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The Holocaust

Stage 5
History: Year 10
Topic: 
The Modern World and Australia

The Holocaust

The history of the modern world and Australia from 1918 to the present, with an emphasis on Australia in its global context.
Key inquiry question #1: 
What were the consequences of World War II? How did these consequences shape the modern world?
Key inquiry question #2: 
How was Australian society affected by other significant global events and changes in this period?

Content summary

Students investigate in depth ONE school-developed topic drawn from the context presented in the Stage 5 overviews, 'The Making of the Modern World' or 'The Modern World and Australia':

  • The Holocaust

Background Notes for Teachers

Ask students to:

  1. Analyse Muriel Doherty's letter, paying particular attention to detail.
  2. Answer the questions.
  3. Conduct additional research using links provided to online articles.

Addtional Resources

  • Biography of Muriel Knox Doherty, ‘Australia’s War 1939-1945’.
  • Russell, R. Lynette, 'Doherty, Muriel Knox (1896–1988)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  • Muriel Knox Doherty, Letters from Belsen 1945: an Australian nurse's experiences with the survivors of war, edited by Judith Cornell & R. Lynette Russell. Doherty, M. K. (Muriel Knox), 1896-1988, St. Leonards, N.S.W: Allen &​ Unwin, 2000.
  • ‘Off the record - the life and times of Muriel Knox Doherty 1896-1988: an autobiography’, edited by R. Lynette Russell. Doherty, M. K. (Muriel Knox), Glebe, NSW: New South Wales College of Nursing, 1996.

Student Activities

Activity 1

The Holocaust

Students learn about Muriel Knox Doherty and her experiences at the liberated Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

Number of set tasks: 2

NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum History K - 10

Outcomes

A student:

  • HT5-1 explains and assesses the historical forces and factors that shaped the modern world and Australia
  • HT5-3 explains and analyses the motives and actions of past individuals and groups in the historical contexts that shaped the modern world and Australia
  • HT5-4 explains and analyses the causes and effects of events and developments in the modern world and Australia
  • HT5-5 identifies and evaluates the usefulness of sources in the historical inquiry process
  • HT5-7 explains different contexts, perspectives and interpretations of the modern world and Australia
  • HT5-9 applies a range of relevant historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding of the past

Historical Skills

Students:

Comprehension: chronology, terms and concepts

  • read and understand historical texts
  • use historical terms and concepts in appropriate contexts (ACHHS165, ACHHS183)

Analysis and use of sources

  • identify the origin, content, context and purpose of primary and secondary sources (ACHHS169, ACHHS187)
  • process and synthesise information from a range of sources as evidence in an historical argument (ACHHS170, ACHHS188)
  • evaluate the reliability and usefulness of primary and secondary sources for a specific historical inquiry (ACHHS171, ACHHS189)

Perspectives and interpretations

  • identify and analyse the reasons for different perspectives in a particular historical context (ACHHS172, ACHHS173, ACHHS190, ACHHS191)
  • recognise that historians may interpret events and developments differently (ACHHS173, ACHHS191)

Empathetic understanding

  • interpret history within the context of the actions, values, attitudes and motives of people in the context of the past (ACHHS172, ACHHS173, ACHHS190, ACHHS191)

Research

  • ask and evaluate different kinds of questions about the past to inform an historical inquiry (ACHHS166, ACHHS167, ACHHS184, ACHHS185)
  • identify, locate, select and organise information from a variety of sources, including ICT and other methods (ACHHS168, ACHHS186)

Historical concepts

  • Perspectives: people from the past may have had different views and experiences
  • Significance: the importance of an event, development, group or individual and their impact on their times and/or later periods

LAC

Learning across the curriculum:

  • Critical and creative thinking
  • Information and communication technology capability
  • Literacy
  • Personal and social capability