The Nazi Hunters

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Mock Trial Transcript of a Nazi War Criminal”

In this activity, students will compose a transcript of a line of questioning between an attorney and an accused Nazi war criminal.

In addition to Eichmann, many Nazis were tried and found guilty of their crimes during WWII. In this Activity, you will develop a series of questions and answers that could occur between an attorney and a fictional Nazi war criminal on trial.

• Create a fictional character to stand trial. Consider the name, age, personality, and history of your character. Why is this person on trial?  
• Develop a series of questions for the transcript. What would an attorney ask the character on trial? What evidence might they bring into question?
• Your instructor will provide guidelines on the number of questions, the length of the transcript, and the format the transcript should be submitted in.

At the end of the Activity, reflect with your classmates on the similarities and differences between the text and the mock trial transcripts, particularly in relation to the themes of Justice for the Victims of the Holocaust and Legality Versus Morality.

Teaching Suggestion: For this Activity, students are invited to combine their creative, oratorial, and analytical skills in the context of a mock trial. Before students begin, it may be helpful to provide a developmental worksheet for their fictional characters. If appropriate, paired students may share their finished transcripts with the class by taking turns reading the different roles.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who struggle with generating ideas, it may help to assign partners. Student A may write the questions for Student B’s fictional character, for example, and Student B might write the questions for Student A’s fictional character. For students who may need more of a challenge, this activity could be reframed as an in-class mock trial in which students act out the parts in front of the class.