Holocaust Webquest
Introduction:
You are reading the autobiography Night by Elie Wiesel. In preparation for this reading, it is extremely important that you gain the
necessary background information in order to understand what Mr. Wiesel is referring to. This book is very disturbing as Mr.
Wiesel shares his experiences in a Nazi Concentration Camp during World War II. Throughout the book, you will read about his
horrific journey through the evil and terrible process a young Jew in Hitler’s way often suffered. Mr. Wiesel has taken it upon
himself to “bear witness” and share his testimony with the world in hopes to prevent such terrible genocide in the future. He has
left his written work so that the world may never forget… “When we are forgotten, we cease to exist.”
Task:
Your class has been put in charge of accumulating information regarding the history of the Holocaust and how it has affected
our world today. Among your class, you will be divided into smaller groups and each group will then be asked to research
aspects of the Holocaust. You should assign roles and research to each person in your group. Once your group members have
researched your group’s topic on the approved sites, they should answer the questions following on the topic. It is important that
each person do their individual research and then compile the information as a group as the second task. Each member of the
group then should share the information they found with their remaining group members. This information will then be used to
create a PowerPoint presentation in which your group will present your findings to the class.
Process:
1. Assign roles to each member of group:
Group Member
a. Fuhrer: Leader delegates tasks to group and keeps everyone on task __________________________________
b. Recorder: Compiles responses to questions
__________________________________
c. Technology Guru(s): 1­2 students create the Powerpoint Presentation __________________________________
d. Speaker: Shares information on PowerPoint with the class __________________________________
ALL MEMBERS of the group are responsible for helping with the production of the PowerPoint presentation. How this is
completed is up to each individual group.
2. Divide research up among your group and begin researching to find answers to your topic related questions.
3. Use the information your group members researched to create a PowerPoint presentation in order to inform the class about the
topics (helpful hint: you may want to create slides individually, then put together at the end).
Topic 1: What was Kristallnacht (Crystal Night or “The Night of Broken Glass)?
Questions:
1. When did Kristallnacht happen and what was it?
2. What was the supposed spark that initiated this violence?
3. What was the role of police on this night?
4. What is “pogrom?”
5. After Kristallnacht, what happened to many Jews?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Possible Sites:
Kristallnacht: A Nationwide Pogrom, November 9­10, 1938
Kristallnacht: How Did Religious Leaders in the United States Respond?
Kristallnacht: The November 1938 Pogroms
Kristallnacht: The November 1938 Pogroms | Photos
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Commemorates 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht
Topic 2: How did Hitler gain power and begin Nazi Rule?
Questions:
1. How and when did Hitler gain power and what was the Third Reich?
2. Who were the SS?
3. What was “Nazi Propaganda,” and how was it used?
4. What is euthanasia?
5. What is “anti­semitism?”
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Possible Sites:
Adolf Hitler
Hitler Comes to Power
Nazi Propaganda: 1933­1945
Nazi Rule
Topic 3: What was life like in a Concentration Camp?
Questions:
1. What are some of the things that happen to the prisoners when they first got to the camps?
2. What was “Selection?”
3. What was the difference between death camps and labor camps?
4. What happened to the personal items people brought them?
5. What were crematoriums and what were gas chambers?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable.
Possible Links:
Concentration Camp Listing
Concentration Camps, 1933­1939
Forced Labor: An Overview
Nazi Camps
Topic 4: Did anyone try to save the Jews?
Questions:
1. How did some people try to rescue Jews?
2. What was the “Resistance” movement?
3. How were some children hidden?
4. What happened during uprisings in camps?
5. What happened during uprisings in ghettos?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Possible Sites:
Rescuers
Chiune Sugihara: Visas For Life
Raoul Wallenberg and the Rescue of Jews in Budapest
Rescuers From the Holocaust/Introduction
Topic #5: What was “ghetto?”
Questions:
1. How was a ghetto formed?
2. What kind of things did they have in a ghetto?
3. What were some of the rules of the ghetto?
4. How did the Nazis keep the Jews in the ghetto?
5. What happened after the Jews left the ghettos?
6. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Possible Sites:
Ghettos
Krakow (Cracow)
Life in the Ghettos
Lodz
Music of the Holocaust
Theresienstadt
Voices from the Lodz Ghetto
Warsaw
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Topic #6: What was the “Final Solution?”
Questions:
1. What was the “Final Solution?”
2. Who were implementers of the “Final Solution?”
3. How was the “Final Solution” supposed to be carried out?
4. How many Jewish lives were lost as a result of “The Final Solution” and the Holocaust?
5. Add any other interesting facts you think would be valuable to your research.
Possible Sites:
"Final Solution"
"Final Solution" Overview
The "Final Solution"
Wannsee Conference and the "Final Solution"
***Feel free to use different web sites. Just make sure they are credible sources (see notes from research paper). There may
also be valuable information on the Kentucky Virtual Library.****
Evaluation:
You will be assessed based on 2 different criteria:
1. Web Quest (10­points):
a. Answers to questions will be graded
b. Ability to work on computer and research
c. Ability to work with a group
2. Powerpoint
____ Colorful/ Easy to read/ Easy to see (3 points)
____ Graphics used appropriately (3 points)
____ 10 + slides (3 points)
____ Spelling and grammar (3 points)
____ Main points highlighted, not just paragraphs to read (5 points)
____ Appropriately illustrates research/ Citation slide in MLA format at the end (www.easybib.com may help) (8 points)
____ Total for PowerPoint Presentation (25­points)
Conclusion: Hopefully after your research you have found some of the events leading up to and defining the Holocaust and can
be prepared to share this information with the rest of the world. Unfortunately no matter how many facts or how much research
we do, we cannot possibly begin to imagine the terrifying events many of the survivors faced. Keep in mind as we begin reading
the book, Night, all of the information you have researched and use it to help you attempt to imagine the world that shaped Elie
Weisel’s childhood.