Activity Six

This activity is to accompany Unit Two of the Curriculum Guide.

Incorporating the C.E.L.s:

• Independent Learning
• Critical & Creative Thinking
• Personal & Social Values & Skills

Concept Application Lesson for:

• Totalitarianism
• Political Instability
• Racism
• Nationalism
• Propaganda

This simulation will increase students' understanding of the critical attributes of totalitarianism and of the methods totalitarian leaders use to obtain and retain public support.

Knowledge Objectives

The student will:

• know that concepts such as race and nationalism can and have been utilized by political leaders to gain the support of the public; and,
• know that emotions such as fear can play a significant role in the decision making within a state and can, on occasion, replace reason as the critical criterion in decision making.

Skills Development

The student will:

• practise using concepts in a grid to categorize and classify information so that it can be analyzed;
• practise using the following analytical skills:
  • defining the main parts,
  • describing cause and effect relationships, and,
  • describing how the parts of the whole are related to each other;
• practise applying concepts to contemporary situations as a method of categorizing and classifying information; and,
• practise drawing inferences from contemporary events.

Values Issues

The student will:

• discuss whether "morality" should play a significant role in the political decision making processes in a society;
• discuss whether "dangerous" leaders and groups, such as the Nazis, should be legally permitted to espouse their theories and run for election; and,
• discuss whether there should be limits to the right of free speech in a democracy.

Outline of the Activity

Step One

Review with the students how Hitler came to power in Germany. Note the tactics and tools he used to destabilize the existing political system and how he obtained the support of the German public.

Have the students construct a grid indicating how Hitler used the following concepts to obtain public support and power:

• racism;
• nationalism;
• fear;
• propaganda;
• economic changes;
• violence; and,
• interest groups.

Have the students imagine that they are a totalitarian leader.

• They are to prepare a step-by-step plan, using the above concepts, to obtain public support and political power.

A follow-up activity could feature a class discussion or the preparation of a short paper focusing on:

• Should morality play a role in politics?
• Should political leaders and parties that advocate violence and racial hatred be allowed to become involved in the political process in a democratic society?