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Two Regimes: Witness to War

Purpose


The purpose of this lesson is to explore different forms of government by examining and interpreting primary and secondary historical sources.

Support Materials


All support materials for this lesson can be found at this Google Link:


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kPdVX-PypE8aBEqXexXioXXq3U5ou3DZ


Support Materials which are included in the above link are listed below.

NOTE: Be sure to preview all materials before using with your students

  1. Historical Overview for Two Regimes by Dr. Jonathan Grant

  2. Historical Overview of Holocaust by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

  3. 7

    th

    Grade Witness to War Exhibition

  4. Nadia Werbitzky Biographical Information

  5. Teodora Verbitskaya Biographical Information

  6. Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form

  7. Witness to War: Response Questions

  8. Questions to Ask about Governments

  9. Types of Government Graphic Organizer

  10. Forms of Government Scenarios Worksheet

  11. Teacher’s YouTube Videos for

  12. 7

    th

    Grade Exhibition Witness to War Videos

  13. Holocaust Hyperlinked Resource Material

  14. Additional Languages in YouTube videos of “Two Regimes – Witness to War”

Online Resources.

  1. 7

    th

    Grade Witness to War Videos

  2. World War II: Timeline, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC

  3. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007306


Florida: Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

SS.7.C.3.1 Compare different forms of government (direct democracy, representative democracy, socialism, communism, monarchy, oligarchy, autocracy).

FS 1003.42 Required Holocaust Education Mandate Public School Instruction

Authors


Amy Burch and Kelly Bowen

Formative Assessment


NOTE: Be sure to preview all materials before using with your students.


  1. Teacher will assess students’ ability to compare forms of government via verbal feedback to student’s verbal responses during 7th Grade Witness to War Exhibition discussion.

  2. Teacher will assess students’ ability to compare forms of government via verbal feedback to student’s written responses to Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form

  3. Teacher will assess students’ ability to identify and compare forms of government via written feedback to students’ written responses to Witness to War: Response Questions independent practice worksheet.
  4. Teacher will assess students’ ability to define and identify different forms of government via written response to Forms of Government Scenarios independent worksheet.
  5. Teacher will assess students’ ability to identify and describe different forms of government and tell how different forms of government impacted the lives of Teodora Verbitskaya and Nadia Werbitzky via written or verbal feedback to student’s written or verbal response to Exit Ticket assignment.

Feedback to Students

  1. Students will receive verbal feedback to their verbal responses during 7th Grade Witness to War Exhibition discussion.

  2. Students will receive verbal feedback to their written responses to Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form.

  3. Students will receive written feedback to their written responses on Witness to War: Response Questions worksheet.

  4. Students will receive written feedback on Forms of Government Scenarios independent practice assignment.

  5. Students will receive verbal or written feedback on Exit Ticket assignment.

Summative Assessment

Summative Assessment Task:

Students will write an essay that describes how the socialist governments of Lenin, Stalin and Hitler impacted the lives of families in Russia and Germany in 1930s and 1940s AND compares that socialist government and its impact on its citizens with the representative democracy form of government of the U.S.A. and its impact on the lives of its citizens today using information from Two Regimes: Witness to War.

Teachers will determine their own grading criteria. However, written responses should include specific examples from Two Regimes that demonstrate their understanding of forms of government.

Learning Objectives

Students will interact with primary and secondary sources to:

    1. Define and describe different forms of government (direct democracy, representative democracy, socialism, communism, monarchy, oligarchy, autocracy).

    2. Compare different types of government especially socialism and democracy.

Guiding Questions

      1. How did the socialist governments of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler impact the lives of families in Russia and Germany in the 1930s and 1940s?

      2. How does that compare with the representative democracy form of government in the U.S.A. today?

Prior Knowledge

      1. Students should have some background knowledge of forms of government.

      2. Students should have some background knowledge of WWII and the Holocaust.

      3. Students should have some background knowledge of the overthrow of the government of Nicholas II and the socialist government takeover of Stalin.

Pre-Teach Vocabulary

Socialism:

form of government where the economy is controlled by the government

Economy:

the wealth and resources of a country or family, especially with goods and services

Holocaust:

Mass killing of Europeans, especially the Jews, by the Nazis during WWII

Republic democracy:

form of government where the power is with the people

Collective farming:

small farms that are owned and controlled by the government

Concentration camp:

a place where large numbers of people are imprisoned to await death by mass killings

Steppe:

large area of flat, unforested grassland in southeastern Europe and Siberia

Kremlin:

location in Moscow of the central offices of the Russian government

Trench:

A large deep ditch

German prison camp:

a prisoner of war camp where outdoor work is done for the government

The following vocabulary will be introduced in to students in Historical Overview of Two Regimes by Dr. Jonathan Grant:

Absolute monarchy:

a form of autocracy where a person becomes the sole leader of a country by being born into a family of rulers; there are no limits on the monarch’s power

Autocracy:

a form of government where one person has unlimited power

Communism:

a form of government in which a single ruling party owns and controls the entire economy, and in which no private ownership is allowed

Dictator:

a military leader who becomes the head of a country, often by force

Direct democracy:

a form of government in which the power to govern is directly in the hands of the people rather than elected representatives

Monarchy:

a form of government headed by a king or queen who inherits the position, rules for life, and holds power that can range anywhere from between limited to absolute

Oligarchy:

a form of government in which a small group (often of wealthy people) has total control and power

Representative democracy/republic:

a form of government in which the people elect representatives to make laws for them

Socialism:

a form of government in which the government plays a major role in running the economy, but private ownership is also allowed and leaders may be elected by the people

Teaching Phase

Introduce lesson by telling the story of a Ukrainian woman named Teodora Verbitskaya and her daughters, Lucy and Nadia who experienced the military occupation forces of Nazi Germany in late 1941 during World War II. They witnessed the deportation of 7,500 Jews from Mariupol who were later murdered. The Germans forced Teodora and her daughters to move to Germany and serve as slave laborers. They were liberated from German control by American forces at the end of World War II.

Explain that Teodora Verbitskaya kept diaries of her life experiences that were later published. Then explain that her oldest daughter, Nadia Werbitzky, went on to become an artist and that many of her paintings are memory paintings from her life experiences as a young person.

Explain to students that in this lesson they will learn about different forms of government, which forms were in place in the Ukraine and Russia during WWII. They will learn how these forms of government, as well as the Holocaust impacted the lives of European people. This will be accomplished by interacting with the primary source memoir of Teodora Verbitskaya and paintings of her daughter, Nadia Werbitzky. Share that works of these two women were later published in a book entitled Two Regimes – A Mother’s Memoir of Wartime Survival.

For background information see Support Materials:

Historical Overview of Two Regimes by Dr. Jonathan Grant

Historical Overview by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

Nadia Werbitsky Biographical Information

Teodora Verbitskaya Biographical Information

Present Historical Overview for Two Regimes by Dr. Jonathan Grant to entire class.

Distribute Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form to each student to use to during presentation and afterward to detail how the governments under Lenin, Stalin and Hitler regimes impacted ordinary families in Russia and Germany.


Next, present 7th Grade Witness to War Exhibition PDF or Video to entire class.


After viewing Exhibition, have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss their responses on Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form.

In small groups, have students discuss the following discussion questions:

What did we learn about the forms of government?

How did the government impact the lives of these people?

Compare that to the way our government controls our family life.

Discuss student responses to discussion questions as whole group. Record for visual display if desired.

See Support Materials for:

Historical Overview for Two Regimes by Dr. Jonathan Grant

Historical Overview of Holocaust by Michael Berenbaum

7th Grade Paintings in Exhibition PDF

7th Grade Exhibition YouTube Video


Evidence of Government Involvement Note-Taking Form

Guided Practice

Distribute to each student a copy of Witness to War: Response Questions. Have each student complete independently. Discuss and share responses at the end of lesson.

Next, Distribute Questions to Ask about Governments and Types of Government Graphic Organizer to each student.

Allow students time work in pairs, or small groups to discuss both handouts and then complete the Types of Government handout.

Ask students to think about some of the advantages and disadvantages of each form or type of government.

Independent Practice

Distribute or display a copy of Forms of Government Scenarios worksheet to each student. Have students complete independently. Review and discuss afterward.

Closure

Exit Ticket:

Name and describe the 8 forms of government.

And

Tell how different forms of government impacted the lives of Teodora Verbitskaya and Nadia Werbitzky.

Accommodations

Students with visual or hearing difficulties may be seated closer to audio/visual equipment.

Students who are non-sighted will be provided with a verbal description of each painting.

Teacher should seek assistance from student’s ESE service provider in adapting necessary materials to meet student’s needs.

Teacher will stop the video as necessary for clarification and discussion.

Students who are unable to work in pairs for discussions may choose to share their ideas independently in writing.

Students who struggle with motor skills can use word processor or dictate the independent practice and summative assessment task.

Extensions

To further extend this lesson:

      1. Students may create role plays to present to the class that depict different forms of government. They should present a scene from which the rest of the class will have to identify the form of government the actors are “living” under.

      2. Students may research the form of government of participating countries during WWII and the role their government played in their participation.

      3. Students may research to learn how different forms of government have changed over time.

Further Recommendations

Teacher must determine if the paintings in the exhibition are appropriate for the class. It is recommended that the teacher listen to the narrative in advance of lesson.

Short Summary

Students will learn about different forms of government through a memoir entitled Two Regimes – A Mother’s Memoir of Wartime Survival written by Teodora Verbitskaya and illustrated by Nadia Werbitzky who experienced the military occupation forces of Nazi Germany during World War II, witnessed the deportation of 7,500 Jews who were later murdered, were forced to serve as slave laborers by the Germans, and were liberated from German control by American forces at the end of World War II.

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the Foundation for Leon

.