Holocaust propaganda: Nazi Children's book activity on the Poisonous Mushroom

Aimed at children, The Poisonous Mushroom was perhaps the most powerful piece of anti-Semitic propaganda in the Third Reich and a highly effective resource when teaching about Nazi propaganda and its’ relationship to the Holocaust. This critical thinking activity gets students involved and helps illustrate how deeply ingrained Nazi ideology was in prewar German society. By asking students to write a caption for cartoons from the book, then showing them the actual captions, students can see how crude but sophisticated and targeted the propaganda was. In addition, because these images are colorful cartoons, students typically take a greater interest than black and white photographs. The Poisonous Mushroom is so powerful that a copy of it is on display at the US Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Washington DC today.

This easy to use, organized activity includes:

• Background information on The Poisonous Mushroom

• 12 full color cartoons and the accompanying text from The Poisonous Mushroom

• Complete teacher directions

• Student analysis sheet for each cartoon (with simple directions for students)

• A list of Nazi Anti-Semitic stereotypes students use to identify stereotypes in the cartoons


Best wishes and I look forward to your feedback,

The Past is a Blast