Section+1+Summary

= Unit 3, Section1 Summary =

1920-1939 Nazis Nuremburg Laws The Holocaust The West's reaction

While Canadians at home were dealing with the Depression, even more devastating events were brewing in Europe. In this chapter you learned about the following:

- The terms of the Treaty of Versailles created great hardship and economic suffering in Germany, as well as feelings of humiliation.

- Adolf Hitler gained power through a combination of legal and illegal means. Once in power, he instituted programs to address Germany's economic problems and rebuilt the military. His anti-Semitic policies eventually led to the mass killing of Jews and other "undesirable" groups in death camps.

- Even after he began attacking other countries, Canada and other foreign governments favoured a policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

- Canada accepted very few Jewish refugees during the 1930s.

- In September 1939, Britain, France, and Canada finally declared war on Germany.

In the next section, you will learn about what happened during World War II - the second great war of the 20th century.

Wrap It Up


 * Understand It **

1. Make a timeline of the main political, economic, social, and military events described in this chapter.


 * Think About It **

2. Research some of the people in Germany who spoke up against the Nazis in the 1930s. Choose one of these people and work on your own or with a partner to write a report describing what the person did, and why you think that person is a hero.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">Communicate It **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">3. Work with a partner. Imagine it is 1938, and Hitler wants to take over the German-speaking parts of Czechoslovakia. Role-play a conversation between Prime Minister Mackenzie King and Winston Churchill in which each defends his own view on how to react to Hitler.

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">4. Imagine that you were one of the passengers on the SS //St. Louis//. Write a short letter to Prime Minister Mackenzie King in which you

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">a) describe some of the things that have happened to Jews under the Nazis, and

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">b) give reasons why he should allow all the passengers to settle in Canada.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">Apply It **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">5. At what stage do you think Canada and other Western nations should have acted to stop Hitler? What actions could they have taken to avoid a world war?