1. A World of Influence Understanding the Atrocities of the Holocaust

2. Before trying to understand how the atrocities of the Holocaust could occur, you must research the influences of the time. Unfortunately, your examination of this topic will merely scratch the surface of the inhumanity of man and the devastation it can accrue. In groups of three, have each member choose one of the topics to research on every slide and consider how the chosen topic influenced the mindset of one of the following: Hitler, Germany, America, Japan, or the world.

3. Darwinism: Explore how Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest was manipulated to support the Nazi objective. Eugenics: How is this concept applied to Hitler’s goal? E = mc 2: How is Einstein’s theory of relativity pertinent to WWII?

4. German Propaganda Explained: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGNyc_LlJhs Determine the purpose of this actual German film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfhsm0b8414 Mein Kampf: Consider what genre and point-of-view is used in Hitler’s Mein Kampf and determine how his choices propitiate his propaganda. http://archive.org/stream/meinkampf035176mbp/meinkampf03 5176mbp_djvu.txt http://archive.org/stream/meinkampf035176mbp/meinkampf03 5176mbp_djvu.txt What is the significance of the characters used in this Japanese propaganda? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icVu-acHlpUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icVu-acHlpU

5. Compare and contrast American propaganda to Germany and Japan’s propaganda. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8bCuNiJ-NI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHL-sPV01q4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYvr28-5QKw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_plJofzijg What is Japanese Internment? Find one of Dr. Seuss’s cartoons that promoted the idea of Japanese Internment. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss /seuss_fla.html http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss /seuss_fla.html

6. The Nietzsche Controversy: What was the controversy and how did Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche play a role? How does Hitler use Nietzsche’s well known philosophy to his advantage? http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133p/133p04papers/MKalishNietzNazi046.htm http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133p/133p04papers/MKalishNietzNazi046.htm Mein Kampf: According to Hitler, what must the Germans do in order to have the right to colonize beyond their borders? (Look in Chapter 1 in the Mein Kampf http://archive.org/stream/meinkampf035176mbp/meinkampf035176mbp_djvu.txt http://archive.org/stream/meinkampf035176mbp/meinkampf035176mbp_djvu.txt

7. Proclamation by Hitler: http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/HITLER2.htm http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/HITLER2.htm What does his proclamation reveal about Germany’s past relationship with Britain? Hitler uses a different term for the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI. What term does he use and how does it reflect his attitude toward the document?

8. The Great Depression: Consider the global impact. http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE53 http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE53 How did this hardship help facilitate Hitler to persuade his country to follow the Nazi Party?

9. Prior to and during WWII the Allies and Axis powers carefully chose words to communicate and propagate. Examine Einstein’s letter to FDR and its response and analyze the different tones in these letters. Change the word “interesting” in FDR’s response to alarming to determine how one word can change the tone of the entire letter. Einstein’s Letter: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman-ein39/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman-ein39/ FDR’s Response: http://www.mphpa.org/classic/COLLECTIONS/MP-PFIL/Pages/MPP-PFIL-020.htm http://www.mphpa.org/classic/COLLECTIONS/MP-PFIL/Pages/MPP-PFIL-020.htm

10. Thus the Greeks, the most humane people of ancient time, have a trait of cruelty, of tiger-like pleasure in destruction, in them: a trait which is even clearly visible in Alexander the Great, that grotesquely enlarged reflection of the Hellene, and which, in their whole history, and also their mythology, must strike fear into us when we approach them with the emasculated concept of modern humanity. When Alexander has the feet pierced of the brave defender of Gaza, Batis, and ties his live body to his chariot in order to drag him around to the scorn of his own soldiers (:1) this is a nauseating caricature of Achilles, who abused the corpse of Hector at night by similarly dragging it around; but for us, even Achilles’ action has something offensive and horrific about it. Here we look into the bottomless pit of hatred. - Nietzsche What is the author’s attitude about human nature and its innate cruelty?