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Possible Applications of a Unit on the Holocaust to the North Carolina Social Studies Curriculum |
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| A Color Key: Blue: A link to the USHMM teacher’s guide web page. Black: Directly quoting a state’s social studies standard. Red: The correlation of studying the Holocaust to the standards. Brown: Other information. |
If a secondary teacher would decide to teach a unit on the Holocaust, it would be highly recommended to first read "Guidelines for Teaching about the Holocaust" created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which can be found at <http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/> | |
The study of HISTORY places human beings and their activities in
time. A knowledge of history cannot enable one to predict the future, but
it can reveal how other people in other times have dealt with problems
and the success or failure of their solutions. It is unique in that it
teaches the impacts of the past in shaping the world of today and in determining
the options open to us. History can teach both the burdens the past has
placed on us and the opportunities these burdens can provide.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.
Human beings seek to understand their historical roots and to locate themselves in time. Such understanding involves knowing what things were like in the past and how things change and develop. Analyzing patterns and relationships within and among world cultures, such as economic competition and interdependence, age-old ethnic enmities, political and military alliances, and others, helps learners carefully examine policy alternatives that have both national and global implications. Knowing how to interpret and reconstruct the past allows one to develop a historical perspective and to answer questions....
A study of the Holocaust in the secondary curriculum will fulfill all goals of the discipline of HISTORY stated above.In Holocaust studies, a complete understanding of the chronology of events is an absolute must. One must take the student back to the origins of anti-Semitism, the development of racial theories in all corners of the world including the United States.
The time line of events in the 1930s and 1940s is to be completely understood. If a teacher centers in on an individual's story in the Holocaust, the context of that story in time is a must. If a teacher assigns research to a specific person or event, the context of the time is to be understood.
The Holocaust is one of the major events of the modern period that has had its effects on the world and the United States. The event must be fully analyzed to comprehend that effect from what it did to the culture of the Jewish peoples, to the culture of Europe, to the impact on the United States.
In the study of the Holocaust, multiple sources are available that the teacher can make available for the student. Questions of how and why, questions of interpretation such as who did what, who knew what when, questions of reactions of victims, etc. all can be formulated with the vast availability of primary sources and secondary sources that range from personal testimony of survivors, to photographic archives, to diaries and memoirs, to the records of the period, to the arts and literature, to historians interpretations.
The teacher who teaches a unit on the Holocaust has an opportunity to make the period of that time come alive with the real stories of people who survived, who did not survive, who were victims, who were rescuers, who were bystanders. The resources are readily available and multiple. The best is a survivor to speak with students if one willing to present to students is available. Both written and video sources are plentiful.
The horror of the Holocaust is an example of science and technology gone wrong. This is to be compared to the hopes for science, and technology. Example: The technological, industrial mindset of the Nazis is to be viewed by the student as it led to the industrialized murder factories located in eastern Europe.
The study of GEOGRAPHY give students a spatial perspective. The
goal of geography is to produce a geographically-informed person who sees
meaning in the arrangement of things in space and applies a spatial perspective
to life situations.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places, and environments.
Technological advances connect students at all levels to the world beyond
their personal locations. The study of people, places, and human-environment
interactions assists learners as the create their spatial views and geographic
perspectives of the world. Analysis of tensions between national interests
and global priorities contribute to the development of possible solutions
to persistent and emerging global issues in many fields: health care, economic
development, environmental quality, universal human rights, and others.
Today's social, cultural, economic, and civic demands on individuals mean
that students will need the knowledge, skills, and understanding to ask
and answer questions....
A study of the Holocaust is excellent training for a student to face today's social, cultural, economic, and civic demands with a cultural and spatial reference.A look at the anti-Semitism within this nation and in Europe before 1939 is to be compared and studied. The actions of a government and society that carried out genocide is to be studied. The consequences of the mass murders in the post 1945 world is to be realized: from the founding of the United Nations, to the Declaration of Human Rights, to the center of Jewish culture no longer in East Europe, but now in Israel and the United States.
In a study of the Holocaust the basic tenets of Christianity and Judaism should be understood. These both are part of the history of the Holocaust as a student studies the issue of anti-Semitism.
Music and the arts of the perpetrators and victims can help students understand the cultures of the people of Europe at the time of the Holocaust. Analysis of Nazi racial doctrine and how it moved from racial laws to the "final solution" is to be made.
The shift of the center of Jewish culture from eastern Europe to Israel and the United States as a result of the Holocaust is to be understood.
Holocaust studies require the knowledge of and use of maps: the chronology of war fronts, the location of the various types of camps, the transportation systems, etc. The maps of camps are needed to understand how they operated and for what purpose. The maps of ghettos are needed to understand the events that occurred in the ghettos. The Holocaust created unnatural environments. Students will become aware of how humans modified and responded to the horrors they faced: racial laws, ghettos, camps.
ECONOMICS is the study of how people cope with their environment
and each other as they try ot satisfy their needs and wants.
Social Studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
People have unlimited needs and wants, but they live in a world which surrounds them with limits. A fundamental condition of life is that there is not enough time, money, energy, nor other resources to satisfy everyone's needs and wants. To make the best use of scarce resources, both individuals and groups must choose wisely among the nearly limitless alternatives available to them.
Economics can be thought of as responsible decision making, by choosing among alternatives. Choices (decisions) have consequences and some choices lead to better consequences than others.
The purpose of economics is to provide practical tools for evaluating
alternatives before making a decision. A good economic education should
also help one develop the disposition and the ability for making decisions
based on reason rather than some of the other things which seem to influence
decisions such as impulse or peer pressure. Doing so helps individuals
and groups make the most out of life.
A study of the Holocaust will enhance all that is stated in the ECONOMIC content overview. Some examples: Students are faced with the economics of the Nazi regime and their wartime production. This included mass use of slave labor. Questions of transportation of war supplies and human transportations to death camps are to be faced. The economics of the ghettos and the death camps themselves serves as an example of what happens when civilized morals become warped. The policies of governments in the post World War I, Versailles Treaty era can show students how the economy in Germany led to the rise of Hitler.
Knowledge of POLITICAL SCIENCE includes understanding political
institutions: why they exist, how they function, and how each institution
relates to all others. Only with this knowledge can citizens participate
effectively and creatively in their political/legal system.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, governance., and the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.
Understanding the historical development of structures of power, authority,
and governance and their evolving functions is contemporary U.S. society,
as well as in other parts of the world, is essential for developing civic
competence. An understanding of civic ideals and practices of citizenship
is critical to full participation in society and is central purpose of
the social studies. All people have a stake in examining civic ideals and
practices across time and in diverse societies as well as at home and in
determining how to close the gap between present practices and the ideals
upon which our democratic republic is based.
The Holocaust can be incorporated into a study of government in order to demonstrate how the development of public policy can become directed to genocidal ends when dissent and debate are silenced.Inclusion of Holocaust studies in a government or a history course helps students compare governmental systems, study the process of how a state can degenerate from a democracy into a totalitarian state, examine how the development of public policy can lead to genocidal ends, examine the role of Nazi bureaucracy in implementing policies of murder and annihilation, examine the role of various individuals in the rise and fall of a totalitarian government, and recognize that among the legacies of the Holocaust have been the creation of Human Rights organizations and declarations.
Inclusion of a study of the Holocaust into a U.S. history or a U.S. government course can encourage students to:
•examine the dilemmas that arise when foreign policy goals are narrowly defined, as solely in terms of the national interest, denying the validity of universal moral and human priorities. •understand what happens when parliamentary democratic institutions fail.
•examine the responses of governmental and non-governmental organizations in the United States to the plight of Holocaust victims.
•explore the role of American soldiers in liberating victims from Nazi concentration camps and killing centers.
•examine the key role played by the U.S. in bringing Nazi perpetrators to trial at Nuremberg and in other war crimes trials.
•understand the consequences of mass murder. Example: The attitude of the United States government to the anti-Semitism before 1939; the inaction and actions of the United States government during the war; the immigration of survivors to the United States in the post war period.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture, cultural diversity, individual development and identity, and interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
Personal identity is shaped by one's culture, by groups, and by institutional influences. Institutions such as schools, churches, families, government agencies, and the courts all play an integral role in our lives. These and other institutions exert enormous influence over us, yet institutions are no more than organizational embodiments to further the core social values of those who comprise them. Thus, it is important that students know how institutions are formed, what controls and infancies them, how they control and influence individuals and culture, and how institutions can be maintained or changed.
Cultures are dynamic and ever-changing. Human beings create, learn,
and adapt culture. Culture helps us to understand ourselves as both individuals
and members of various groups. Human cultures exhibit both similarities
and differences. We all, for example, have systems of belief, knowledge,
values, and traditions. Each system also is unique. In a democratic and
multicultural society, students need to understand multiple perspectives
that derive from different cultural vantage points. This understanding
will allow them to relate to people in our nation and throughout the world.
Examination of various forms of human behavior enhances understanding....
The study of the Holocaust offers opportunity to any all all of the above. Possibilities as way of example would be the study of an individual (Raul Wallenberg) or a society (Denmark) that rescued Jews from certain death. Sociology, psychology would apply in these cases. Anthropology could be applied into the study of artifacts left by the victims in a museum or by use of photographs.
A look at the anti-Semitism within this nation and in Europe before 1939 is to be compared and studied. The actions of a government and society that carried out genocide is to be studied. The consequences of the mass murders in the post 1945 world is to be realized: from the founding of the United Nations, to the Declaration of Human Rights, to the center of Jewish culture no longer in East Europe, but now in Israel and the United States.
In a study of the Holocaust the basic tenets of Christianity and Judaism should be understood. These both are part of the history of the Holocausts as a student studies the issue of anti-Semitism.
Music and the arts of the perpetrators and victims can help students understand the cultures of the people of Europe at the time of the Holocaust.
Analysis of Nazi racial doctrine and how it moved from racial laws to the "final solution" is to be made.
The shift of the center of Jewish culture from eastern Europe to Israel and the United States is to be understood.
Goals and Objectives: High School Economic, Legal, and Political
Systems in Action
Competency Goal 2 Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens:
The learner will explain and analyze the obligations of responsible citizenship.
2.4 Analyze consequences of compliance of noncompliance with laws governing
society.
Competency Goal 3 Economic Choices: The learner will investigate
how and why individuals and groups make economic choices.
3.3 Explain why scarcity causes producers and consumers to make choices.
Competency Goal 5 Factors influencing the Economy: The learner
will analyze factors influencing the United States Economy. (or any economy
for that matter)
5.2 Make inferences regarding the impact of government regulation on
specific economic activities.
5.3 Analyze short- and long-term trends in economic activity.
5.4 Identify examples of domestic and international economic interdependence.
5.7 Analyze relationships between economic conditions and political
decisions.
Competency Goal 6 Frame of Government/ Supreme Law of the Land/Individual
Rights: The learner will explain the function and importance of the North
Carolina and United States Constitutions.
6.6 Analyze cases which demonstrate how the United States Constitution
and Bill of Rights protect the rights of individuals.
Competency Goal 8 Law: Enactment and Enforcement: The learner will
explain why laws are needed and how they are enacted, implemented, and
enforced.
8.1 Illustrate the need for law in society.
Compentency Goal 10 Influence of Ethics, Morality, and Religion:
The learner will evaluate the influence of ethical and moral principles
and religious beliefs on the development of our economic, legal and political
systems.
10.1 Analyze individual and group decisions on the basis of a variety
of standards including aesthetic, pragmatic, and ethical.
10.2 Analyze examples of conduct by public officials, corporate officers,
and private citizens in a variety of situations and evaluate their conduct
in terms of given criteria.
10.3 Evaluate positions on a variety of issues against given criteria.
10.4 Analyze the meaning and influence on our society of the religion
clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Goals and Objective: High School World History
Competency Goal 7 Twentieth Century Turmoil: The learner will analyze
causes and effects of world events in the early twentieth century (1914-1945)
7.1 Analyze the causes and assess the consequences of World War I
7.2 Judge the causes and effects of the Russian Revolution for Russia
and the world.
7.3 Evaluate the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.
7.4 Evaluate World War II as the end of one era and the beginning of
another.
Goals and Objectives: World Geography
Competency Goal 3 Place: Cultural Characteristics: The learner will
examine human characteristics of places.
3.l Describe human characteristics of places.
3.2 Explain how different culture groups view the use and modification
of the physical environment.
3.3 Analyze factors that affect population distribution.
Competency Goal 7 Movement of People, Goods, and Ideas: The
learner will evaluate the significance of the movement of people, goods,
and ideas among various world regions.
7.1 Identify conditions that cause movements of people, goods, ideas.
Goals and Objectives: High School World Culture
Competency Goal 1 Culture Defined: The learner will generalize that
all people live within a variety of cultural arrangements
1.1 Generate a working definition of culture.
1.2 Analyze elements of a culture.
1.3 Elaborate on distinctions among sub-cultures, dominant cultures,
regional cultures, and world-wide cultures.
Competency Goal 2 Foundations of Culture: The learner will recognize
the family as the most educing social unit in any culture.
2.1 Analyze and assess the cultural usefulness of various forms of
family organization.
2.2 Elaborate pm various socially important functions that families
perform, including the maintenance of cultural norms and mores.
2.3 Summarize the importance of kinship bonds to culture.
Competency Goal 8 Cultural Change: the learner will analyze the
ways cultures change.
8.2 Analyze the impact of historical events on cultural institutions.
Goals and Objectives: High School United States History
Competency Goal 9 World War II: The learner will analyze and evaluate
the significance of causes, events, and effects of the World War II Era.
9.1 Investigate reasons for the expansion of totalitarian governments
during the period.
9.2 Trace the course of events that resulted in a new outbreak of worldwide
war and analyze the role of the United States.
9.3 Identify major campaigns and personalities from the World War II
era, and assess their importance to the conduct of the war.
9.4 Describe and analyze the effects of the war on american economic,
social and political life.
Goals and Objectives: High School Government
Competency Goal 4 How Decisions are Made: The learner will
analyze decision making processes in executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of governments.
4.1 Describe executive, legislative, and judicial decision making processes
in state and federal government
4.2 Compare decision making processes in executive, judicial, and legislative
branches of governments.
4.3 Analyze similarities and differences in decision making processes
in the United States and in governments of other nations.
Competency Goal 5 Political Parties and Interest Groups: The learner
will assess the importance of political parties and interest groups in
the formation of public opinion influencing governmental process.
5.1 Summarize the history, structure, and functions of political parties
in the United States.
5.2 Elaborate on the variety, tactics , and influence of interest groups
in the formation of public opinion.
5.3 Judge the influence of political parties and/or interest groups
in the workings of government.
Goals and Objectives: High School Economics
Competency Goal 1 Scarcity: The learner will analyze the importance
of scarcity as the central economic problem from which all others flow.
1.1 Generate a definition of scarcity.
1.2 Analyze example of scarcity.
1.3 Elaborate on the importance of scarcity.
Competency Goal 4 Role of Government: The learner will assess the
impact of governmental intervention and regulation in various economic
systems.
4.1 Describe formal and informal governmental intervention and regulation
in economic systems.
4.2 Elaborate on reasons for governmental intervention and regulation
of various economies.
4.3 Compare and evaluate the efforts of varying amounts of governmental
regulation and intervention in economic systems
Goals and Objectives: High School Psychology
Competency Goal 3 Human Behavior: The learner will examine aspects
of human behavior.
3.1 Analyze similarities and differences in human behavior.
3.3 Judge the importance of emotion and motivation on human behavior
Competency Goal 5 Influence of Groups: The learner will assess the
effects of social groups on individual behaviors.
5.1 Describe kinds and effectiveness of small groups.
Goals and Objectives: High School Sociology
Competency Goal 3 Social Structure: The learner will analyze
social structure.
3.1 Describe social roles, their development, and their relationship
to social groups.
Competency Goal 6 Continuity and Change: The learner will assess
continuity and change in social groups.
6.1 Identify conditions causing continuity or change for social groups.
6.2 Elaborate on ways groups resist and accommodate change.
6.3 Evaluate the effects of change on given groups.
Goals and Objectives: High School Law and Justice
Competency Goal 1 Dynamic and Changing Nature of Law: The learner
will describe the civil and criminal justice systems, analyze their operation,
and assess their effectiveness.
1.1 Trace changes in law.
1.2 Analyze changes in law.
Competency Goal 6 Resolving Conflicts: The learner will analyze
conflicts resolution from competing interest, conflicting laws, and conflicting
interpretations of the Constitution.
6.2 summarize competing interests, conflicting laws, and conflicting
interpretations.
The four Skills in the Social Studies Curriculum
are all addressed in a study of the Holocaust. Refer to the comments to
the Content Overview above.