A brief history lesson

I am an English teacher, but I teach history. I teach context so students understand the literature and are able to have more rounded discussions.

I teach Holocaust History & Literature. I start off by teaching the path to genocide.

Historical facts worth remembering.

• Hitler was democratically elected, making such campaign promises to return Germany to its rightful place of power on the world stage
• Some of the first laws passed by the Nazi lead government:
  • Decree for the Protection of the People and the State – Eliminated a number of civil rights for those deemed “unacceptable” to the Nazi Party; Roma/Romani people, “Intellectuals” (Scientists, Writers, Teachers, etc. who did not follow the Nazi ideals), Government Officials not part of the Nazi party, the Mentally and Physically Handicapped, anyone that would have been in the LGBTA+ community, Catholic Priests and Monks, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Jews.
  • Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service – The forced retirement of politically “unacceptable non-Aryan” civil servants, excluding WW I veterans. This covered A NUMBER of jobs
  • Laws for the Prevention of Racially Inferior Offspring – passed laws about who could have children, the required paperwork to have a child, and set up eugenics/breeding programs to insure racily “pure” German children that would be raised by loyal German parents
• The government supported the banning of all books “contrary to the German spirit” and encourage public book burnings.

This is a BRIEF portion of my multiday lesson on this subject where I have my students read English translations of these laws.

They ask “How did this happen?” – Because people literally voted for it. It all sounded GREAT when it wasn’t affecting them.

I also teach them about Martin Niemoller, and the different versions he wrote of his famous quote. I’ll end here with what is documented as his preferred version:

In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.