Nazi Germany and the Holocaust

Campers pondered over Ron Skillern’s question in Nazi Germany & The Holocaust, “How could intelligent people follow a leader like Hitler who exterminated millions of people?”

Skillern encouraged students to look at the time period, and what was happening in the world. “What happened in 1929?” he asked. A student responded with “the Great Depression.” This global economic devastation was one of the factors that led to the rise in extremism.

The rise to extremism was further illustrated as the class watched a short film called “The Wave.” Based on a true story in Palo Alto, California in 1967, the 1981 film showed how a group of high school students were influenced by becoming a part of a movement called “The Wave.”

The made-for-TV movie gave the class a lot to unpack after it was over. “It was really powerful. They were just normal kids,” said Warner. “I am surprised that no one picked up that this is like the Nazis since they were studying about them.”

After stating this type of experiment would not happen in today’s classroom, Skillern asked if students saw how relatively easy it is to persuade people to follow a group. Most would agree that the teacher on the film was charismatic and felt sorry the kid who was typically bullied fell right in line with the authoritarian style or groupthink mentality.

Students are learning valuable lessons from the Holocaust, and through this exploration, have a better understanding of indifference, racism, and genocide, as well as our roles as citizens of a democracy.