Do You Take the Oath?

About This Lesson

In the previous lesson, students analyzed the steps the Nazis took in 1933 and 1934 to dismantle democracy in Germany and establish a dictatorship. Students also began to think about the responsibilities shared by both leaders and citizens for democracy’s survival. In this lesson, students will continue this unit’s historical case study by engaging in a deeper analysis of the dilemmas many Germans experienced during the first few years of Nazi rule. In particular, they will examine how some individuals responded to demands that they show allegiance, and in some cases take an oath of fidelity, to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government.

By carefully considering the choices and the reasoning of the individuals in this lesson, students will not only learn more about the human behaviors underlying Germans’ choices in the mid-1930s but also deepen their understanding of the complex ethical dilemmas people often face over whether to stay quiet, speak up, or take action in response to injustices. Multiple extension activities bring additional complexity to the themes of this lesson by introducing opportunism and the desire to curry favor as motivating factors in the decision-making process. These extensions provide options for more in-depth units and classes with older students.

Essential Question

How can learning about the choices people made during past episodes of injustice, mass violence, or genocide help guide our choices today?

Guiding Questions

• What factors influence our choices about whether to speak up or stay quiet in response to injustice?
• What choices did Germans have in the face of an emerging dictatorship? What opportunities for resistance were available?

Learning Objectives

• Through close reading, class discussion, and written reflection, students will recognize that while Germans went along with the Nazi regime for a variety of often complex reasons, dissent was possible in 1933 and 1934, though the consequences left some marginalized or unemployed and others imprisoned or even dead.
• Students will identify some of the universal human behaviors that influence individuals to look the other way, as well as those that influence individuals to speak out in response to injustice.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Reflect on Causes of Action and Inaction

Have students write a response to the following prompt in their journals:

Think of a time when you obeyed a rule or an authority figure (a parent, teacher, group leader, etc.). Why did you obey? What were the consequences of your decision? Now think of a time when you ignored or disobeyed a rule or authority figure. Why did you resist authority? What were the consequences?

You can use the Think, Pair, Share strategy to have students share their reflections. Note that students may have written about choices they made that they would prefer not to share. Therefore it is not necessary that they share the details of their stories with other classmates. Instead, they can focus their discussion contribution on the reasons they obeyed or disobeyed (fear of punishment, sense of fairness, etc.).

Finally, hold a whole-group discussion in which you focus on the "whys" of the students' stories. Make two lists on the board, one titled “Reasons for Obedience” and the other titled “Reasons for Disobedience,” and save them for use later in the lesson.

Activity 2: Reflect on the Significance of Oaths

Tell students that the Nazis pressured Germans to show their allegiance in a variety of ways, one of which was to take an oath to Hitler. Before looking at the text of the oath, ask students to think about the oaths, if any, that they are familiar with in their lives. Begin the discussion by asking the following questions:

• What oaths do people take today? For what reasons?
• How do such oaths affect people’s choices? How should they, if they should at all?

Students may bring up oaths of office that government officials take, marriage vows, oaths that Boy Scout and Girl Scout members take, or oaths in religious ceremonies. While many students may not have been asked to take an oath before, they might have experienced a sense of obligation to stay true to their word or to care for others, and that sense of obligation may be similar to the commitment often expected from one who has taken an oath.

Then, read aloud the reading Pledging Allegiance, perhaps choosing to rotate among different students for each section. Ask students to compare and contrast the two oaths, using the following questions to guide the discussion:

• Summarize the two oaths in your own words.
• What is the main difference between the two oaths? How important is that difference? What are the implications of swearing an oath to an individual leader rather than to a nation?
• How might taking an oath affect the choices a person makes? How does an oath affect the level of responsibility a person has for his or her actions? Is keeping an oath an acceptable explanation for making a choice that a person later regrets?

Activity 3: Examine One German's Response to the Oath

Distribute the reading Do You Take the Oath? and begin reading aloud the first five paragraphs, stopping at "and it was I who lost it." Ask students to reflect on what this man has said so far by responding to the following questions in their journals:

• What do you think of his decision and his reasoning?
• What factors complicate his choice?
• How do you think he defines his universe of obligation?

Continue to read to the end of Do You Take the Oath? Ask students create a list of reasons why this man obeyed the Nazis’ demand to take the oath, and then create a class list, drawing on the students’ ideas. Be ready to ask follow-up questions that get students to analyze the defense plant worker’s view about how the oath, and other Nazi policies, affected Germans.

Ask students to compare and contrast this list with the list of reasons for inaction they created in Activity 1 based on their journal entries. Make it clear to students that the goal here is not to equate their stories with events leading to the Holocaust, but to examine the human behaviors of conformity and obedience in difficult situations.

Activity 4: Explore Examples of Resistance

It is crucial for students to see that while the dilemmas faced by Germans such as the defense plant worker presented complex choices for many in the 1930s, some Germans chose to resist demands to pledge allegiance to Hitler and the Nazis.

Pass out the reading Refusing to Pledge Allegiance and have students take turns reading the two stories aloud. Ask students to consider the reasons why Fest and Huch chose not to pledge their allegiance to the Nazis, as well as the consequences of their choices. Use the following questions to lead a class discussion:

Why did Fest and Huch each refuse to pledge allegiance to Hitler? What were the consequences of their decisions?

Compare and contrast Fest's and Huch's situations with that experienced by the defense plant worker. How do you account for the different choices they made?

As a whole class, create a list of reasons why these individuals resisted the Nazis. Ask students to compare and contrast this list with the list of reasons for disobedience they created earlier and their discussion of the reading Do You Take the Oath? (see Activities 1 and 3).

Activity 5: Reflect on the Consequences of Resistance

Finish the lesson by asking students to respond to the following question in their journals. Or, you might choose to capture students’ responses using the Exit Tickets strategy to assess their understanding of today’s content.

• What were the positive and negative consequences of choosing to take the oath or show loyalty to Hitler in the mid-1930s?
• What have you learned in this lesson about why many people went along with Nazi policies even when they thought those policies were wrong?
• What have you learned about why some people chose to resist?