Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. What emotions/imagery of Jewish people do you think the Nazis are trying to
inspire in the average German when they see this poster of an elderly Jewish
man? What in the poster encourages these emotions/images?
The Nazis are trying to depict this Jewish man as someone who cannot be trusted, is
greedy and looks seemingly ‘shifty’ in appearance. The stash of coins in the man’s Commented [JG1]: Yes, very true, but what physical
hand, for example, suggests that he has obtained a lot of money and in 1930’s features in this poster make him look ‘shifty?’ Is the man’s
face depicted in such a way to look ‘shifty’ and/or
Germany this would have been a great point of both envy and, hence, hate of Jews untrustworthy for example? What about the choice of
for the financially poorer Aryan Germans; the Nazis are preying on this in this colours in the poster?
propaganda. Commented [JG2]: Yes good, this was a common
propaganda tactic of the Nazis to draw hate of Jews from
Aryan Germans
2. For what purpose do you think the Nazis would use the name “The Eternal
Jew” to accompany this poster?
They used this title in the poster because it implies that the problems that this Jewish
man represents have been here for a long time and seemingly are not going to go Commented [JG3]: Think about what this means on the
away if nothing is done. Indeed, his physical wrinkles on his face and ‘old’ larger scale of the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’ and anti-Semitism.
Is this representing ALL Jews or just this one man?
appearance suggest that he is been around for many years and is continuing to be a
‘historical problem’ for Aryan Germans. The Nazis are Implying that, without action in
stopping the Jew, he is going to stay almost immortal and doom all Aryans. Commented [JG4]: Good, well done!
3. What do you think the image of the bundle of the barbed-wire in this man’s
grasp is representing in this anti-Semitic poster?
The barbed wire in this poster is representing German Jews need to be policed or
controlled in order to be stopped. Afterall, the Jewish man’s face is twisted in almost Commented [JG5]: This is one representation you can
a grimace as he holds the barbed wire; he is being depicted to be sort of take away from the role of the barbed wire in the poster,
good. Alternatively, you could think more about what the
detained/restricted or unwilling to do too much harm to Germans thanks to this Aryan viewer of the poster is seeing when they look at the
‘thorny’ barbed wire in his hand. barbed wire; is the barbed wire in his right hand a threat of
violence?
4. This Jewish man is depicted next to a jigsaw piece of land with the
communistic hammer and sickle symbol on it by the Nazis, what could this be
suggesting about this said man and others like him?
The hammer and sickle symbol is clearly depicting the Soviet Union/communism,
meaning that the Nazis are painting Jews, like the man in the poster, as similar/equal
to communists, the enemy of ‘socialism’/the Third Reich. The Jewish man’s
seemingly high regard of communism then, which can be seen with his depicted
reluctance to part with the jigsaw piece, is a Nazi anti-Semitic statement towards
Jews, in that, they are betraying their Aryan countrymen, or somehow being dirty, in
adhering to such values. Commented [JG6]: This is a very well-developed
supporting sentence to your hypothesis/first sentence.
Source 2: A warehouse full of shoes and clothing
Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp, 1945. (Institute of Contemporary History Paris, 1945)
5. Considering the location of the 1945 photograph above, who do you think
these missives piles of shoes and clothes belonged to?
It can be said that these piles of shoes and clothes belong to the Jewish prisoners
that would have been imprisoned/exterminated. Commented [JG7]: Expand on this, how do you know
this? Directly refer to the source to actively support your
6. Are there any reasonable assumptions that can be made about what hypothesis when responding to historical questions such as
happened to the owners of all these thousands of clothes/shoes in the this one. A good hypothesis/historical judgement is only as
good as it’s supporting evidence.
photograph? Why are all these clothes/shoes left in such a disorganized,
uncaring state?
Being a concentration camp, it is likely that almost all, if not all, of these people were
exterminated in the gas chambers at the camp, and their clothes were maybe used
for material resources for the Germans to use after their deaths. The fact that Commented [JG8]: Can you be 100% sure about this by
thousands of these shoes and clothes are strewn about the warehouse, unsorted, looking at this source alone? Maybe look to gather more
evidence to support this in future questions/tasks like this
dirty and uncared for, suggests that a lot of Jewish people ended up exterminated in one.
the gas chambers, with the German guards really not caring what happened to their
clothes/to them/their property. Commented [JG9]: Great observation and critical
thinking towards this source, well done!
Source 3: The gatehouse entrance to Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp
7. Can any historical conclusions be drawn from the fact that the Nazi’s built
strong railway tracks, from across Europe, all the way up to the front entrance
of camps like Auschwitz, which have lasted even to this day?
It can be concluded that since the Nazis built a strong railway network up to the ‘front
door’ of camps like Auschwitz, the Nazi railway system across Europe played a key
role in transporting European Jewish people (and other minorities) towards their
deaths in gas chambers. In fact, train transport seems like the only strong, timely and
visible way that is still observable today (in camps like in the above photo) to have
been historically reliable in transporting 6 million to their deaths daily. Commented [JG10]: I think 6 million PER DAY is an
overstatement, but I do see what you are trying to say. Be
8. What emotional reaction would a prisoner think of when they see this camp sure to be concise and accurate with your vocabulary and
entrance for the first time, after being in a hot, overpopulated train for sentence structuring.
9. What representation can be drawn from Clauberg and the Nazis’ apparent
emphasis on ‘sterilizing’ as many people as possible while only relying on a Commented [JG13]: Reference to source material/quote
doctor and a few ‘assistants?’ is very effective, could have extended upon this with a
dedicated, additional sentence though to support your
This represents the Final Solution, in that, it acknowledges the Nazis’ focused, hypothesis here.
planned and structure goal to eliminate, or ‘sterilize,’ Jewdom from Europe at a Commented [JG14]: Very good, although you could have
governmental level with many personnel. acknowledged the systematic role/construction of
concentration camps here as well.
10. Considering the historical period of the quote, why is Clauberg emphasizing to
Himmler his apparent ‘sterilizing’ of so many people so very quickly?
Because the war was nearing its end/was already turning bad for the Nazis and the
Final Solution, for Clauberg, Himmler and others, needed to have been completed
for Hitler and the Nazis to be truly ‘successful’ in building their Third Reich/defeating
the Allies. Commented [JG15]: Can all of this be 100% reinforced by
evidence from this quote here? Try expanding upon this
Summative Task using evidence with another sentence or two.
Commented [JG16]: My effective professional use of
Internal Assessment Task 3: Historical Research Essay on the Holocaust timely, positive, accessible, constructive feedback to
students is demonstrated in the below comment boxes. As,
Task Distributed: 20/09/2020 each comment seeks to constructively improve this
student’s formative assessment responses (italic
Task Due Date: 16/10/2020 paragraphs) to the historical sources included in my self-
developed said formative assessment here.
Throughout this unit of work, you, as a senior student of Modern History, have both
historically explored the events of the Nazi party’s Holocaust or
genocide/persecution, of the Jewish people (and other groups) from 1933 to 1945.
Drawing upon both the knowledge you have gained over this unit and beyond, this
assessment task asks you to write, in the written form/genre of a historical essay, a
historical response that is both supported by peer-reviewed research/evidence
and offers a sustained historical argument about the Nazi’s Final Solution. The
entirety of this historical essay needs to not only support your own self-developed
hypothesis (the main argument of your essay) but also ensure that your said
hypothesis addresses, in turn, a key inquiry question that you, yourself, will be
creating individually on your own (Queensland Curriculum & Assessment
Authority, 2017).
However, in doing so, your inquiry question needs to address and explore ONE of
the following historical areas of the Holocaust:
1. The Nuremberg Laws
2. Adolf Hitler/the Nazi’s use of anti-Semitism to rise and continue to hold power
3. The construction and impact of the Jewish Ghettos
4. Nazi concentration camps throughout Nazi-controlled Europe
5. The mass transport projects that made the ‘Final Solution’ possible
6. Your own area of interest about the events of the Nazi Holocaust, so long as it
is approved in discussion with your teacher
Conditions: