Literature about Society
Mrs. Reesbeck
A Webquest of Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman
This webquest will be done in stages, however it all must be done. The completed quest will be worth a test grade. Each stage will have a separate due date and will be checked, with the entire project done by the end of Maus I. You may have the information typed or written in your journals, however it all must be together in one place.
Anti-Semitism
- Define anti-Semitism.
- For how long has anti-Semitism existed?
- In what nations were Jews treated as scapegoats?
- What types of Anti-Semitic propaganda existed in Germany and what images are used?
- Define deindividuation and dehumanization.
Ghettos
- Define ghetto.
- In what city was the largest Jewish ghetto found?
- In what European city was the first Jewish ghetto?
- What was the Judenrat? What role did they play and what was the penalty for not joining?
- Describe the events in the Warsaw ghetto on April 19, 1943. What was the result?
Germany
- How many Jews lived in Germany at the time of the 1933 census and how many were citizens?
- Hitler and the Nazi party appealed to which parts of German society?
- The USHMM website states that this Nazi organization attracted tens of thousands of young, unemployed German men. What is the name of this organization (German and English) and what did they do to anyone who opposed Hitler?
- What was Hitler’s term for the “master race” and what type of person would be included?
- What was the Gestapo and what was their role in the Nazi party?
- What other citizens were victims of the Nazis?
- What did Hitler expect from the youth of Germany?
- What were the Nuremberg Laws?
- How did the Nuremberg Laws judge if a person was Jewish?
- How did the Nazis visually identify Jews?
- The Storm Troopers carried out a boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. How did they do it and why was it important?
- What was Reichskristallnacht?
Genocide
- Define the terms “holocaust” and “Holocaust.” What is the difference? Define genocide.
- What were the Einsatzgruppen? What did they do?
- What was the “final solution?” Describe the two major stages and the most common methods used to carry this out.
- What were the major concentration camps and what were their primary purposes?
- What was zyklon b?
- Who was Josef Mengele and what did he do?
- What was the Kapos? What “fault” do they have for their choices?
- How were the following companies involved with the Nazis:
BMW
Dailmer Benz
Ford
IBM
Krupp
Shell
Volkswagen
IG Farben Industries
Siemens
Outside Help
- Describe the Resistance during the Holocaust. What types of resistance were there? What kind of people were involved? Find two or three examples of average citizens who put themselves in danger to save others.
- Why did Denmark resist the war against the Jews?
- What was the Evian Conference? How and why did it help the Nazis?
- How did eitherBreckenridge Long, Father Charles Coughlin or Henry Ford influence American attitudes toward Europe’s Jews?
- What happened to the passengers of the MSSt. Louis in 1939 and why is it significant?
- Which country accepted the most Jews during WWII? The least? How many escaped to Palestine?
Aftermath
- Which death camps were liberated by the Americans and British?
- Why did some many inmates die within weeks of liberation?
- How many Nazi leaders were put on trial in Nuremberg? How many sentenced to death? Who found Eichmann? Who was never caught?
- Define the terms Shoah, Yad Vasehm, Righteous Among the Nations?
Helpful sites:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Home page
Cybrary of the Holocaust-
Simon Wiesenthal/Museum of Tolerance Home Page
Holocaust Survivor Video Testimony
Sydney (Australia) Jewish Home Page
Post War Photos of Camps
Dickerson’s Holocaust Site
Holocaust Rescuers Page
A High School’s Holocaust Page
University of Pennsylvania Professor’s Holocaust Site
The Ghetto Fighters’ House-Israel
Friends-partners.org
Beyond the Pale
ChristianactionforIsrael.org
Plus there are the sites available on the library’s Research Tools by Subject