What should you teach about the Holocaust if you don’t have a lot of time? This USHMM Holocaust Encyclopedia article offers suggestions.

Our advice is to begin with the list of concepts toward the end of the article under the heading, “Context for Understanding the Holocaust.” Entries from the Holocaust Encyclopedia that have audio versions are listed to help teachers accommodate students’ learning styles.

The article also provides a link to a short film titled The Path to Nazi Genocide. Caution! Do not show this film without previewing it! The film is an excellent overview of the Holocaust. However, it contains graphic images and is conceptually dense. We recommend that teachers make careful choices about showing clips from this film rather than the film in its entirety for two reasons: 1) Clips may be selected for students based upon the social-emotional maturity and academic background knowledge of the students. 2) This film is better sipped than gulped. Allowing time to process the concepts introduced in the film one or two at a time would be better than trying to digest the film as a whole – especially for younger learners.

USHMM. Holocaust Encyclopedia. “An Overview of the Holocaust: Topics to Teach.”