Here is a list of what has been assigned so far this quarter.

1. Ordinary Germans reading: list 5 reasons historians usually give for explaining why the “ordinary” Germans participated in holocaust, explain what the author believes is the reason. (Last day to submit is 4/8.)

2. In large reading packet “Chelmno” and 3 questions; “Commanding a Concentration Camp” and 3 questions. (Last day to submit is 4/9.)

3. In large reading packet "Simon Weisenthal Dies at 96" and questions. (Last day to submit is 4/11.)

3. Paper due April 23 on EQ listed on blog. THIS Thursday you need introduction and outline/web of paper. On April 23, you need to turn in:

a. Notes from webquest (on blog)
b. Intro/outline WITH notes from peer discussions that will be held this Thursday
c. Rough draft which has been self- and other-edited for organization, clarity, etc.
d. Rough draft which has been edited for typos and grammar
e. Final draft

Holocaust webquest:

Essential Question: What societal factors contributed to the execution of the Holocaust by Nazi Germany? To what extent do these factors exist in today's society? (In other words, how different is our school, state, national, and global community today than what people and life were like in the 1930s and 1940s in NAZI Germany?)

Use the web links below to research the following questions. As you gather information, think about what helps you to develop a response to the essential question. (Consider, for instance, who was involved, what drove them to act as they did, did they have a choice to act as they did?)

What was the role of the Hitler Youth?
What was the Gestapo? Who was in it?
What groups aside from the Jews were subjected to Nazi discrimination?
What happened at the Wannsee Conference? Who was there?
Where were the Camps located? In what areas? In what countries? Were they near towns? Do we know anything about the people who lived nearby?
What were the Mobile killing units (Einsatzgruppen) and what were they designed to do? Who ran them?
Who were they used against?
What was the Evian Conference? When was it called and for what purpose did it meet? Who was there?
Describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Who was involved?
What were the reactions of foreign countries to what was happening in Germany?


http://www.ushmm.org/

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Gestapo.html

http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/timeline.htm

http://www.remember.org/secrets/

http://www.remember.org/educate/elman.html


http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/hitleryouth/index.html

Update on Due Dates

Found Poem due Friday (for Yellow, due Monday)

In-class writing (quiz) will be on TUESDAY

New link to Found Poem assignment:
(click here to take you to the BHS page; go to my page and to files -- for some reason (which is making me very frustrated) I cannot get the link to take you directly to the page with the assignment on it; it keeps automatically shortening the URL. If any of you can save my sanity by helping me figure out how to make it do what I want it to, let me know!).

Hitler/Holocaust Continued

During CAPT week, with the schedule so confusing, it's been harder to stay on the pace I had planned as we study the years between Hitler taking power and the somewhat official start of the Holocaust. Last week we focused on wrapping up Mein Kampf, and discussed the questions. Anyone who then wanted to re-write their responses to make them more complete was allowed to do so.

We then read an article entiteld Hitler's Charisma and discussed it in detail, examining how the author used literary techniques (similes and metaphors in particular) to express her ideas. On the flip side of the same handout was the reading on Burning of the Books, which we discussed in terms of what the event symbolized. Both readings come with questions to be answered -- be thorough -- explain and support your answers!

Today (Monday) we analyzed a clip of original video footage from the book burning, with Goebbels speaking to the crowd. We then examined the Nuremburg Laws on Race and Citizenship, and briefly discussed the impact of them.

This week will also include a discussion of Kristallnacht, the somewhat "official" mark of the beinning of the height of the Holocaust.

Your big assignments for this week are:

1. create a "found poem" based on the readings we have been studying (due Thurs), and
2. a quiz on Hitler and the readings we have been studying (Friday)

You can get information on the found poem at my BHS webpage under files, or cut and paste this URL into your web browser: http://branford.bch.schoolinsites.com/?PageName=TeacherPage&Page=

Week of February 25 - 29th

We have been working on reading Mein Kampf all week, making sense of Hitler's political ideas and why he created such a hatred of Jewish people in Germany. For homework for Monday, you need to answer the questions at the end of the reading. Be sure to explain your answers and support them with evidence from the text!

Also, in response to a question in yellow about how Hitler died, here is a link to a Time Magazine article from 1965 that addresses how he died. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,902253,00.html

Enjoy your weekend!

Updates

I apologize for not getting back in the habit of posting regularly. Here's a list of what I've missed posting.

During the first week of the semester, you worked with the textbook to develop a background understanding of Europe between WWI and WWII. The assignments were:

1. Read 834 - 838 and respond to questions 1-5 on 838 (Chapter 26, Section 3)
2. Read 898 - 902 and respond to questions 1-6 on 902 (Chapter 28, Section 3)
3. Read 912 - 917 and respond to questions 1-8 on 917 (Chapter 28, Section 5)

Your responses should be in complete sentences (paragraphs where appropriate), and you need to be thorough. Explain your answers and connect ideas to the specific details that support them.

We've also been reviewing Modern Art styles in order to clarify apparent confusion on how to tell the style of a modern art piece. We had a quiz on that today (Tues, 2/21). If you have been absent, get the notes and talk to me about whether/when you feel ready to take the quiz. Everyone needs to have completed the quiz by Friday 2/15.

This week we will be examining what you've learned about Hitler's background and developing a common understanding of his life, ideas, and activities that will help us try to understand what happened in the Holocaust.

When we return from vacation, we will be working with some primary resources from Hitler's time to further understand why so many people in Germany went along with his ideas, and how their actions impacted various groups in that country.

Hitler

I hope you are learning lots of interesting aspects about Hitler's life. In addition to the links posted below as potential resources, have you considered going to Time.com and searching the archives? Remember, he was Time's "Man of the Year" in 1934!