Today’s Class Agenda: We are looking at the stages leading up to the Holocaust and the “Final Solution” Understanding the Holocaust through the steps on the “Ladder of Prejudice” We will see how we can create change as a group

The holocaust & the Ladder of prejudice Grade 8 Social Studies: World War II The holocaust & the Ladder of prejudice

Let’s read this quote… "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead Keep this quote in mind …

The Ladder of Prejudice Those of you who have one of the following words stand up: Discrimination Speech Avoidance Extermination Physical Attack Worst at the top Please raise your hands to participate! As a class lets figure out the order of badness and severeness of the words and place them on our ladders. Least worst on the bottom

SPEECH The ladder begins with speech—people talking negatively about others. Can anyone see the connection between Hitler and his goal to create the Holocaust, how could speech be the first step to the extermination of the Jews and others that did not fit Hitler’s “norm”? Hitler stated that the destruction of the weak and sick is far more humane than their protection. However, apart from his allusion to humane treatment, Hitler saw a purpose in destroying "the weak" in order to provide the proper space and purity for the strong. Hate speech is, outside the law, communication that vilifies a person or a group on the basis of one or more characteristics.

Avoidance The gossip and talk of Speech leads to the avoidance of a group of people. Can anyone tell me what particular action Hitler and Nazi Germany did to Avoid the Jewish people in Germany? The Ghetto was a Jewish quarter, the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. In many instances, ghettos were places of terrible poverty, ghettos had wide streets and small houses. The Jewish Ghetto’s during WWII had a purpose to persecute, terror, and exploit the Jews.

Ghetto’s were used to confine Jews and sometimes Gypsies into a tightly packed area within a city, separating them from German Nazis. This is an example of the severeness of Avoidance. An estimated 100,000 Jews died in the Warsaw Ghetto between September 1940 and July 1942. Not included the hundreds of other Ghettos from 1939-1945.

Discrimination Once people begin to avoid one another, the discrimination begins—treating people differently. From the first days in power Hitler and the Nazis Party began to pass laws against Jewish people in Germany and encouraged anti-Jew riots. This is example of discriminatory actions.

Physical Attack & Extermination The next level is the physical attack, which finally leads to extermination.