Politics Activities

Students are assessed on their understanding of Nazi policy and attitudes towards Jews in the Holocaust, demonstrated through their analysis of written and visual representations and their conclusions drawn from a synthesis of information from these sources.

Your Graded Assessment Task will be assessed against each of the following criteria.

Excellent	Very Good	Good	Quite Good	Satisfactory	Ungraded
A	B	C	D	E	UG
Knowledge of Nazi treatment of Jews during the Holocaust and reasons for their attitudes and policies.

Analysis of written and visual evidence

Evaluation and synthesis of a range of written and visual representations

Your Graded Task will be awarded a letter grade based on your overall performance.

This grade will appear on your Unit 1 report and is the equivalent of the following rating:

The Graded Task is divided into two parts, each worth 25 marks making a total of 50 marks. The breakdown of letter grades for VCE Units 1 & 2 at DECV for marks out of 50 are as follows:

Breakdown of marks

A	45-50
B	40-44
C	25-39
D	11-24
E	1 – 10
UG	Unsatisfactory

OUTCOME 2

GRADED TASK 1

ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIONS

There are four representations, two written documents (Part A) and two visuals (Part B).

Under each section there are a number of questions; you can write your answers in the space provided if you wish and detach the pages and post them to DECV.

You should write in complete sentences. You must NOT use dot points. You do NOT have to repeat the question.

Make sure you attach the Week 10 Cover Sheet to the front of your work.

The Holocaust

PART A

REPRESENTATION 1

The ‘Final Solution’ of the Jewish question meant the complete extermination of all the Jews in Europe. I was ordered to establish extermination facilities at Auschwitz in June 1941. At that time there were already in the General Government of Poland three other extermination camps; Belzec, Treblinka and Wolzek…I visited Treblinka to find out how they carried out their extermination. The camp commandant at Treblinka told me he had liquidated 80 000 in the course of half a year…He used carbon monoxide and I did not think his methods were very efficient. So when I set up the extermination building at Auschwitz, I used Zyklon B, which was a crystallised prussic acid which we dropped into the death chamber from a small opening. It took from three to fifteen minutes to kill all the people in the death chamber, depending on climactic conditions. We knew when the people were dead because their screaming stopped. We usually waited about half an hour before we opened the doors and removed the bodies. After the bodies were removed our special commandos took off the rings and extracted the gold teeth of the corpses. Another improvement we made over Treblinka was that we built our gas chambers to accommodate 2000 people at one time, whereas at Treblinka their ten gas chambers only accommodated 200 people each.

Description by Rudolf Hoess, commander of several concentration camps, during his trial for war crimes in 1946.(Hoess was sentenced to death and in March 1947 hanged at Auschwitz.) from the Nuremberg Proceedings, as quoted in W. L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Pan, London, 1964, pp.1151-1152

What was the ‘Final Solution’?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

Who was the author of this account and what was his role?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 + 1 marks)

Why did he believe that his method of extermination of the Jews at Auschwitz was more efficient than that at Treblinka?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(3 marks)

REPRESENTATION 2

The ‘selection’, which decided which Jews were to be worked and which ones immediately gassed, took place at the railroad siding as soon as the victims had been unloaded from the freight cars in which they had been locked without food or water for as much as a week – for many came from such distant parts as France, Holland and Greece. Though there were heart rending scenes from parents, none of the captives, as Hoess (see Representation 1) and survivors agree, realised just what was in store for them. In fact some of them were given pretty picture postcards marked ‘Waldsee’ to be signed and sent back home to their relatives with a printed inscription saying: ‘We are doing very well here. We have work and we are well treated. We await your arrival.’ The gas chambers themselves and the adjoining crematoria (the ovens where the bodies were cremated), viewed from a short distance, were not sinister-looking places at all; it was impossible to make them out for what they were. Over them were well-kept lawns with flower borders; the signs at the entrance merely said ‘BATHS’. The unsuspecting Jews thought they were simply being taken to the baths for delousing which was customary at all camps. And taken to the accompaniment of sweet music! For there was light music.An orchestra of ‘young and pretty girls all dressed in white blouses and navy-blue skirts’, as one survivor remembered, had been formed from among the inmates.

To such music, recalling as it did happier and more frivolous times, the men, women and children were led into the ‘bath house’, where they were told to undress preparatory to taking a ‘shower’. Sometimes they were given towels. Once they were inside the ‘shower-room’ – and perhaps this was the first moment they may have suspected something was amiss, for as many as two thousand of them were packed into the gas chamber like sardines, making it difficult to take a bath, – the massive door was slid shut, locked and hermetically sealed. Up above where the well-groomed lawn and flower beds almost concealed the mushroom-shaped lids of vents that ran up from the hall of death, orderlies stood ready to drop into them the amethyst-blue crystals of hydrogen cyanide, or Zyklon B, which had originally been commercially manufactured as a strong disinfectant…

An American War Correspondent writes from the Jewish perspective about the experience of the gas chambers. These were composites s testified by inmates and gaolers.

From W. L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Pan, London, 1964, pp.1153-1154

Describe the conditions under which Jews were transported.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

Why does the writer say that most of the Jews were not aware of their coming fate? Give two reasons.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(2 + 2 marks)

What evidence did the American war correspondent rely on for his information?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

A) From whose perspective was representation 1 written?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

B) From whose perspective was representation 2 written?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

Explain the similarities and differences between the two accounts?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(5 + 5 marks)

Part A Total /25

PART B

REPRESENTATION 3

A. Cloake, Nazi Germany, Oxford University Press, 1989, page 38

Imagine that you are explaining the photograph above (Representation 3) to a person with limited vision. Describe exactly what you see. A hint is to start from the left hand side of the picture and work your way across to the right.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(5 marks)

Who are the people in the photograph?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

What do you think they might be feeling?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

What do you think happened next?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

REPRESENTATION 4

Inmates in Auschwitz had to lead the bodies of their fellow-prisoners into ovens for cremation.

A. Cloake, Nazi Germany, Oxford University Press, 1989, page 40

Imagine that you are explaining the photograph above (Representation 4) to a person with limited vision. Describe exactly what you see. A hint is to start from the left hand side of the picture and work your way across to the right.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(5 marks)

Who are the people in the photograph?

____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

What do you think they might be feeling?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

What do you think happened next?

_____________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

Are the sources of the photos reliable? In other words, how historically accurate are they? You should refer to the written documents Representations 1 and 2, as evidence to support your answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________

(9 marks)

Part B Total /25

FINAL MARK /50

GRADE:

STUDENT NAME:

Criteria for Assessment

Students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will, as a cultural expression of its time and place in history, demonstrated through their synthesis of a range of evidence. Students are also assessed on their use of evidence to support statements and demonstration of historical conventions such as the use of appropriate quotations, acknowledgement of sources, and inclusion of a bibliography.

Your Graded Assessment Task will be assessed against each of these criteria and scored as follows:

Excellent	Very Good	Good	Quite Good	Satisfactory	Ungraded
A	B	C	D	E	UG
Knowledge and understanding of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will, as a cultural expression of its time and place in history, including key concepts.

Synthesis of evidence from a range of sources

Use of evidence from primary and secondary sources to support statements

Demonstration of history conventions including the use of appropriate quotations, acknowledgement of sources, including a bibliography

GRADE:

Your work will be assessed against the criteria provided on the next page and awarded a grade depending on the way in which you address the criteria.

Here are the descriptors for a typical performance in each grade:

Grade	Descriptor: typical performance in each range
A = Excellent	Student provides a very thorough and detailed analysis of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of a specific society and time in history. Understanding and knowledge are displayed in a very comprehensive manner. Evidence is drawn from a very wide range of sources, including primary sources to demonstrate very skilful synthesis of information. Key skills are very thoroughly demonstrated.
B = Very Good	Student provides a thorough and detailed analysis of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of a specific society and time in history. Evidence is drawn from a wide range of sources, including primary sources to demonstrate skilful synthesis of information. Understanding and knowledge are displayed in a comprehensive manner. Key skills are thoroughly demonstrated.
C = Good	Student provides appropriate analysis of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of a specific society and time in history. Evidence is drawn from an appropriate range of sources, including primary sources to demonstrate adequate synthesis of information. Understanding and knowledge are displayed in an appropriate manner. Key skills are adequately demonstrated.
D = Quite Good	Student provides a basic coverage of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of a specific society and time in history. Evidence is drawn from a limited range of sources, including primary sources to demonstrate some synthesis of information. Some understanding and knowledge are displayed. Key skills are demonstrated at a simple level.
E = Satisfactory	Student provides only a brief coverage of Leni Riefenstahl’s film Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of a specific society and time in history. Evidence is drawn from only a few sources. Limited understanding and knowledge are displayed. Key skills are demonstrated in a very limited manner.
UG = Ungraded	The task is not completed satisfactorily

Graded Task 2: Film analysis

Produce an analysis of Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Willas a cultural expression of its time and place in history.

Your analysis should:

demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the content of the film and its relationship with its historic context
identify the main motifs (repeated themes/subjects) and purpose of the film using evidence to support statements
demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the techniques used by Riefenstahl as a filmmaker to convey these themes and purpose. Techniques include camera angles, use of light and sound, symbols, staged effects, motifs
comment on how the film reflects on Nazi Germany and reveals the spirit of its time
comment on whether the film is a powerful documentary and/or propaganda tool
include historical conventions such as quotations, and provide acknowledgements, including a bibliography.

INSTRUCTIONS

The analysis of Triumph of the Will as a cultural expression of its time will be completed as a Report.

This Task is not an essay where you need to have an introduction, body and conclusion, rather, a report is written under headings. In order to help you prepare and plan your response some dot points below could be used as a guide when viewing the DVD again.

Opening scene
comment on the use of images and sound
explain the role these play in setting the scene, for example, their symbolic meaning, the establishment of a certain atmosphere
explain how scenes of Nuremberg are utilised in this part of the film, that is, their effect or purpose
explain how Hitler is first introduced to the audience and the effect that Leni Riefenstahl achieved.

Hitler’s motorcade
describehow depicts Hitler’s entry into Nuremberg
what techniques does Riefenstahl use to enhance his entry into the Nuremberg

Parades and rallies
identify and describe the main parades and rallies filmed at Nuremberg, pointing out the different participants and settings
comment on the atmosphere of each and how Riefenstahl helps establish the sense of mass support for the Führer
comment on the use of imagery in the film, for example, what use does she make of the Nazis’ favourite symbols-swastikas, flags, eagles?
describe how Riefenstahl depicts Hitler as these parades and rallies. For example, how does she convey the impression of him being a godlike leader, and a man in absolute charge of millions of Germans?
how are architectural features, light and dark, and music used to heighten a sense of religious fervour?
identify special camera angles and shots e.g. close ups, panoramic shots, shots from a height or from a low angle. Provide specific evidence of these and comment on their effect
many of the scenes are not staged, Riefenstahl just let the cameras capture what was occurring, however the footage contains one staged scene, that shows the German Labour Service Workers:

‘The labourers, standing on the Zeppelin Field in military formation, perform a manoeuvre with their spades that resembles a soldier’s rifle drill. In unison they announce their motto: ’one Führer, one people, on Reich, one Deutschland’. Hitler replies that a manual worker is as good as any other worker and that Nazism is opposed to class barriers.’[1]

Some 52 000 German Labour Front members attended this rally. The focus given to them and their spades represents their contribution to the re-building of Germany.[2]

How is this part of the film staged and filmed by Riefenstahl to capture a sense of a united nation of workers dedicated to their Führer and Germany? When answering, comment on the use of sound in this segment of the film.
What techniques does the film use to create a sense of a master race of people?

Questions:

Explain in your own words what is meant by the term cultural expression

Watch two programmes:

Biography on Leni Riefenstahl and her body of work in film
Excerpts from Triumph of the Will.

After watching the documentary on Leni Riefenstahl’s life, answer the following questions.
a) Who was Leni Riefenstahl?
b) What sort of films did Leni Riefenstahl star in at the beginning of her career?
c) Why was Leni Riefenstahl chosen by the Nazis to make a film?

Question 1

Using your own words, explain the meaning of the term ‘film genre’.

Expressionism andBergfilmwere two German film genrespopular during the Weimar Republic. Describe the characteristics of both.

c) Why do you suppose these types of film flourished during the Weimar years 1919 to 1933?

From your own knowledge, provide at least two examples of film genres that are popular with cinema audiences today, give an example of a film from each genre and explain how these are a cultural product of contemporary society.

Question 2

How was the German film industry useful to the Weimar Republic?

What was LeniRiefenstahl’s contribution to German film during the Weimar Republic?

Question 3

Why and how did the Nazis involve themselves in the German film industry after 1933?

What does ‘propaganda’ mean?Why did the Nazis promote propaganda films?

How did Hitler and Goebbels differ in their approach to propaganda through film? Support your answer with evidence.

Answer preview

Students are assessed on their understanding of Nazi policy and attitudes towards Jews in the Holocaust, demonstrated through their analysis of written and visual representations and their conclusions drawn from a synthesis of information from these sources.

Your Graded Assessment Task will be assessed against each of the following criteria.

Excellent Very Good Good Quite Good Satisfactory Ungraded

A B C D E UG

Knowledge of Nazi treatment of Jews during the

Holocaust and reasons for their attitudes and policies.

Analysis of written and visual evidence

Evaluation and synthesis of a range of written and visual representations

WORD COUNT:4225WORDS

FORMAT:APA