Develop knowledge and understanding:
To deepen student knowledge and challenge common misunderstandings, in this chapter they will learn:
- What the British government knew about the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews and how they responded.
- That Britain did not fight the war to save Europe’s Jews but argued the best way to help them was to defeat Nazi Germany and win the war.
Challenge myths and misconceptions:
Here is a summary of the key myths and misconceptions that we identified in our research and that we are aiming to challenge through this textbook chapter content and its supporting materials:
- Britain fought the war to save the Jews of Europe
Should you choose to share this with students it is very important to be clear that this is a false statement and it needs to be taught about with sensitivity and skill.
Access the research briefing that is relevant to this textbook chapter content here:
Research briefing 6: Britain and the Holocaust
Suggested activities:
Case studies / further enquiry: How did the British government respond?
Students can access these websites to undertake further research about the case studies (p.82):
Jewish refugees and the Kindertransports
https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/?s=kindertransport
Bernd Simon
https://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/a-bitter-road-online
The Boys
https://www.worldjewishrelief.org/about-us/the-boys
Support for in chapter activities:
Support for Activity p. 80: Timeline / sorting activity: What did the British government know and how did they respond?
Use the card sort, resource sheet 5.4.1 to help students to sort the events on the timeline into two categories.
DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 5.4.1
Support for Activity p. 83: Interpretations / extended writing: which of the three interpretations do you consider best reflects Britain’s response to the Holocaust?
Use the writing frame, resource sheet 5.4.2 to help students to scaffold their written responses to this question.
DOWNLOAD: Resource sheet 5.4.2
Additional resources for teachers:
Further reading materials:
Bauer, Y. (2002) Rethinking the Holocaust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
Breitman, R. (1998) Official Secrets: What the Nazis planned, what the British and Americans knew. New York: Hill and Wang.
Cesarani, D. (1996) ‘Great Britain’. In D.S. Wyman (ed.) The World Reacts to the Holocaust. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 599–641.
Gilbert, M. (1981) Auschwitz and the Allies. New York: Henry Holt.
Kushner, T. (1994) The Holocaust and the Liberal Imagination: A social and cultural history. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lacquer, W. (1998) The Terrible Secret: Suppression of the truth about Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’. New York: Henry Holt.
London, L. (2000) Whitehall and the Jews, 1933–1948: British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust. Cambridge: CUP.
Wallis, R. (2014) Britain, Germany and the Road to the Holocaust. London: I.B. Tauris
Wasserstein, B. (1988) Britain and the Jews of Europe, 1939–1945. Oxford: Institute of Jewish Affairs/Oxford University Press.
Wyman, D.S. (ed.) (1996) The World reacts to the Holocaust. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.