Many educators appreciate the value of using primary source materials in the classroom. The documents selected for this section provide many possibilities for classroom discussion or student activities. For additional primary source materials related to the Holocaust, see the Web link to the Nizkor archives at the bottom of this page.
A rationale for teaching with primary sources.
- Nazi Statements on "The Jewish Question." Excerpts from Hitler, Himmler, and others on the destruction of European Jewry.
- Hitler on Propaganda. Excerpts from Mein Kampf.
- Nazi Party Program. The 25 points of the National Socialist German Worker's Party.
- Munich Pact. The agreement concluded at Munich, September 29, 1938, between Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy.
- Nonagression Treaty. The Nonagression Treaty concluded in Moscow, August 23, 1939, between Germany and the USSR.
- Hitler Address. Address by Adolf Hitler before the Reichstag, September 1, 1939.
- Hitler Proclamation. Proclamation by Adolf Hitler to the German People, September 3, 1939.
- Communication from the German Government to the British Government. Communication from the German government to the British government, handed by Joachim von Rippentrop, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the British Ambassador (Sir Neville Henderson) at 11:20 A.M., September 3, 1939.
- The Wannsee Protocol. Minutes of the 1942 Wannsee Conference planning the annihilation of over eleven million European Jews.
- Discriminatory Decrees Against the Jews. This list of decrees was presented as evidence at the Nuremberg Trials.
- Kristallnacht. The Nazi order for the "spontaneous" violence of that evening.
- Night and Fog Decree. Directives for the prosecution of offences committed within the occupied territories against the German State or the occupying power, of December 7th, 1941.
- German Declaration of War with the United States, December 11, 1941.
- Euthanasia. Documents related to the murder and cremation of mentally handicapped patients.
- Medical Experiments. Reports on freezing, low pressure and other experiments performed on camp inmates.
- Sterilization of the Jewish workers. Nazi correspondence related to the purpose and means of sterilizing Jewish and other workers.
- Auschwitz. Documents related to Auschwitz' function as a death camp.
- Auschwitz. Nazi testimony regarding gassing at the camp.
- Belzec. Nazi testimony regarding gassing at the camp.
- Treblinka. Nazi testimony regarding gassing at the camp.
- Camps. Nazi testimony regarding gassing at various camps.
- Gassing Vans. Nazi correspondence detailing the operation of gassing vans.
- Gassing Vans. Nazi testimony about gassing vans.
- The Jager Report. A chilling report by the commander of one of the Einsatzgruppen,detailing the murder of 137,346 persons in a five month period.
- Documents about Mass Murder. Nazi correspondence, orders, and reports documenting mass murder.
- Crematorium Construction. Court testimony made by crematorium engineers.
- Life in the Warsaw Ghetto. Excerpts from Emanuel Ringelblum's description of life in the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Stroop Report. Excerpts from General Stroop's report on the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Stroop Report. Complete text of General Stroop's report on the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Hans Frank. Quotes from the Governor General of Occupied Poland.
- Heinrich Himmler. Quotes from the head of the SS.
- Julius Streicher. Quotes from the editor of Der Stürmer.
- The Eizenstat Report. U.S. and Allied Efforts to Recover and Restore Gold and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II.
- Proceedings of the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets
- Robert Jackson's Opening Address at the Nuremberg Trials. This
lengthy address gives an overview of Nazi activity and states the United
States' case against the accused at Nuremberg. Sections include:
- Opening remarks
- The lawless road to power
- The consolidation of Nazi power
- Battle against the working class
- Battle against the churches
- Crimes against the Jews
- Crimes against the Jews, Continued
- Terrorism and preparation for war
- Experiments in aggression
- War of aggression
- Conspiracy with Japan
- Crimes in the conduct of war
- The law of the case
- The crime against peace
- The law of individual responsibility
- The political, police and military organizations
- The responsibility of the Tribunal.
- Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Volume I Chapter VII:
Means Used by the Nazi Conspirators in Gaining Control of the German State
From The Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. 1946- Common objectives, methods, and doctrines of the conspiracy
- Methods
- The Fuehrerprinzip
- Glorification of war
- Nazi leadership
- Legal references and list of documents
- Acquisition of totalitarian political control
- Nazi conspirators supported their "legal" activities by terrorism.
- Control acquired
- Nazi conspirators caused all political parties, except the Nazi Party, to be prohibited
- Legal references and list of documents
- Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Volume I Chapter X:
The Slave Labor Program
From The Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. 1946- Planning for the use of slave labor
- Execution of the slave labor program
- Execution of the slave labor program
- Violent methods of deportation for slave labor
- Violent methods of deportation for slave labor
- Violent methods of deportation for slave labor
- Results of Slave labor program
- Conditions of deportation and slave labor
- Conditions of deportation and slave labor
- Conditions of deportation and slave labor
- Use of slave labor in war industries
- Use of slave labor in war industries
- Extermination through work
- Extermination through work
- Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Volume I Chapter XI:
The Concentration Camp
From The Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. 1946- The beginning of protective custody
- The beginning of protective custody
- The beginning of protective custody
- The beginning of protective custody
- The beginning of protective custody
- Charges against camp inmates
- The use of concentration camps for prisoners of war
- The concentration camp
- Use of the concentration camp as an instrument of terror
- The treatment of concentration camp victims
- The number of concentration camp victims
- Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Volume I Chapter XII:
Persecution of the Jews
From The Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. 1946- Introduction
- Hate propaganda against Jews
- Discriminatory decrees against Jews
- Anti-Jewish boycotts, raids, and violence
- The program for the complete elimination of Jewry
- Segregation into Ghettos
- Forced labor
- Extermination
- Starvation
- Annihilation
- Annihilation
- Methods of annihilation
- Annihilation
- Results of the extermination program
Visit the Nizkor archives for an invaluable collection of Holocaust-related
documents. This is the largest archive of Holocaust documents available on
the Internet. Although Nizkor is working to place these materials on the Web
for easier access, the bulk of the documents at this site are available only
by FTP.
Visit Yad Vashem for a carefully arranged collection of 213 Holocaust documents
in English.
Visit the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School for an outstanding collection
of documents in law, history and diplomacy.
If you find any materials at either of these sites that are particularly useful in the classroom, please send us the address of the document and a note about how you were able to use it in the classroom. We will consider including that document and/or activity in an update to the Teacher's Guide. Also, if you develop an activity using any of the documents already included in this resource section, please let us know.
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