The Diversity of Response: Perspective, Choice, and Strategy During the Holocaust

Looking back at history, it is easy to think we know what we would have believed or done, especially during an event as horrific as the Holocaust. This lesson aims to complicate that assumption and to explore the varying  strategies and tactics people believed to be most effective in securing the needs and safety of themselves and loved ones. Even when Americans agreed on the atrocity of mass killings of Jewish people, they disagreed on the course of action to take in response. Students will be guided by the essential question: “What motives and pressures guide how people form opinions and make decisions during a time of crisis?”

Students will begin by brainstorming common human motivations and needs. They will connect their brainstorms to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Next, students will watch the six selected clips from The U.S. and the Holocaust and complete an accompanying graphic organizer. After a guided discussion, students will connect their learning to their own lives by thinking of a personal example or issue, when they may have agreed on the “what” but disagreed on the “how” of solving a particular issue. Students will then apply the same thinking to their example to foster empathy and understanding.