Kristallnacht

The purpose of the this lesson and the previous lesson in the course is to encourage students to study the "early" anti-Jewish measures that were enacted by Nazi Germany in the years 1933-1938. Lesson 14 was largely shaped by Echoes and Reflections and also incorporates a teacher-designed activity with USC Shoah Foundation's iWitness Platform. This lesson is completed in an 86 minute block. Materials listed are only those materials I am sharing below, not all of the nuts and bolts (computer, projectors etc.) necessary to make the lesson work.

LESSON FOURTEEN: KRISTALLNACHT

Core Lesson Concept: During this lesson, students are first tasked with reflecting on the previous days lesson regarding early anti-Jewish measures. Students then review the definitions of primary and secondary sources. Next, students are asked to analyze 3 print primary sources connected to the Kristallnacht program. The analysis can be done individually or in groups and is followed by a class discussion. The documents and pictures from the photo analysis activity that follows originate in Lesson 1 of the Echoes and Reflections Teacher Resource Binder. These activities are followed up by a culmination of the previous days lecture outlining the impact of these anti-Jewish measures (including Kristallnacht) on the Jewish population of Germany and annexed Austria. Students then embark on an iWitness InfoQuest that I designed utilizing the "Build an Activity" component of the iWitness platform.

Materials:

Lesson Plan

Kristallnacht Documents (Heydrich’s Instructions, Mrs. Drexler’s Letter, Riot in Dinslaken) & Accompanying Discussion Sheet

Powerpoint

Access to iWitness (Please E-Mail Me for Access to the InfoQuest)

iWitness Task Sheet and Rubric

Additional Materials:

Kristallnacht Testimonies from Gratz College

Yad Vashem Handout on Kristallnacht

Suggested Supplemental Reading for Teachers:

Kristallnacht 1938 by Alan Steinweis