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The Holocaust

Driving Question: What were the causes, scale, and consequences of the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was a crime on an unimaginable scale. Trace its causes, acts of resistance, and the lasting impact it had on justice and human rights around the world.

Learning Objectives

  1. Use close-reading skills to analyze how the Holocaust unfolded under authoritarian rule, and evaluate the human impact of state-sponsored persecution.
  2. Practice quick sourcing to evaluate how individuals experienced, responded to, and remember the Holocaust.
  3. Create arguments using historical evidence to support claims and communicate conclusions through informal and formal writing.

Vocab Terms:

  • anti-semitism
  • concentration camp
  • eugenics
  • fascism
  • genocide
  • ideology
  • sterilization
STEP 1

Opener: The Holocaust

Begin your exploration of the Holocaust by reflecting on how individual voices and choices shape history. This activity introduces major themes of the lesson and sets the stage for deeper investigation into the causes and consequences of genocide.

STEP 2

Atrocity and Conscience

These materials explore the policies, people, and decisions behind the Holocaust. You'll consider how ordinary individuals—bystanders, perpetrators, and resistors—navigated a world shaped by fascism, fear, and violence.

STEP 3

Never Again

After the Holocaust, the world grappled with how to prevent future atrocities. Through personal accounts, legal responses, and global debates, these materials examine how societies remember violence, assign responsibility, and defend human rights.

STEP 4

Reflecting on Responsibility

Use this informal writing opportunity to connect what you’ve learned about the Holocaust to big ideas in the course. Consider how historical responsibility, justice, and community shape our world today.

STEP 5

Closer: The Holocaust

Coming soon!

Extension Materials
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Go deeper into the choices and consequences of the world wars. These materials will help you build arguments with evidence, examine courageous acts of resistance, and evaluate the big claims people make about global conflict.
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Resistance Through Refuge

Manuel Quezon used his power to protect the vulnerable, offering a powerful example of courage, conscience, and resistance in a time of fear.