Adolf Hitler
Content goals: Students know what Hitler’s role was during the War.
Language goals: - Students know how to express their feelings by writing a letter of resignation to all countries that have suffered during the second World War.
- Students can use content based vocabulary in different exercises which have been provided by the teacher.
Tasks for today:
Task 1: Pre-knowledge
Task 2: Hitler's rise to power (listening)
Task 3: Hitler's rise to power (reading)
Task 4: Vocabulary
Task 5: Letter of resignation
Task 1: pre-knowledge (5 minutes)
With this activity you should work with your selected groups. The idea is that you answer the following questions with your groupmates. Discuss your answers with each other in English.
1) Who was Adolf Hitler?
2) Why does he fit in the category ‘Important people in World War 2’?
3) What happened with Jewish people in Europe when he was in power?
4) How did he die eventually? Why?
5) When did all of this happen?
At the end you will be asked to give an answer to each question.
Task 2: Hitler's rise to power (15 minutes)
Click here to listen to the fragment and start answering the questions. Keep in mind that this assignment should be done individually.
Language goals: - Students know how to express their feelings by writing a letter of resignation to all countries that have suffered during the second World War.
- Students can use content based vocabulary in different exercises which have been provided by the teacher.
Tasks for today:
Task 1: Pre-knowledge
Task 2: Hitler's rise to power (listening)
Task 3: Hitler's rise to power (reading)
Task 4: Vocabulary
Task 5: Letter of resignation
Task 1: pre-knowledge (5 minutes)
With this activity you should work with your selected groups. The idea is that you answer the following questions with your groupmates. Discuss your answers with each other in English.
1) Who was Adolf Hitler?
2) Why does he fit in the category ‘Important people in World War 2’?
3) What happened with Jewish people in Europe when he was in power?
4) How did he die eventually? Why?
5) When did all of this happen?
At the end you will be asked to give an answer to each question.
Task 2: Hitler's rise to power (15 minutes)
Click here to listen to the fragment and start answering the questions. Keep in mind that this assignment should be done individually.
Task 3: (Reading) Hitler's rise to power (15minutes)
Read the article and answer the questions. Also this assignment should be done individually.
Hitler’s rise to power
The Nazis’ rise to power: The Nazis came to power in Germany under Adolf Hitler in 1933, at a time when economic conditions were very bad. There was also great anger in the country over the conditions which had been imposed on it by Britain, France and the United States under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, after the end of the First World War. The Nazis promised to make the economy better, to create jobs, and to make Germany great again.
However, their policies went much further than this. Hitler told the Germans that they were members of a superior race, who were going to dominate the whole world. He said that he would join together all the German-speaking peoples of Europe into one Germanic super-state, which was to be the center and purpose of everyone’s life. People began to be attracted to the Nazis’ message that the problems of Germany had identifiable causes, and that by tackling these causes a bright new future was possible.
After gaining power in 1933, the Nazis quickly took control of every aspect of German life. They took control of the newspapers and radio, banned all non-Nazi parties, and imprisoned their political opponents. All this was necessary, they said, to protect the future of the country. They used slogans to spread their ideas, such as: ‘Right is what serves the people’. They also began their program of excluding the Jews from more and more aspects of national life. By January 1942, the Nazis had adopted the ‘final solution’ and the mass extermination of the Jews in Europe began. No one knows how many people knew what was happening. By the end of the war, the Nazis had murdered six million European Jews. They also sent to the gas chambers other people whom they regarded as ‘impure’: the mentally ill and handicapped, the physically handicapped, gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals and political opponents.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this mass crime was that it was not just the work of a few madmen. It was a complex operation that depended on thousands of individuals each carrying out their own small job so that the overall purpose was achieved.
Although Hitler was supported by many ordinary Germans, there were also numerous resistance movements in Germany throughout the Nazi period. Between the years 1938 and 1942, several army officers opposed Hitler’s plans for war with Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Hitler survived several unsuccessful assassination attempts during his years in power. The German Catholic church was openly critical of the Nazi’s policy of euthanasia of the mentally ill and physically disabled. Their organized opposition led the regime to alter its policy in this area. German communists were also involved in resisting the regime after the entry of the Soviet Union into the war.
By early 1945, Hitler realized that Germany was going to lose the war. The Soviets had driven the German army back into Western Europe, and the Allies were advancing into Germany. On April 29, 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun, in a small civil ceremony in his Berlin bunker. Around this time, Hitler was informed of the assassination of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Afraid of falling into the hands of enemy troops, Hitler and Braun committed suicide the day after their wedding, on April 30, 1945. Their bodies were carried to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were burned. Berlin fell on May 2, 1945. Five days later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
(Source: Rhue, M. (2008). The Wave. Page 2.)
Questions based on this article
1) How did Hitler promise Germany a bright new future?
2) How did Hitler try to ‘control’ the future of Germany? Give at least two examples.
3) What was 'the final solution' according to Adolf Hitler?
4) What did Hitler need in order to kill 6 million Jews? Give at least two answers.
5) True of False? Explain Why. The Catholic Church supported the plan to use Euthanasia for disabled people.
True/ False: Why?
6) True or False? Explain Why. Hitler was married before he died.
True/ False: Why?
7) Which of these following answers is correct?
A) Hitler was killed by an assassin.
B) Hitler committed suicide.
C) Hitler was killed by a soldier.
D) Hitler died when his bunker got bombed.
8) Now we are going to put your knowledge into practice. As you have read, Hitler realized that he was going to lose the war. Explain why he knew that he was going to lose the war and tell us whether you would surrender or continue till the end. (minimum requirements: 50 words)
Although Hitler was supported by many ordinary Germans, there were also numerous resistance movements in Germany throughout the Nazi period. Between the years 1938 and 1942, several army officers opposed Hitler’s plans for war with Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Hitler survived several unsuccessful assassination attempts during his years in power. The German Catholic church was openly critical of the Nazi’s policy of euthanasia of the mentally ill and physically disabled. Their organized opposition led the regime to alter its policy in this area. German communists were also involved in resisting the regime after the entry of the Soviet Union into the war.
By early 1945, Hitler realized that Germany was going to lose the war. The Soviets had driven the German army back into Western Europe, and the Allies were advancing into Germany. On April 29, 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun, in a small civil ceremony in his Berlin bunker. Around this time, Hitler was informed of the assassination of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Afraid of falling into the hands of enemy troops, Hitler and Braun committed suicide the day after their wedding, on April 30, 1945. Their bodies were carried to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were burned. Berlin fell on May 2, 1945. Five days later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
(Source: Rhue, M. (2008). The Wave. Page 2.)
Questions based on this article
1) How did Hitler promise Germany a bright new future?
2) How did Hitler try to ‘control’ the future of Germany? Give at least two examples.
3) What was 'the final solution' according to Adolf Hitler?
4) What did Hitler need in order to kill 6 million Jews? Give at least two answers.
5) True of False? Explain Why. The Catholic Church supported the plan to use Euthanasia for disabled people.
True/ False: Why?
6) True or False? Explain Why. Hitler was married before he died.
True/ False: Why?
7) Which of these following answers is correct?
A) Hitler was killed by an assassin.
B) Hitler committed suicide.
C) Hitler was killed by a soldier.
D) Hitler died when his bunker got bombed.
8) Now we are going to put your knowledge into practice. As you have read, Hitler realized that he was going to lose the war. Explain why he knew that he was going to lose the war and tell us whether you would surrender or continue till the end. (minimum requirements: 50 words)
Task 4: Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Activity 1: Combining words
Now you will have to work with some of the difficult words that you came across with in task 2 and 3. With your group connect the definition of each word.
A: Influence
B: Interact
C: Negative impact
D: Campaign
E: Imposed
F: Superior race
G: Opponents
H:Extermination
I: Assassination
J: Resistance movements
1: Killing, especially of a whole group of people or animals.
2: A pure race of white people suited to rule the world
3: Work in an organized and active way towards a goal, like politicians
4: One that causes you to be worse off than you were before.
5: Communicate or be involved directly
6: The capacity to have an effect on the character, behavior, or development of someone.
7: Force (an unwelcome decision or ruling) on someone.
8: The refusal to accept or comply with something.
9: The action of murdering someone.
10: Someone who competes with or opposes another in a contest, game etc.
Activity 2: Fill in the gaps
Now let’s put your vocabulary knowledge into practice. Fill in the gaps by using one of the following words:
Resistance movements/ extermination/ opponents/ superior race/ imposed/campaign/ negative impact/ interact/ influence/ assassination.
1: We need at least 6 million dollars for a successful ……………. (Answer: campaign). We need all the votes we can get in order to win at the elections.
2: I hate this concentration camp. They do not feed us enough, we are working too hard. I can feel that this situation has a ……………………………………………….. on both my mind and my body.
3: We are against Nazi Germany. Not only my family but all of my friends have joined ………………………. in order to stop the Nazis from taking over our lovely city.
4:+: Do you think we will win this fight?
-: of course not, have you seen our ……………………………?
5: We Nazi Germans hate Jews! They are not capable of ruling the world. Therefore, they are not a …………………………………
6: Look at that German soldier! He has gone mad! You can easily see that he was ………………………….. by Hitler’s speech last night.
7: the ………………………………….. of Jews usually took place in concentration camps. To be more specific, a lot of Jews were murdered in gas chambers.
8: A lot of …………………… attempts failed on Hitler. He survived all of them.
9: A lot of Jews communicated through mail back in the 40s. Now a day a lot of Jews …………………… with their computers on a daily basis.
10: The German government has …………………………………….. a wage freeze for the next years in the weaponry sector.
Task 5: The letter of resignation (15 minutes)
We are taking you back to April 30th, 1945. Adolf Hitler knows about the assassination that is most likely going to be successful, unless he puts an end to his own life. You are a very close friend to Hitler, which is why he is asking you for one last favor.
Hitler says:
“Dear friend,
Our end has come. We proved that this fatherland can rule the world but we failed to keep it that way. It is time to resign. I do not have any time left to write a letter of resignation. Would you do that for me using at least 5 of the words you translated a few exercises ago. Make sure that you write at least 100 words. Write a letter by adding your emotions onto paper. It is up to you to feel sorry for those who suffered during this war. Be on time! Or else you will have to take this letter of resignation to your office, do your homework and go to the postal office to send it to President Roosevelt and Stalin. I have added my signature at the bottom of this page. Thank you my dearest friend. “
(In case you still have not noticed, this did not actually happen in the Second World War)
Dear Presidents, people of Germany, and People of the World......