Thematic Statement
The Holocaust is a 20th century event in world history that will never be forgotten, and this unit will be an interdisciplinary unit covering this momentous event. It is approximately a two week unit that can be used for an 8th grade classroom In Social Studies, the students will learn about what caused the Holocaust, who was affected by it, when it took place, where it was, and what we can learn from it today. Language Arts will play a significant role in the unit; the students will discover what life was like during the time of the Holocaust. Students will also engage in writing exercises that will help them express their thoughts and attitudes toward the events. Science will help the students understand the magnitude of the genocide. Mathematical calculations will help the students understand the enormity of the Holocaust and the extreme conditions in which people were forced to live. Students will be able to clearly realize that the Holocaust is a significant event that happened in our history; and will see how it still impacts us today.
In our fallen world, the concept of the Holocaust is not something that was God-glorifying. God created the world to be perfect, but sin manifested. Through this unit, the students will be dealing with Christian ethics. Learning about how other people were persecuted for their faith will allow the students to discover how deep their faith is and if they would be able to withstand the persecution themselves. Scripture states that no man was created with greater authority than then next. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Students must understand that, as Christians, our task is to be disciples of Christ, demonstrating our commitment to Him through our words and actions. The students will quickly realize that the events, thoughts, words, and actions of the Holocaust were not Christ-like actions. The students should strive to prevent immoral attitudes both individually and as a community.
There are two main goals of the unit. The first is to help the students realize the extreme discrimination that occurred during the Holocaust. The second is to give the students an understanding the concept of unfairness, injustice, and cruel hatred toward other human beings. The students will be saddened and frustrated when studying this topic. The Holocaust is not an easy subject to swallow, and it should not be. The students are going to ask questions like why God would allow such a thing to happen, and why wasn’t more done to stop them. The unit will guide the students through these questions by allowing time for group discussion, in depth study about God’s just ice and control, and human’s sinfulness.
Students cannot be sheltered from the wrong and unjust acts that have taken place throughout history. This unit will encourage students to think about what is going on in the world, not just the United States. Through this unit, the students will be deal much with Christian ethics and questions such as: What is prejudice? What is compassion? What lessons can be learned from this tragic time period, and whether or not something such as the Holocaust could happen again? The students will not only become familiar with the Holocaust concepts and factual information, but they will be encouraged to think about and develop Biblically based ideas about discrimination and Christian ethics.