What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander.
​ - Elie Wiesel 

Upstanders and bystanders in wwii

“How could this have happened? Why didn’t anyone stop the Nazis?” These are questions we are forced to confront as we study the events of World War II. In this unit, you will explore stories of individuals, groups, and nations who made choices to resist the Nazis and rescue Jews and other victims of persecution. You will also explore stories of bystanders—individuals, groups, and nations who knew about the persecution of Jews and others but decided to remain silent. These stories raise profound moral and civic questions for us: Under what circumstances do we stand up to injustice and violence? Under what circumstances do we stand by while injustice continues? To whom are we responsible? What are the consequences of our choices— for ourselves, our families, and our communities?

Unit Goals

Key vocabulary
  1. Students will understand the causes, events, outcomes, and effects of World War II according to their impact on past, present, and future societies.
  2. Students will understand the role of the U.S. government in WWII in reference to its contributions to the war and how it affected the outcome of the war.
  3. Students will be able to identify the significance of  the attack on Pearl Harbor and the atomic bomb.
  4. Students will be able to identify and contrast the Holocaust and the internment of the Japanese. 
  5. Students will be able to analyze and discuss the various stages of the Nazi Holocaust that occurred during WWII. 
Holocaust, Shoah, antisemitism, caricatures, swastika, Nazi, Jew, Romani, Hitler, Third Reich, Aryan, Nuremberg Laws, scapegoat, synagogue, ghetto, final solution, concentration camp, genocide, victim, bystander, upstander, internment, ally, fascism, 

Enduring Understandings

Essential Questions
  1. War changes a society. Societies make good and bad decisions in a time of war, but they all have consequences.​
  2. Women and African Americans gained more rights as a result of the demand for wartime labor and production.
  3. Some American citizens were singled out for prejudicial treatment because of race or nationality; members of such groups still sought to prove their patriotism and loyalty.
  4. Some wars are considered “just” wars because people believe they must confront an evil enemy.
  1. Under what circumstances do we stand up to injustice and violence?
  2. Under what circumstances do we stand by while injustice continues?
  3. What choices and decisions do societies face in war? 
  4. What factors led to the rise of dictators? Why do dictatorships flourish during times of depression?
  5. How are freedom and democracy threatened during times of war?
  6. What is propaganda? What is rhetoric? How are propaganda and rhetoric used during times of war?
  7. Is it ever justified to use a weapon of mass destruction?

Unit assignments
Read two books of your choice about World War II and write a minimum of a 250 word critical analysis of each book.

Using what you have read and other class material write a reflection on what you think Elie Wiesel ​meant in the quote at the top of this page.

Write a 500 word essay that answers one of the Essential Questions.
Macario Garcia
Watch the story of Macario Garcia, a WW II hero. Follow this link
The Hangman
Read the poem and watch the videos below.
After you watch the videos, answer five (5) of the following questions in your notebook. Three (3) of the five MUST be questions 8, 9, and 10.
  1. How does the Hangman explain why he’s taking more people? What excuses does he make? Why should these excuses NOT work?
  2. Who are the 3rd and 4th victims and why does no one speak up for them?
  3. How does the ‘coward’s hope’ always serve the Hangman and the criminal?
  4. The second person executed by the hangman is pulled out of the crowd for criticizing the hangman (he is the man who shouts “Shame!” at the hangman).  What impact does this have on the other people in the town? Use text evidence from the poem to support your response. 
  5. The scaffold from which the townspeople are hanged grows with each new victim. What animal or being does it eventually look like?
  6. The hangman executes everyone in the town until only the narrator is left alive.  The hangman tells the final victim that it is he for whom he built the scaffold because the narrator as “served {the hangman} most faithfully.”  Explain how the narrator has served the hangman faithfully as he murdered all of the people in town. 
  7. How do you think Maurice Ogden feels about bystanders? Refer to evidence from the poem when explaining your answer.
  8. What do you think is the trick in the hangman’s riddle that the noose is meant for “He who serves me best”? Who would ALWAYS end up serving the hangman?
  9. Who is responsible for standing up for others?
  10. Under what circumstances does that responsibility change?
Due Dates:

All work is due before the end of the unit. Whatever you cannot complete in class needs to be done as homework. Your notebook will be collected and graded twice, about halfway through the unit and at the end of the unit. Do not wait to turn work in. As you finish a task give it to me for feedback and grading.