Holocaust Pre-Unit Anticipation Guide

2,000,000 people were killed in the Holocaust. True or false?

• True

• False

Answer explanation

While it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of Jewish victims, statistics indicate that the total was over 5,860,000. Six million is the round figure accepted by most authorities

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

When we talk about the Holocaust, the time period (years) we are referring to is from 1930-1932.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The "Holocaust" refers to the period from January 30, 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, to May 8, 1945 (V-E Day = Victory in Europe), the end of the war in Europe.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.9

CCSS.RL.8.9

Jewish ghettos were created by the Nazi regime in order to allow Jews to have separate but equal communities of their own.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A ghetto is a place where groups of Jews were kept  segregated from others. The Nazis used ghettos to isolate and contain the Jewish population of occupied Europe.

Jews were the only groups targeted by Hitler and the Nazi regime.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Although Jews were the primary victims of the Nazi’s evil, many other groups were targeted based on both racial and political grounds.  Other groups singled out by the Nazis included LGBTQ individuals, the physically and mentally disabled, Roma (gypsies), Poles and other Slavic peoples, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and members of political opposition groups. However tragic, these non-Jewish victims are typically not considered victims of the Holocaust.  

Many people were told they were going to take a shower, but were lied to. In fact, they were gassed to death in what was known as a "gas chamber".

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A Nazi, usually an SS physician, looked quickly at each person to decide if he or she was healthy and strong enough for forced labor. This SS officer then pointed to the left or the right; victims did not know that individuals were being selected to live or die. Babies and young children, pregnant women, the elderly, the handicapped, and the sick had little chance of surviving this first selection. Those who had been selected to die were led to gas chambers. In order to prevent panic, camp guards told the victims that they were going to take showers to rid themselves of lice. The guards instructed them to turn over all their valuables and to undress. Then they were driven naked into the "showers." A guard closed and locked the steel door. In some killing centers, carbon monoxide was piped into the chamber. In others, camp guards threw "Zyklon B" pellets down an air shaft. Zyklon B was a highly poisonous insecticide also used to kill rats and insects.

Tags

CCSS.RF.5.4C

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

Hitler took over the German government by threatening to bomb them.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Once entering politics, Hitler discovered that he was gifted in giving speeches. His speeches were powerful and people believed what he said. Hitler joined the Nazi party and soon became its leader. He promised Germany that if he became leader he would restore Germany to greatness in Europe. In 1933 he was elected Chancellor of Germany. After becoming Chancellor, there was no stopping Hitler. He had studied his idol, Benito Mussolini of Italy, about how to install a fascist government and become a dictator. Soon Hitler was dictator of Germany.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.5

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

Answer these questions before we start the Holocaust unit. Read each statement and answer by clicking true or false. If you do not know, take your best guess based on what you already know about the Holocaust.

• Got it!

• I don't get it.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RI.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.K.6