About the inquiry

This 2016 Inquiry Challenge winner leads students through an investigation of the actions made by ordinary people during the Holocaust: to participate, to help, or to stand by. By investigating the compelling question “Are bystanders guilty too?” students evaluate the different routes of action/inaction, as well as the associated risks. The formative performance tasks build on knowledge and skills through the course of the inquiry and help students recognize different perspectives in order to better understand the ways in which everyday people had choices to either help or be complicit in persecution. Students create an evidence-based argument about whether bystanders should be seen as guilty after considering the actions of persecutors and rescuers, and assessing viewpoints concerning bystander responsibility in a totalitarian regime.

Compelling Question

Are Bystanders Guilty Too?

Staging Question

Read the Martin Niemöller poem, “First they came…” and discuss the possible consequences for individuals who stand up to bullies.

Summative Performance Task

Argument: Are Bystanders Guilty Too? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay) that discusses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from historical sources while acknowledging competing views.

Extension: Create a “Crash Course” style video that addresses the experiences of these four groups: perpetrators, rescuers, bystanders, and victims.

Taking Informed Action

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