New
New
Year 9

The Holocaust in context

I can explain what was distinctive about the Holocaust.

New
New
Year 9

The Holocaust in context

I can explain what was distinctive about the Holocaust.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Holocaust involved the deliberate murder of around 6 million European Jews.
  2. Nazi ideology held that Jewish people were racially inferior and a threat.
  3. The Holocaust represented an attempt to murder all Jews.
  4. The Holocaust is distinct from other genocides and other instances of Nazi persecution.

Keywords

  • Genocide - the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a particular national, racial, ethnic or religious group

  • Holocaust - the murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators

  • Collaborator - a person or group who works together with others for a particular purpose

  • Mortal enemy - a very serious and dangerous person or group who oppose or want to harm you

  • Perpetrator - someone who has committed a crime or a violent or harmful act

Common misconception

The Holocaust was confined to Germany.

The Nazis and their collaborators murdered 6 million Jews from across Europe and aimed to eliminate Jews from the entire continent.

Students may attempt to answer Task B in terms of value judgements (i.e. 'the Holocaust was worse than...'). Instruct students to avoid subjective responses and to focus instead on the actual behaviour and intentions of the perpetrators instead.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a mortal enemy?
Correct answer: a person or group who oppose or want to harm you
a person or group who support or want to help you
a person or group who have no interest in what you're doing
Q2.
Which war began in 1939?
Boer War
Russo-Japanese War
World War One
Correct answer: World War Two
Q3.
In which year did WW2 end?
Correct Answer: 1945
Q4.
Which of the following countries fought alongside Germany in WW2?
Britiain
Correct answer: Italy
USA
Q5.
Which political party gained power in Germany in 1933?
Communists
Conservatives
Liberals
Correct answer: Nazis
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - Germany defeated in WW1
2 - Nazis rise to power
3 - Holocaust begins
4 - WW2 begins

6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word. A is the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a particular national, racial, ethnic or religious group.
Correct Answer: genocide
Q2.
What alternative name is the Holocaust known by?
Correct Answer: Shoah, the Shoah
Q3.
Roughly how many Jews were murdered during the Holocaust?
Correct Answer: 6 million, six million, 6 000 000, 6000000
Q4.
How did perpetrators of the Holocaust often treat Jewish children?
Abducted them to grow up in Germany
Forced them to fight in the German army
Correct answer: Murdered them alongside other Jews
Converted them to another religion
Q5.
Which of the following countries saw the highest proportion of its Jewish population killed during the Holocaust?
Britain
France
Germany
Hungary
Correct answer: Lithuania
Q6.
Write the missing word. As well as racially inferior, the Nazis considered Jews to be their mortal...
Correct Answer: enemy, enemies

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