nazi racial policy and the holocaust
4 detailed 50-minute lessons with teaching scripts, worked examples, parent guides, and assessment criteria.
Lesson Overview
Total Lessons: 4
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Learning Objectives
- Explain the key ideas of nazi racial policy and the holocaust
- Apply nazi racial policy and the holocaust to exam-style questions
- Develop independent study skills
- Build cross-topic connections
Prerequisites
- Read the revision notes for nazi racial policy and the holocaust first (GCSE Revise summary)
- Key vocab to pre-teach: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust
- Basic skills: reading the summary notes and answering the practice questions there
Materials & Equipment
- Exercise book, coloured pens
- Ruler
- Printed revision notes (link below)
- Internet for videos (see Resources)
Lesson 1: Introduction: nazi racial policy and the holocaust
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Write down everything you already know about nazi racial policy and the holocaust. Then check against the key terms: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust. Use a mini-whiteboard or paper.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide:
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Teaching Script (35 mins):
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: nazi racial policy and the holocaust. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of History because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: nazi racial policy and the holocaust. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of History because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
First Look
Start with the revision notes summary, then attempt: Explain how the Nuremberg Laws affected the lives of German Jews. (4 marks)
Plenary (5 minutes)
Check Out
Your student states one thing they learned and one question they still have about nazi racial policy and the holocaust.
Lesson 2: Core Concepts: nazi racial policy and the holocaust
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Review Previous Lesson
Quick recap: write 3 key points from Lesson 1 on nazi racial policy and the holocaust. Check them against the notes below.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Key Fact: The Nazis believed in a racial hierarchy with the "Aryan" race (tall, blonde, blue-eyed Germans and Nordics) at the top as the "master race" (Herrenvolk). At the bottom were "sub-humans" (Untermenschen) - Jews, Roma, Slavs, and black people. Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf (1925): "The Jew is and remains the eternal enemy of the Aryan."
Key Fact: Persecution of Jews began immediately after Hitler became Chancellor. On 1 April 1933, the Nazis organised a nationwide boycott of Jewish shops and businesses. SA men stood outside Jewish shops with signs reading "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews!"
Key Fact: At the Nuremberg Rally on 15 September 1935, Hitler announced two laws that fundamentally changed the legal status of German Jews: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour. These laws stripped Jews of citizenship and banned marriages between Jews and Germans.
Key Fact: The Nuremberg Laws were a turning point because they made anti-Semitism legal and official. Before 1935, persecution had been through SA violence and local regulations; after 1935, it was enshrined in national law. This gave persecution the authority of the state and made it systematic.
Key Fact: On the night of 9-10 November 1938, Nazi mobs attacked Jewish property across Germany in a organised pogrom called Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass"). 191 synagogues were set on fire, over 7,000 Jewish shops were destroyed, 91 Jews were killed, and 20,000-30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.
Key Fact: After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, 2 million more Jews came under Nazi control. The Nazis forced Polish Jews into sealed, overcrowded areas called ghettos. The largest was the Warsaw Ghetto, where over 400,000 Jews were confined in an area of just 3.4 square km.
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1933 | National boycott of Jewish shops | SA intimidation; many shops damaged; some Germans ignored the boycott |
| 7 April 1933 | Civil Service Law | Jews expelled from government jobs, teaching, and the judiciary |
| 10 May 1933 | Book burnings | Books by Jewish and "degenerate" authors burned publicly |
| July 1933 | Law for Revocation of Citizenship | Naturalised Jews from Eastern Europe stripped of German citizenship |
| September 1933 | Reich Chamber of Culture | Jews excluded from arts, music, literature, and journalism |
| 1934 | Increasing local bans | Jews banned from parks, swimming pools, public transport in some areas |
| Reich Citizenship Law | Jews were no longer German citizens - they became "state subjects" (Staatsangehörige) with no political rights. Only those of "German or related blood" could be citizens | |
| Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour | Banned marriages and sexual relationships between Jews and Germans. Forbidden to employ German women under 45 in Jewish households |
Practice (10 minutes)
Q: Explain how the Nuremberg Laws affected the lives of German Jews. (4 marks)
Answer: The Nuremberg Laws (September 1935) stripped Jews of German citizenship, reducing them to "state subjects" with no political rights. They banned marriages and sexual relationships between Jews and Germans, and forbade Jewish households from employing German women under 45. The laws made anti-Semitism official state policy, moving persecution from SA violence to systematic legal discrimination.
Plenary (5 minutes)
Explain Back
Your student teaches the key points back to you without looking. Fill any gaps immediately.
Lesson 3: Application: nazi racial policy and the holocaust
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Recall the key terms: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust. Define each in one sentence.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide: Let your student attempt each question alone first, then compare with the model answer. Award method marks for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.
Q1: Explain how the Nuremberg Laws affected the lives of German Jews. (4 marks)
Answer: The Nuremberg Laws (September 1935) stripped Jews of German citizenship, reducing them to "state subjects" with no political rights. They banned marriages and sexual relationships between Jews and Germans, and forbade Jewish households from employing German women under 45. The laws made anti-Semitism official state policy, moving persecution from SA violence to systematic legal discrimination.
Q2: Why was Kristallnacht a significant turning point? (8 marks)
Answer: Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938) was a turning point because it marked the shift from legal discrimination to open, organised violence. 191 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses destroyed, 91 Jews killed, and 20,000-30,000 men sent to concentration camps. The Jewish community was fined 1 billion reichsmarks for the damage. It showed that there were no limits to Nazi persecution and convinced many Jews they had no future in Germany. After Kristallnacht, emigration accelerated and the remaining Jews in Germany lived in terror.
Q3: "The persecution of the Jews escalated gradually between 1933 and 1945." How far do you agree? (12 marks)
Answer: The persecution did escalate gradually, following a clear pattern: boycotts (1933) → legal discrimination (Nuremberg Laws 1935) → violent pogroms (Kristallnacht 1938) → ghettos (1939-1941) → mass shootings (Einsatzgruppen 1941) → extermination camps (1942-1945). Each stage was a radicalisation of the previous one. However, the escalation was not always smooth - there were leaps forward, particularly with Kristallnacht and the decision for the Final Solution after the invasion of the USSR. The war was crucial: it provided cover for genocide and brought millions more Jews under Nazi control. The escalation was gradual in method but accelerated dramatically by circumstances, especially the war.
Q4: Explain the purpose and decisions of the Wannsee Conference. (8 marks)
Answer: The Wannsee Conference (20 January 1942) was called by Reinhard Heydrich to coordinate the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question." The 15 officials present agreed that all 11 million European Jews would be transported to extermination camps in Poland. Eichmann would organise transport logistics. Some would be worked to death first ("annihilation through labour"). The conference did not decide to kill the Jews - that decision had already been taken. It was a bureaucratic meeting to organise the logistics of genocide efficiently across all occupied territories.
Q5: "Resistance to Nazi racial policy was impossible." How far do you agree? (16 marks)
Answer: Resistance was extremely difficult but not impossible. The White Rose group distributed anti-Nazi leaflets; the July 1944 bomb plot nearly killed Hitler; Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto fought the SS for 27 days; prisoners at Sobibor and Auschwitz led uprisings; individuals like Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg saved thousands. However, resistance was severely limited by: the terror apparatus (Gestapo, SS); the difficulty of organising in a police state; the fact that most Germans supported or acquiesced to Nazi policies; and the overwhelming military power of the state. All known resistance attempts failed to stop the genocide. Resistance was heroic but largely ineffective in changing outcomes.
Plenary (5 minutes)
Error Review
Review any questions answered incorrectly. Identify whether the error was knowledge, method, or reading the question.
Lesson 4: Exam Practice: nazi racial policy and the holocaust
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Command Words
Review what these command words require: state (one point), describe (say what happens), explain (say why), compare (both sides), evaluate (judgement).
Main Content (35 minutes)
Exam-Style Question
Attempt a past-paper style question on nazi racial policy and the holocaust from the exam board past paper finder (see Resources), then mark it against the scheme.
Exam Tips: Always trace the ESCALATION: boycott → laws → violence → ghettos → genocide. Examiners want to see you understand the progression | Use specific dates: Nuremberg Laws 15 September 1935, Kristallnacht 9-10 November 1938, Wannsee 20 January 1942 | The death toll is approximately 6 million Jews - always include this figure | Kristallnacht was organised by Goebbels, not "spontaneous" - the SA and SS were in civilian clothes to maintain the pretence | For resistance questions, acknowledge the extreme difficulty but give specific examples of those who tried | The Wannsee Conference was about LOGISTICS, not decision-making - the genocide had already begun | Remember that other groups were also pers
Common Errors: Watch Out! Students often think hyperinflation meant everyone suffered equally. Wrong: Hyperinflation meant everyone suffered equally Correct: People with savings and fixed incomes suffered most, but those with debts or land actually benefited. Foreign tourists could buy goods very cheaply. Students often think the nazis won a majority in a free election. Wrong: The Nazis won a majority in a free election Correct: The Nazis never won over 50% in a free election — their best result was 37.3% in July 1932. Hitler became Chancellor through backroom politics, not a majority vote. Students often think all germans supported the nazis. Wrong: All Germans supported the Nazis Correct: There was signi
Stretch & Challenge (Grade 8-9):
- Synoptic links: explain how nazi racial policy and the holocaust connects to another History topic you have studied
- Real-world: research one real-world use or example of nazi racial policy and the holocaust
- Critical: "What are the limitations of the models used in nazi racial policy and the holocaust?"
Plenary (5 minutes)
Assessment Criteria
- Got it: Confident explanation + correct worked examples
- Getting there: Main points OK, needs support with detail
- Not yet: Confused on key concepts - re-run Lesson 2
Homework & Consolidation
- Consolidation: Re-answer any Lesson 3 practice questions answered incorrectly (20 mins)
- Retrieval: Write flashcards for the key terms: key terms from nazi racial policy and the holocaust (10 mins)
- Exam practice: One past-paper question on nazi racial policy and the holocaust from the board websites (15 mins)
- Extension: Explain nazi racial policy and the holocaust to someone else in your own words (10 mins)