Yad Vashem
Echoes & Reflections
GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
In this unit, students learn about the origins of antisemitism and how this hatred was exploited by the Nazis during the 1920s and 1930s as part of their racist ideology. Students define the terms antisemitism and stereotype, review text and video sources, and create a timeline reflecting examples of antisemitism throughout history. Students will investigate how Nazi ideology created new forms of antisemitism, and analyze primary source material illustrating Nazi propaganda. Visual history testimonies are used throughout the lesson to deepen students’ understanding of lesson themes.
Learning Objectives:
- Define and provide examples of historical antisemitism.
- Define and identify examples of stereotypes, including antisemitic stereotypes
- Trace the origins of antisemitism and compare pre-Nazi antisemitism with Nazi racial ideology.
- Investigate how propaganda, based on ideology, is a means for inciting hate in a population.
- Describe and give examples of Nazi propaganda methods used to propagate antisemitism and isolate Jewish people.
- Analyze Holocaust survivor testimony as a primary source.