- your third lab link

Concentration Camps, 1942-1945 <- your fourth lab link

Concentration Camp System <- your fifth lab link

1. Why were the camps commonly referred to as “concentration camps”?

2. Choose one of the concentration camps discussed in the articles and follow the links to learn more about this camp. Describe the camp, including where it was located and what the experience of those brought to the camp would have been.

3. What were the first concentration camps like? What were they used for?

4. How did the camps change after WWII broke out in 1939?

5. Choose one artifact from the Nazi Camps—Artifact/Document page and describe what you chose.

6. What might prisoners in the concentration camps have experienced

during the last year of WWII?

Consider and discuss how SS guards, who were apparently psychologically typical, could participate in the violence of the camps and einsatzgruppen.

Why was there so little resistance from the German people?1. What were the four stated goals of Operation Reinhard and how were these implemented?

2. How did Treblinka, Sobibor, and Belzec differ from other concentration camps built earlier?

3. How did the Nazi party maintain secrecy regarding the Final Solution?

4. Why was the Madagascar Plan not used?

5. Why were some individuals, including WWI veterans, to be spared the Final Solution?

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What factors led to the creation and implementation of Operation Reinhard?

2. How did the residents of the ghettos respond to mass deportations and what occurred when the residents realized what happened to those deported?

3. What did Rudolf Hoess's testimony at the end of the war suggest about the Final Solution and planned deportation and resettlement?

4. How did Operation Reinhard differ from earlier Nazi actions and how was it similar?

5. Was resettlement seriously considered and why was it not used?

1. Write a brief biography for Anne Frank in about two-three paragraphs. 2. What happens to the families once they are arrested? 3. What was life like for the families during the years that they lived in the annex. Why did they choose to go into hiding here? 4. We know Anne Frank from her diary. Imagine that you are hiding with Anne and her family. Write a diary entry for one day hiding in the annex. For example, you might describe the day that you go into hiding, an "ordinary" day during the two years of hiding, or the day of discovery. Write at least three paragraphs in your diary entry. Propaganda 1933-1939 <- your second lab link Propaganda 1939-1945 <- your third lab link Examine some of the Nazi propaganda posters on these pages and answer the following questions: 1. How do the posters from the earlier period (1933-1939) compare to those in the later period (1939-1945)? 2. Choose one poster that you think is a good example of propaganda. 3. What are three themes that are used in the posters? Describe how these themes/topics/etc. are used. 4. Why do you think Germany used propaganda posters like the ones on these two pages?

Discuss the progression of the Final Solution, from the invasion of the Soviet Union through the Wannsee Conference and Harvest Festival.

Discuss intentionalism and functionalism. What do you think?

1. How did the Nazis maintain calm and order during the extermination process?

2. How did the Nazis increase efficiency in Auschwitz-Birkenau as opposed to the camps of Operation Reinhard?

3. How did the Soviet press and government handle the liberation of the death camps?

4. What services were provided for the survivors of Auschwitz?

5. Was there a plan in place for the death marches?

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What factors contributed to survival in Auschwitz?

2. What were conditions like for Mengele's victims?

3. How did women's experiences vary in the camp, and what was the impact of pregnancy on prisoners in the camp?

4. Why did Himmler opt to march prisoners out of the camps, rather than simply liquidating the camps as had occurred during Operation Reinhard?

5. How did the Nazis dehumanize prisoners in the labor camps, including Auschwitz?

Dachau <- your first lab link

Take the virtual tour through the former Dachau concentration camp.

1. What role did Dachau play for the Nazi's plans? Why is it important?

2. Who was sent to Dachau?

3. Describe the process of admission to the camps.

4. What type of barrack was the most feared by those held in the camp? Why?

Auschwitz Birkenau <- your second lab link

Auschwitz <- your third lab link

Explore these two sites and then answer the questions.

1. What were extermination camps? How do they compare to the other types of forced living arrangements that the Nazis used before and during WWII?

2. Describe the three different sections of Auschwitz. Write at least one paragraph on each section.

3. Describe what life was like at Auschwitz for the people in the camps. Write at least two paragraphs

Why do you think some individuals risked themselves to help others when so many did not?

When do you think the Nazis realized that a loss was inevitable and how does their behavior reflect the growing chaos in the war and government

1. What was required to care for survivors in the weeks immediately following the liberation? 2. How were the conditions worse at Bergen-Belsen? 3. What were the challenges facing the British at Bergen-Belsen? How were these managed? 4. What services did displaced persons camps provide and what was life like in those camps? 5. How did the Holocaust lead to the creation of Israel? Critical Thinking Questions 1. Describe the overall plan to conceal the Final Solution, from the days prior to the Wannsee Conference through the death march and liberation of the camps. 2. How did the actions of the Americans following the discovery of the camps reflect a changing understanding of what had occurred during the Holocaust? 3. How did the Soviet press and government handle the discovery of the death camps? 4. Why did the response of the Soviet soldiers to Auschwitz differ from the response of American soldiers to Dachau? 5. Why did both the Americans and British bring German survivors to the camp sites?

Liberation <- your first lab link

Video #1 <- your second lab link

Video #2 <- your third lab link

Video #3 <- your fourth lab link

Video #4 <- your fifth lab link

Video #5 <- your sixth lab link

1. From your readings and the videos, what challenges did survivors face in the concentration camps?

2. Pretend that you are a newspaper reporter during WWII. Write an article (at least five paragraphs long) that describe the liberation of a camp. What would soldiers have seen when they entered one of the concentration camps? What would survivors have told the soldiers? What were conditions in the camps like?