Rise of Nazism and Foundations of Genocide

The Holocaust was a systematic and bureaucratic execution of over six million Jews, Romani, homosexuals, the disabled, Slavs, “racially inferior” individuals, and any other enemies of the Nazis. In this activity, students will create a timeline of the events leading up to the Holocaust. They should include any policies, events, and important people connected to this period of history and describe how they are interconnected within the Holocaust.

For an alternative to the timeline layout, have students create a timeline poster to incorporate into a presentation or gallery walk. You can add more than one template to this assignment to give students lots of options and adjust the instructions accordingly.

Important Events Leading to the Holocaust

• Treaty of Versailles
• Mein Kampf Published
• Hitler Named Chancellor of Germany
• Anti Jewish Boycott
• Nazi Book Burning
• Nuremberg Laws
• Anti Semitic Exhibition
• Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass")
• Jewish Exclusion from Economic Life
• Warsaw Ghetto Established

Extended Activity

To extend this activity, students can detail the event they found most significant in causing of the Holocaust. In the description boxes, students will answer the following questions.

1. Describe the event or action.
2. What lead to this event?
3. Who was impacted by this event?
4. Why is this the most significant event that led to the Holocaust?

Student Instructions

Create a timeline of the events leading up to the Holocaust.

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Identify important events, policies, and people and type them into the titles of each cell.
3. Describe the events, policies, and people in the description box.
4. Create an illustration using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
5. Save and exit when you're done.