WWII / Holocaust Studies

The following learning targets represent the major concepts studied and assessed in this course.

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Unit 1: The War in Europe

• Explain the origins of World War II in Europe as it grew out of the imperfect peace that followed World War I.
• Describe the conditions of the German state which created the Third Reich.
• Identify and analyze major turning points in the conflict.

Unit 2: The Holocaust

• Explain the importance of antisemitism and racism in Nazi ideology that impacted the events of the Holocaust.
• Analyze historical trends and antecedents that led up to the “final solution.”
• Reflect on the roles and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and nations when confronting the abuse of power, civil and human rights violations, and genocidal acts.

Unit 3: War in the Pacific

• Understand the modernization of Japan and the rise of Japanese imperialism.
• Analyze the role of propaganda in war.
• Support an argument on the use of the atomic bomb to end the war using historical evidence.

Unit 4: The Aftermath

• Explain how wars shape the world.
• Describe the actions taken by countries and world agencies in order to establish an everlasting peace.
• Contextualize WWII in a larger sense of world history.