Mr. Trzepinska
Holocaust and Genocide
Concentration Camp Projects – 100 points
Your goal is to learn and present to the class a specific aspect of the Concentration Camps in order for all of us to understand how horrible these places were. You present your findings to the class in a PowerPoint presentation.
REMEMBER: The Nazis decided the “Final Solution to the Jewish question” was to kill all of them. The Camp system was designed to do exactly just that either immediately or over time.
How we are going to do this
We are breaking up into groups and each group will select a topic to work on. All the topics can be found on the next page.
What will you use on the packets first page
1. Vocabulary List of Key terms. Make sure you tell the class what each means in your project. How this will be presented is up to you to decide. Many of them can be defined by answering the pre-selected questions. Some you may have to perform research.
2. Answer pre-selected questions. In your presentation make sure you answer the questions provided. Afterward create your own questions or points you would like the class to know. How they are answered is totally up to each group. (As long as they as answered)
3. You will create PowerPoint informing your classmates about your researched. Your PowerPoint should include the answers to your research questions and vocabulary terms. You should use pictures, animations, creative designs in your presentation. Your presentation must be between 5-7 minutes. PLEASE EMAIL YOUR POWERPOINT TO ME OR BRING IT TO CLASS ON A MEMORY STICK
List of Topics to Choose from and description:
1. Camps and the Holocaust/Types of Camps: Students who choose this topic will analyze why the camps started in the first place. They will also investigate and describe the 3 different types of camps; Concentration Camps, Death Camps, and Labor Camps.
2. Prisoners: For this topic you will get to know the colors of the “Triangle System” and look into 2 distinct groups of prisoners; Jehovah Witnesses and Homosexuals. You’ll also be able to know the prisoner hierarchy.
3. How Camps were used: Here you will be able to know what purpose the camps had (other than killing). You’ll also investigate all the SS medical experiments on prisoners, especially those made by the notorious SS doctor Josef Mengele. You will also be able to find out how people died in the camps without the use of the gas chambers.
4. Running the Camps: For this topic you will be able to know how the SS controlled day-to-day functions. You’ll also be able to know about the use of “Gas Vans” and the hierarchy of the SS. You will also find out about women in the SS and what euphemisms were used in the camps.
5. Camp Discipline: You’ll investigate all the punishments the SS put upon the inmates and how they made life in the camps very difficult.
6. Efficient Camps: For this topic you will find out how large companies used the camps for profit. You’ll also learn how the SS tricked Jews into going to the camps and the process of handling their possessions. In addition you’ll find out how the SS made a profit off the camps for themselves.
7. Processing Arrivals at Auschwitz: What happened to the people when they got to Auschwitz? How did the SS belittle them? You will be able to describe the processing of the recycling of clothes, the shaving of hair, numbering, tattoos, and learning obedience.
8. Friends and Societies: How did the camp system break up families? How did people make friends in the camps? What did the prisoners do for entertainment? How did the prisoners practice their religion?
9. Living Conditions: For this topic you will learn what the housing and sanitation situation was like in the camps. You will also be able to answer the following; What food did the prisoners get? What happened if you got sick? How did the SS punish and kill inmates. What was “rollcall”?
10. Work in the Camps: If you choose this selection you’ll learn about the purpose of work in the camps. You will also investigate what the best, and worst, jobs were. You will also learn about certain privileges good workers got in the camps in addition to the role of women in the camps.
11. Death in the Camps: How exactly did the SS deceive people and gas the prisoners? What did they use as the gas? What did they do with the bodies? How did the Nazis make sure those killed weren’t hiding any valuables?
12. Leaving the Camps: Here you will learn how a prisoner can get out of the camps, alive and well! You’ll also find out how prisoners escaped the camps, including some of the most famous successful examples.
13. Resistance in the Camps: Here you will learn what forms of resistance were taken by the inmates. What security measures did the SS put into place? What revolts happened in the camps?
14. Special Cases: For this topic you will learn who was considered a “special case” by the Nazis, such as the mentally handicapped. You will also learn about the Nazi euthanasia plan and the use of Hashudes to imprison ethnic Germans.
15. Liberation: What did American troops see when they got to the camps? Why did the prisoners continue to die even after they were freed? How did the prisoners treat the SS after liberation? What did the SS say to justify themselves?
Holocaust Project Rubric
Excellent / Above Average / Average / Below Average / UnacceptableResearch / All of the research questions and vocabulary are answered in a complete manner. The group included information that went beyond the requirements / All of the research questions and vocabulary are answered in complete manner. The group does a good job in answering the required questions / Most of the research questions and vocabulary are in a satisfactory manner / Many of the research questions and vocabulary in a incomplete manner. / Most of the research questions and vocabulary are not answered. It is evident that the group did not put in effort
PowerPoint / The PowerPoint contains all of the required elements, pictures, animations, and is designed in an appealing way. Students go beyond the minimal requirements / The PowerPoint contains all of the required elements and makes an attempt to include pictures and animations. It is designed in an appealing manner. / The PowerPoint contains all of the required elements and makes little effort to add design and animation elements / The PowerPoint is lacking many design elements and many of the required elements are missing / The PowerPoint is missing all required elements and very little effort is made on the PowerPoint
Presentation / The group meets the 5-7 minute time requirement. The Group makes eye contact, uses appropriate language, and does not simply read off the slides. / The group meets the 5-7 minute time requirement. The group attempts to make eye contact and not read off the slides. Language is appropriate / The group is able to meet the 5 minute time requirement. The group mainly reads off the slides and does not attempt to make eye contact / The group does not meet the 5 minute time requirement. The group makes no effort to engage the class and simply reads off the slides / The group does not meet the time requirement. The group is inappropriate with language and the presentation does not address the subject
Topic: Special Cases
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Gypsies
Asocials
Disabled
T4
Hashude
Questions:
1. What groups were classified as “Special Cases”.
2. How did the Nazis dispose of German children who were disabled? What reason was given to legitimize this practice of murder?
3. Who are the Gypsies? How did the Nazis look upon these people? What did they do with them?
4. What was the T4 program?
5. What was the purpose of Hashude? Who would go there? What was daily life like at Hashude?
6. How did people manage to leave Hashude?
7. After 1940 when Hashude was closed down where did most asocials go?
Topic: Living Conditions
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Disinfection
“Lazy Rations”
roll call
Questions:
1. When it comes to living conditions how were large camps different from smaller camps?
2. Describe the typical housing situation in the camps
3. Describe the sanitation at the camps.
4. What meals did prisoners get? What did they contain?
5. What was the quality of the foods eaten?
6. Why was it difficult for inmates to receive food packages?
7. What was “Lazy Rations”?
8. How were sick inmates improperly treated at the camp hospitals?
9. In what ways did the SS kill off the Jews in the Concentration Camps?
10. How did inmates learn the rules at the camps?
11. How did the SS punish inmates?
12. What was “roll call” what happened when an inmate missed roll call?
Topic: Liberation
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Displaced Persons Camp
ratlines
Questions:
1. What did the allied armies come to witness upon arriving at the Concentration Camps near the end of the war?
2. What was the natural reaction for the Allied soldiers to do to help the starving people? Why was this a bad idea?
3. Why did inmates continue to die after being liberated? How did the allied soldiers cope with this?
4. How did the prisoners treat members of the SS after being liberated?
5. What was a Displaced Persons Camp? Who went there and who didn’t?
6. In what ways did the SS react to the end of the war?
7. How did the SS attempt to get out of the crimes they had done? What was the most common excuse given?
8. What was supposed to be the SS punishment for disobedience?
9. In what ways did SS officers justify their actions?
10. In what ways did many members of the SS get away with what they did in the camps?
Topic: Resistance in the Camps
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Informer
Muselmann
Arbeitsjuden
Questions:
1. How did the SS make it difficult to form resistance movements within the Concentration Camps?
2. How did inmates such as Roman Frisler prevent themselves from becoming Muselmen and attempt to survive on a daily basis?
3. How was religion used as a form of resistance in the camps?
4. In what ways did camp inmates try and help each other?
5. What forms of resistance did inmates do while working? Why was it very difficult to succeed this way?
6. What importance did the Dora Concentration Camp have for the Nazis? What punishments were given out there for resistance?
7. What security measures were out in place by the SS to prevent escapes?
8. In what ways did prisoners find ways to escape the Concentration Camps?
9. What was the hardest type of resistance at the camps? Why was it so difficult?
10. How did the revolt at Treblinka Death camp succeed?
Topic: Death in the Camps
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Einsatzgruppen
Sonderkommando
Questions:
1. Describe the decline of life for Jews before the Holocaust actually began.
2. What was the purpose of the Wansee Conference? Who led it? What was the role of the SS in the “Final Solution”?
3. Why did the SS decide on gassing the Jews?
4. What camps were set up to carry out the deaths?
5. Who were the only people left alive in the death camps?
6. How were Auschwitz and Majdanek different from the other death camps? What disadvantage did this have for the SS? How did the SS respond?
7. What was the job of the Sonderkommando?
8. In what ways did the SS try to dispose of the bodies? What solution did they finally decide upon?
9. How did they dispose of the ashes?
10. Describe the killing process.
Topic: Friends and Societies
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Selections
Questions:
1. How did the SS attempt to break up families? Did this always work?
2. How were families able to support one another in the Concentration Camps?
3. How did people make friends at the camps?
4. How did the camps dramatically affect people and their friendships with other inmates?
5. Why was keeping to oneself better than having friends in the camps?
6. How did camp inmates create entertainment and support each other?
7. What role did music have in the Concentration Camps? What benefits came to those in the camp Orchestra?
8. How did the inmates keep religious traditions alive in the Concentration Camps?
Topic: Processing Arrivals: Auschwitz
Key Vocabulary Term:
Quarantine
Questions:
- Describe the conditions of the train cars.
- How did the SS guards treat the prisoners?
- How did the processing of arrivals at Death Camps differ from Concentration and Labor Camps?
- How did the SS humiliate the prisoners and show them their lives were of little value?
- Describe the process of undressing, shaving, showering, uniforms, and registration.
- Describe the numbering and tattoo systems.
- How was it impossible for the prisoners to be totally obedient to the SS in quarantine?
- Describe the routine many camp prisoners faced.
Topic: Camp Discipline
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Informer
penal companies
Elfriede Runge
Rudolf Hoess.
Questions:
1. How did the SS make it hard for the prisoners to get together in groups? Why did they do this?
2. How did the SS encourage prisoners to hate each other?
3. Why did the SS shift people around at the camp?
4. What official types of punishments were there for particular crimes?
5. How did SS officers differ on punishments?
6. How were prisoner’s punished for the actions of others?
7. Describe camp prisons. Who would find themselves in the prison?
8. What was life like for the Punishment Unit?
9. How did the SS deal with escapes from the camp?
Topic: Camps and the Holocaust
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Undesirable
Holocaust
Roll Calls
Questions:
1. Why were Concentration Camps started?
2. What was the first Concentration Camp?
3. Who ran the camps?
4. How were the Camps different from Ghettos?
5. How do we know what went on in the camps?
Topic: Types of Camps
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Concentration Camp
Labor Camp
Death Camp
Crematorium
Protective Custody
Commandants
Questions:
1. What types of camps were there? What was the purpose of each? How were they all similar?
2. What other types of camps existed?
3. After 1941 most Concentration Camps were also used for what?
4. What camps existed within Auschwitz?
Topic: Work
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Vernichtung durch Arbeit
Kapos
Arbeit Macht Frei
Questions:
1. What purpose did the Nazis have by making the inmates work?
2. Who actually built and took care of the concentration camps?
3. Who got the easiest and worst forms of work at the camps?
4. What did the saying “Arbeit Macht Frei” attempt to convey to new arrivals? What did the Nazis really mean by it?
5. What advantage did inmates have by having, or pretending to have skills to work?
6. What work did women do in the camps?
7. Why did the SS begin to give “privileges” to camp inmates? What were these “privileges”?
8. Describe the condition in building Mauthausen Concentration Camp and Dora.
Topic: Efficient Camps
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Authorization
I G Farben
Questions:
1. How did government bureaucracy make it difficult to construct the Concentration Camps?
2. How were camp inmates used for cheap labor?
3. What did the Nazis do with the personal possessions and property of Jews? Describe the example of the Eigis family to aid you in this question.
4. How did the SS cope with the declining rate of guards at the camps?
5. How was selling tickets used to trick the Jews going to the death camps?
6. How was human hair used?
7. How were confiscated possessions recycled?
8. How did many SS officials and camp inmates personally profit from the stealing of Jewish possessions?
9. How did the SS profit from the dead corpses?
10. How did the efficiency of the camps deteriorate as the Holocaust went on?
Topic: Running The Camps
Key Vocabulary Terms:
Gas Vans
prisoner functionaries
Kapos
Blockaltesters
Selection
Sonderkommando
Questions:
1. Who was Theodore Eicke? What was his philosophy?