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Themed Resources

• Library of Congress Online Resources for Educators (pdf)
• Abraham Lincoln
• Art of War:
  WWI and WWII Posters
• Cartoon Analysis
• Childhood Lost:Child Labor During Industrial Revolution
• Coles County: Taught with Primary Sources
• Corp of Discovery:
  Revealing the American West
• NEW Teaching the Holocaust with Primary Sources
• Illinois: Taught with Primary Sources
• Presidential Campaigns: Packaging the Presidents
• Underground Railroad:
  A Path to Freedom
• Verse and Chorus
• WWII
• Top Topics

Special Projects

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Tools 
• Classroom Activities
• Constant Motion:
  The Job of Railway Post Office Clerks
• Constitution Day
• Library of Congress Site Update "Cheat Sheet" (pdf)
• Lincoln Assassination CSI Activity
• Patriotic Songs
• • September 11
  • Teaching with Lincoln
  • Veterans Day

Professional Development

• Summer Institute
• NEW TPS EIU Jump-Start
• TPS in Action
  (onsite workshop series)
• Customized Teaching with Primary Sources Institutes

Additional LInks

• EIUTPS Google Search Tool
• National TPS Site
• Library of Congress
• loc.gov Teacher PageAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Teaching the Holocaust with Primary Sources

Introduction: Nuremberg Race Laws | Kristallnacht | Ghettos
Concentration Camps: Dachau | Bergen-Belsen | Auschwitz
Righteous Among the Nations: Gies | Schindler | Winton | Grueninger

Primary Source and Analysis Tools | Library of Congress Resources 
 Primary Source Sets | PDF Version

Introduction

On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, by March 1933 he would become dictator.¹ How did Hitler and the Nazi party come to power and set a path of destruction? After World War I, Germany was in economic ruin. Unemployment was high, the majority of people were poor, the country was in a downward spiral and Germany's citizens wanted change. Hitler and the Nazi party capitalized on the power of persuasion and were masters at propaganda. Hitler told the German people what they needed to hear, that he could end their suffering and restore Germany's pride.

A scapegoat was needed for Germany's problems and Hitler blamed the Jewish community. Through Nazi propaganda, Jews were portrayed as an alien race that was poisoning German culture and bringing economic downfall and war to Germany. The Nazis flooded the country with anti-sematic speeches and posters and hatred towards the Jews grew. There was violence against Jewish citizens not to purchase items or services from Jewish businesses. Jewish families were no longer safe in their own neighborhoods and homes.

Citations:

1. The Future of Freedom Foundation, How Hitler became a Dictator by Jacob
    G. Hornberger. Accessed 8.1.12

Image Citation:

1. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs, Adolf Hitler, 1889-1945

2. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs, Roll call at a German concentration camp (from a Nazi photograph). Two prisoners in the foreground are supporting a comrade, as fainting was frequently an excuse for the guards to "liquidate" useless inmates.

3. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs, Gomle (i.e. Gemel) Chesed Shel Cemetery. Gate 19.