Life in Nazi Germany

As part of our penultimate unit in Grade Ten, students are examining societal changes under the Nazi Regime in the 1930s & 1940s.  To introduce this topic students looked at Taika Waititi’s,  ‘Jojo Rabbit’ (2019).  The film follows the experiences of a member of the Hitler Youth Movement in the dying stages of World War II.  

The task for the class was to compare and contrast this film with a film of their choosing that also deals with life under the Nazis.  The main focus was to examine which film presented the class with a greater educational insight into the impact of Nazism on the people of Germany.

The comparative piece was to be presented in the form of a magazine film review & had to include relevant evidence to critique the strengths & weaknesses of each film as an educational resource, for students to use in order to understand the various ways in which fascism radically altered the socio-economic, & political landscape.

The Usual Suspects such as Schindler’s List & The Pianist were covered, alongside more obscure titles such as The Captain, Das Boot, & the Academy award-winning, Life is Beautiful.  Areas of focus students sought to identify included: Resistance, Indoctrination, Propaganda, Militarism, & Persecution/Antisemitic policies.

This unit works hand-in-hand with the English department’s focus on Nazism/The Holocaust, & serves as a great foundation for their focus on Elie Wiesel’s Night.

 

Matt Broughton
mbroughton@isps.edu.tt
Unit: Life in Nazi Germany
Class: Individuals & Societies
Grade: 10