History · Year 11

Active learning ideas

Concentration Camps Pre-1939

Active learning helps students grasp the nuanced evolution of concentration camps before 1939 by making abstract historical processes concrete. When students analyse sources, debate perspectives, and map changes over time, they move beyond memorisation to understand how systems developed gradually and how different groups were affected differently.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• GCSE: History - Weimar and Nazi Germany

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Phases of Camp Evolution

Divide class into expert groups, each assigned a phase (1933 political prisons, 1934-1935 expansion, 1936-1938 terror tools, 1938-1939 pre-war scale). Groups analyse provided sources then regroup to teach peers and co-create a class timeline. Conclude with whole-class synthesis of changes.

Explain the initial purpose and target groups of the concentration camps before 1939.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw activity, assign each expert group a phase of camp evolution and provide a set of primary sources to annotate before teaching their findings to classmates.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How did the initial purpose of concentration camps differ from their function by 1938?' Ask students to identify at least two distinct target groups and two different reasons for internment for each period, citing evidence from their notes.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 45 min · Pairs

Source Carousel: Targets Over Time

Set up six stations with primary sources (photos, reports, prisoner accounts) on different target groups. Pairs spend 5 minutes per station noting purpose shifts, then return to base to compile evidence into a table. Discuss patterns as a class.

Analyze how the concentration camp system evolved from political prisons to instruments of terror.

Facilitation Tip

During the Source Carousel, place targets on separate stations and have students rotate in small groups to record evidence on a shared chart, forcing them to compare and contrast Nazi policies over time.

What to look for

Provide students with a short, anonymized quote from a contemporary newspaper or personal letter discussing rumors of arrests or camps. Ask them to write one sentence explaining how this quote reflects the psychological impact of the camps on the German population.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 40 min · Small Groups

Role Cards: Psychological Impact Debate

Distribute role cards representing ordinary Germans (shopkeeper, teacher, worker). In small groups, students use evidence to argue how camp knowledge affected daily life and compliance. Vote on strongest impacts and link to Nazi control.

Assess the psychological impact of the camps' existence on the wider German population.

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Cards debate, assign roles that represent different societal perspectives (e.g., prisoner, guard, journalist) and require students to use evidence from their previous activities to justify their positions.

What to look for

On a slip of paper, have students list one specific group targeted by early concentration camps and one specific group targeted by later camps. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining a key difference in the *reason* for their internment.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Experiential Learning
• 35 min · Pairs

Map It: Camp Network Growth

Provide blank Germany maps. Individuals or pairs plot camp locations from 1933-1939 using data cards, annotating target groups and purposes. Share maps in a gallery walk to assess national psychological reach.

Explain the initial purpose and target groups of the concentration camps before 1939.

Facilitation Tip

In the Map It activity, provide an outline map and have students collaboratively plot the growth of the camp system, using data from the Jigsaw and Source Carousel to label each site and explain its significance.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How did the initial purpose of concentration camps differ from their function by 1938?' Ask students to identify at least two distinct target groups and two different reasons for internment for each period, citing evidence from their notes.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching this topic effectively requires balancing sensitivity with historical accuracy. Avoid presenting the camps as inevitable or monolithic; instead, emphasise how policies escalated in response to political and social contexts. Research shows that students engage more deeply when they see the camps as part of a broader system of control, not isolated events. Use structured discussions to help students process the emotional weight of the material while maintaining focus on evidence and analysis.

By the end of these activities, students will clearly distinguish between the early purpose of concentration camps and their later functions. They will identify key target groups at different phases and explain how fear, labour, and punishment were used to enforce conformity. Most importantly, they will challenge oversimplified assumptions through evidence-based discussion.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Jigsaw: Phases of Camp Evolution, watch for students assuming camps targeted only Jews from the start.

  Direct students to the expert group materials for 1933-1935, which focus on political opponents, and ask them to present this evidence first before discussing later phases.

• During the Source Carousel: Targets Over Time, watch for students interpreting early camps as extermination centres.

  Have students highlight language in the 1933-1935 sources that describes forced labour, detainment, or 're-education,' and contrast it with later sources that describe harsher conditions.

• During the Role Cards: Psychological Impact Debate, watch for students oversimplifying public awareness or indifference.

  Prompt groups to cite specific evidence from the Source Carousel or Map It activity, such as media reports or prisoner releases, to support their claims about societal reactions.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Experiential Learning