The Holocaust: how persecution grew into genocide, and how the world remembers
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
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Card A (today): "Introduction to the Holocaust". Who made it: historians at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. For whom: readers today. Why: to explain what the Holocaust was. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Holocaust was the planned, state-run persecution and murder of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies and collaborators, from 1933 to 1945. It was a genocide. In 1933 Europe's Jews numbered about 9 million. About 2.7 million of the six million were murdered in five "killing centers", among them Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Context (what else was happening): After 1939 Nazi Germany occupied much of Europe, with allies such as Italy, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Limits (what this source cannot tell us): It gives totals for a whole continent. It cannot tell each person's story. Card B (today): "Other groups the Nazis targeted". Who made it: historians at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. For whom: readers today. Why: to name the other groups the Nazis persecuted. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Romani people: at least 250,000, and possibly as many as 500,000, murdered; sources differ. People with disabilities: some 250,000 to 300,000 murdered. Polish civilians: about 1.8 million murdered. Soviet prisoners of war: about 3.3 million, about 58 percent of those captured, lost their lives in German captivity. Jehovah's Witnesses: about 1,700 lost their lives. Gay men: 5,000 to 15,000 imprisoned in concentration camps. Context (what else was happening): The Nazis judged people by racial, political and social ideas of their own. Limits (what this source cannot tell us): The numbers are historians' estimates, so some are given as ranges. Card C (today): "Resistance and rescue". Who made it: historians at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. For whom: readers today. Why: to record how people resisted and rescued. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Jews offered armed resistance in over 100 ghettos. In April and May 1943, Jews in the Warsaw ghetto rose in armed revolt. In October 1943, Danish fishermen ferried some 7,200 of Denmark's 7,800 Jews to safety in neutral Sweden. Context (what else was happening): Denmark was under German occupation. Limits (what this source cannot tell us): Rescue was rare: helpers faced severe punishment if they were caught. Below the strip: Facts are from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the main ones were checked against a second source. No images, and no descriptions of how people were murdered.
Why does card A call the Holocaust a genocide, Bo asks?
- It was a single battle fought during World War II
- It lasted for just one year
- It aimed to destroy Europe's Jews as a people
- It was a riot in one city
When did Germany invade the Soviet Union, by the strip, Esme asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- 1943
- 1942
- 1941
- 1939
How many years did the Holocaust era last, from 1933 to 1945, Jun asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- 3,878 years
- 6 years
- 22 years
- 12 years
By card B, how many Romani people were murdered, Kira asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- About 1.8 million
- At least 250,000, possibly 500,000
- Exactly 500,000, no more and no fewer
- Exactly 250,000
Why does card B give some numbers as ranges, Luz asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The numbers are made up
- The groups were the same size
- Each count is exact to the person
- Historians' estimates differ
By card B, which group lost about 3.3 million people in German captivity, Milo asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany
- Romani people
- Soviet prisoners of war
- Polish civilians
By card C, where did Jews rise in armed revolt in 1943, Noah asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- In the Warsaw ghetto
- In Denmark's fishing ports
- In neutral Sweden
- In the Soviet capital
By card C, how did most of Denmark's Jews reach safety, Pia asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- They hid in the Warsaw ghetto
- Fishermen ferried them to Sweden
- Britain sent ships to Denmark
- German officials let them leave freely
Card C says rescue was rare. Why, by its limits box, Tala asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The war had ended by 1943
- Rescue broke a Danish law
- Helpers faced severe punishment if caught
- No one in Denmark was willing to help them
Which claim is careful, using cards A to C, Zee asks?
Use the picture in question 1.
- The Nazis targeted Jews but no other groups of people
- Jews did not resist
- Jews resisted, and some people rescued them
- Rescue saved most of Europe's Jews