Why the Holocaust?

   
    The Holocaust is a term which is used today to describe the genocide of over six million European Jews, as well as Romas, Soviets, the disabled, homosexuals, and political and religious dissidents, during the course of World War II. Taken together estimates for the total number of victims during World War II rises to range between nine and ten million.

            This systematic enactment of genocide was accomplished by the Nazi regime under the leadership of Adolf Hitler through stages. First, government legislation was used to systematically remove the rights of jewish members of European society. Following the launching of World War II, the Nazi regime established ghettos and forcefully relocated Jews, Romas, and other groups which were deemed unsuitable. The Nazi regime later established concentration camps where inmates were used as slave labor until they died due to the ravages of disease or physical exhaustion. Extermination camps, which included gas chambers and large crematoriums were also used to murder millions more.

         As one of the most popularized  cases of genocide portrayed by modern media, and a fixed part of the American school curriculum, it is easy to grow tired of the idea of the Holocaust. The focus of this unit technology plan for a 10th -12th grade World History class is to allow students to explore the events of the Holocaust in new ways which relate to their emerging status as a global citizen who must be fluent in both new forms of technological communication as well as the perspectives and contexts through which such massive events can be interpreted. It is necessary for students to understand that the Holocaust is an important focus of study not only because of its historical relevance, but for the connections which can be drawn to events and human rights violations which are occurring now all over the world.

Could the Holocaust happen again, or has it already?

In this technology unit students will, after listening to a short lecture on the basics of the Holocaust, explore the historical events and tragedies it entailed through a variety of technologies.

- Students will read the historical memoir Night, which details a young man's survival of the concentration camp of Auschwitz and the Buchenwald death march. As they read this memoir, students will answer questions posted on the classroom blog.

- Students will then be asked to use google map to create a classroom map in which students will plot the various concentration and death camps  on a map which also depicts the locations of the cities of Europe.

- Students will then use a webquest on genocide to explore other types of genocide which have occurred, and then will create a digital story depicting their chosen incident of genocide in comparison to the Holocaust.