German Nationalism: Eugenics Lesson 1

An introduction to the topic that students were being assessed on in this particular unit: Eugenics in Nazi Germany. Other relevant terms that were explained in this lesson include euthanasia, hereditary, Aryan, Ubermensch, Untermensch

The lesson began by defining eugenics and sources of this ideology. Notes that students were to copy were underlined.

Information (historical context) was provided about the places that this happened in the world during the 20th Century. Specific examples of what happened in the USA (Indiana and Chicago) based on information sourced from a reputable journal article.

This was followed by some slides looking at how Social Darwinism was used to justify practicing eugenics. From here, I explored what transpired in Germany and how Jewish people became victims. There are slides explaining the Nazi party’s platform and how Jewish people were used as scapegoats to blame for Germany’s manifold problems.
A screen shot from a textbook which summarises major anti-Jewish laws that were introduced between 1933-1939. The subsequent slides provided information about specific laws including the 1933 “German Law on Hereditary Disease” and the 1935 “Marriage Health Law.”

This is followed by information about 2 key eugenicists / scientists in this era: Dr Ernst Rudin and Dr Josef Mengele. Students will learn about their motives and intentions + their actions (progression from eugenic theory > compulsory sterilization > to the killing of mentally ill patients + experimenting on twins).

For homework, students were given a list of scientists from this era. They chose one to research and had to create a poster to communicate their findings to the class.