Assessing Responsibility and Conscience
WORLD HISTORY PROJECTAP/ LESSON 7.8OPENERASSESSING RESPONSIBILITY AND CONSCIENCEUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Assessing Responsibility and Conscience”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeIt’s often hard to grasp how the horrors of the Holocaust could have happened, and alsohard to decide who was responsible for those atrocities. This activity is meant to help you think about where responsibilities lies when these types of events occur. While it’s shocking to think that this type of behavior would ever be repeated, there arestill atrocities being committed in the world today. As thoughtful citizens of the world, you might one day have to decide who should be held responsible for acts or events such as these. This activity is meant to help you think through how responsibilityshould be assigned.ProcessStart by getting into groups as assigned by your teacher and taking out the Assessing and Defining Responsibility Statements worksheet. Each statement on the worksheet is hypothetical, but aligns to the experiences of different citizens in Nazi Germany. After reading the statements, your group needs to determine just how responsible each person was for what happened between 1933 and 1945. You may disagree on how much responsibility each person should have, but you have to come to a group consensus on each of the points. Once you’re done, be prepared to share with your class the top three items you disagreed on and why.One way to think about people who are involved in these types of events is to assess their responsibility by categorizing them in particular ways. One method of doing this is by using the following five categories:1.Perpetrators2.Collaborators3.Bystanders4.Resisters5.RescuersDiscuss each of these terms in small groups, and decide what each one means. Next, read the following paragraph about the Armenian Genocide, which you learned about in an earlier lesson. After you finish reading, identify a person or group that fits with each of the roles listed above for this genocide. Be prepared to discuss your ideas as a class so you can make sure you understand what each one means.The Ottoman government issued orders to forcibly relocate Armenian communities from border areas and military fronts during World War I. The Armenian soldiers had their weapons taken away and were sent to labor camps. Following orders from government and military officials, Ottoman soldiers took these Armenians to remote locations and shot them. Some Turkish officials in Istanbul attempted to warn their Armenian friends of the danger of remaining in the Ottoman Empire. One official quietly told his friend, “A new storm is about to break upon the Armenians so I hope that you will save yourself.” (Suny, 246) Some fled to Europe and the Americas with the help of friends, who offered safe places to stay and safe passage out of the country. As the violence ramped up, Ottoman soldiers forced whole families to march away from their homes leaving everything behind. Their houses and possessions were later sold to the highest bidder. Many Turks who had lived in the same communities with Armenians for generations were upset with this but were too fearful to do anything about it.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 7.8OPENERASSESSING RESPONSIBILITY AND CONSCIENCE2Some Armenians rebelled against the slaughtering of their people by taking up arms to fight back. In Europe and America, organizations were formed to provide aid to the Armenians. Some ambassadors in Istanbul tried to convince the Turkish (Ottoman) officials to stop the violence. But nothing seemed to work. The American ambassador to Istanbul, Henry Morgenthau Sr., described the events as “a campaign of race extermination.”Then, discuss the following questions as a class about each of the categories.1.How do you think perpetrators were able to rise to such high levels of power during this time period?2.Most of the guards in concentration camps did not start out as overly aggressive or mean. Why did they help collaborate to commit such atrocities?3.Why did so many people stand by and allow these atrocities to happen?4.What are the characteristics of a person who is willing to take a risk and resist?5.What inspires rescuers to risk their lives and those of their families to help other people?Once you’ve had a chance to discuss these roles as a class, go back and look at you original answers and see if you would revise any of your assigned responsibility levels based on the additional thought you’ve given. Be sure to share your reasoning with the class if you decided to make any changes.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT AP / LESSON 7.8OPENERASSESSING RESPONSIBILITY AND CONSCIENCE3Directions: Imagine that you are a judge who has todetermine who is responsible for the crimes committed during the Holocaust. For each statement, using a scale from 1 to 4, assess the responsibility level of each of the people.Key:1 –Not responsible2 –Minimally responsible3 –Responsible4 –Very responsible1.OneofHitler’sdirectsubordinates,suchasHeinrichHimmleror Joseph Goebbels.2.A German who voluntarily joined Hitler’s special elite, the SS.3.AGermanwhofinanciallysupportedHitler’srisetopowerand continuedtosupporthiminthenewsmedia.4.AjudgewhocarriedoutHitler’sdecreesforsterilizationofthe “mentallyincompetent”andtheinternmentof“traitors.”5.AGermandoctorwhoconductedexperimentsincludingthe sterilizationofJewsandthosedeemed“mentallyincompetent.”6.AworkerinaplantmakingZyklonBgas(thegasusedin gas chambers).7.Anindustrialistwhomadeenormousprofitsbyproducing Zyklon B gas.8.The Pope who made no public statement against the Nazi policy.9.Amanufacturerwhousedconcentrationcampinmatesasslave labor in his plants.10.AnAmericanindustrialistwhohelpedarmHitlerinthe1930s.11.A person whovoluntarilyjoinedthe Nazi partyinthe 1930s.12.ApersonwhopubliclyagreedtotaketheCivilServantLoyaltyOath (swearingeternalallegiancetoAdolfHitler)in1934.13.A person who regularlyand enthusiasticallyattended Hitlerrallies.14.ApersonwhocompliedwiththelawexcludingJewsfromeconomic and social life.15.Apersonwhoalwaysrespectfullygavethe“HeilHitler”salute.16.A person who served as a concentration camp guard.17.Apersonwhopulledthelevertoallowthegasintothechambers.18.An engineer on the trains that went to the concentration camps.19.A diplomat forthe Nazi government.20.TheAmericangovernment,whichlimitedemigrationofJewstothe US in the 1930s.21.Apersonwhoclaimedhedoesn’tliketogetinvolvedinpoliticsand thuswentabouthisbusinessasquietlyashecouldintheHitlerregime.22.AsoldierwhocarriedoutorderstorouseJewsfromtheirhomes for“evacuationandresettlement.”23.AGermancouplewhotookupresidenceinahomeleftemptyby Jews deportedto a concentration camp.24.Thegentiles(non-Jews)whotookoverastoreabandonedbyJews whohadbeentakenawaybyNazis.25.AGermanwhorefusedallpleastoparticipateinhidingand smuggling of Jews.26.ApolicemanwhohelpedroundupescapingJews.27.AteacherwhotaughtNazipropaganda.28.Children who joinedthe HitlerYouth.29.ParentswhosentorallowedtheirchildrentoattendHitlerYouth meetings.30.AProtestantclergymanwhogavetheNazislistsofmembersofhis congregation who were “non-Aryan.”