Bay Area Teachers Explore the Weimar Module
Teaching the history of Weimar Germany has taken on new depth in several Facing History classrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. At Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, Regina Ellis was introduced to Facing History's Weimar Module during her participation in a 2003 Summer Institute. Online modules offer an interactive way for students and educators to explore historical content and themes.
As a high school English teacher, Regina admitted her own knowledge and coverage of Weimar was very brief and not well developed. But she knew that the history of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) illuminates one of the most creative and crucial periods of the twentieth century and serves as a significant case study of the critical issues of our own time. As she approached teaching Night she knew that helping students understand the steps that led to the Holocaust was essential and the decision to create a pathway on the Weimar Module was an important first step.
After surveying the many documents, images and songs on the module, Regina chose a handful of links that she wanted her students to investigate further. She said that the music and art especially illuminated for students "what life was like in Germany before Hitler came to power, and that that culture was open and democratic the same as ours. They learned how these people weren't that different from us."
"What I used is only part of what is available," said Regina, who worked with Program staff to make the selections and create handouts documenting student responses. "You can customize how you want to present the module according to what works for your students. They really like the interactive nature of a computer lab,"she added.
Later in the course, a Holocaust survivor came speak to the class and Regina believes the empathy and interest the students had in hearing the survivor's story came in part from the module and other lessons, which gave them some understanding of what she had gone through.
"The Weimar module helped set the context," said Regina.
Nearby at Amador High School in Pleasanton, Wendy Garner was in the process of revamping her yearlong Senior elective English class entitled "The Literature and Dynamics of Social Justice." She wanted to revise her Holocaust unit and add more focus on the Weimar period. Wendy said the introduction of her Weimar pathway was a success.
"Students explored aspects of the social, political, economic and cultural pulse of the Weimar Republic through primary documents and artistic images. Our sharing and debriefing followed the next day, which included supplemental readings from the Holocaust and Human Behavior resource book. Students responded very well to the module, finding the documents engaging and thought provoking. They were able to make important discoveries about Germany in the years leading in to the Holocaust.
"Although I consider myself somewhat technologically inept, this experience was user friendly even for me. I will definitely incorporate the experience next year and hope to take advantage of other Facing History online activities."
