Handout
Decision-Making in Times of Fear and Crisis
Help students analyze a reading about the choices made by a person or group during Kristallnacht.
How to Cite This Handout
Facing History & Ourselves, “Decision-Making in Times of Fear and Crisis”, last updated March 12, 2018.
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Students are introduced to the enormity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and look closely at stories of a few individuals who were targeted by Nazi brutality.
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Students develop a contract establishing a reflective classroom community in preparation for their exploration of this unit's historical case study.
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Students deepen their examination of human behavior during the Holocaust by analyzing and discussing the range of choices available to individuals, groups, and nations.
Kristallnacht
Students learn about the violent pogroms of Kristallnacht by watching a short documentary and then reflecting on eyewitness testimonies.
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Students are introduced to the Nazis’ idea of a “national community” and examine how the Nazis used the Nuremberg Laws to define who belonged.
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Students analyze several examples of Nazi propaganda and consider how the Nazis used media to influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of individual Germans.
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