A Sad Moment in Time

During the 1940's, Nazi Germany quickly took over European countries. As more and more American soldiers were being sent overseas to assist the Allied forces, they were discovering the horrific acts being done against citizens trapped within these camps. Not only were the Nazi's taking complete control of the nation, but Americans were becoming more and more interested in the events happening in the distant country. You will travel back in time with two other historians and take one of the three point of views. Once you have chosen a point of view, it is your responsibility to communicate what life is really like in Europe during World War II. Americans will be depending on you and your team to help them find out and become educated on the real life actions, thoughts, and events during the war.
 

The Task:
 

You will be split into groups of 3 and it's your teams responsibility to travel back in time to the 1940's during Nazi Germany and World War II. As educated historians, your team will take on three different points of view to create ways to report factual information back to Americans on life in concentration camps. It will be up to you to find and investigate a concentration camp that was used during the Holocaust. At the end of the process, your group will come together to come up with a presentation to give to the class. You will use the three different points of view to help make a news cast to send home to Americans to educate them on your findings. Your group should record giving different information they have learned throughout the process. Also, your group can use PowerPoint as a supporting aspect of their presentation.
 

The Process:
 

1. Each group member needs to choose a point of view:

Prisoner: This team member will go back in time and investigate the day to day life of a citizen trapped in a concentration camp. They will need to research historical facts such as conditions of the camp (like housing, clothes, food), accounts from other prisoners, the manual labor that was forced upon them, and treatment received from Nazi officers. With this information you are to construct and write an authentic looking journal that would be found within the camp. In this journal, record all your findings in a day to day format. You will need to use different resources to make sure the information is creditable.

Nazi Officer: This team member will go back in time to investigate the daily life of a Nazi Officer in a concentration camp. You will need to discuss the brutal tactics used by officers on the prisoners. This member must note the Nazi ideals and perspective that officers maintained when overseeing prisoners in the camps. You are to write a journal about your life as a Nazi Officer. In this journal, make sure to note what you feel about the prisoners, what orders are you receiving from your higher officers, and what it means to be a Nazi Officer. Use of multiple sources will be required to ensure credibility

If you are using a Mac Computer and plan on using GarageBand

__http://www.devdaily.com/apple/mac/garage-band-create-podcast/__

-this site contains step by step "how to" instructions on podcasting using GarageBand

If you are using a PC, these sites can be used to download and explain recording software for podcasting

Download Audacity here:

__http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows__

Use this site to learn how to podcast:

__http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/17-audacity-tutorial.htm__

The American Soldier

__http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14661020__

Evaluation:
 

Conclusion:
 

By completing this webquest, the students have learned valuable information about the terrible events of World War II and concentration camps. By researching the points of view of different people involved in the camps, the students received an understanding of how life was and helped to educate others on this information. World War II and the Holocaust were very tragic events in US history and this group was successful is relaying the information and gained a clearer understanding of the events during the 1940's WWII. We encourage the students to continue their research on World War II and Nazi Germany to gain even more knowledge of the time period. Some websites to check out might be:

__http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/ww2Timeline/start.html__

__http://www.archives.gov/research/ww2/photos/__
 

Credits & References:
 

Credits and References
Special thanks to the The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Their website provided multiple links for reference

For more information regarding the Holocaust or The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum visit their website at __www.ushmm.org__

List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using. Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources or help.
List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.
 

Standards:
 

PDE Academic Standards for History

8.1.12. B Synthesize and evaluate historical

-Different historical perspectives

8.1.12. C Evaluate historical interpretation of events

-Impact of opinions on the perception of facts

-Issues and problems in the past

-Multiple points of view
 

ISTE's Education Technology Standards for Students

1 Creativity and Innovation

b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
2 Communication and Collaboration

a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

3 Research and Information Fluency

b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media