Alabama Social Studies SS24.HOS.11b

Social StudiesGrades 9–12The War in Europe

The Standard

SS24.HOS.11: Summarize the events leading to the outbreak of World War II and how Germany’s actions violated the Treaty of Versailles.*

Evaluate the significance of the German invasion of the Soviet Union and how the “Commissar Order” reflected an extension of Nazi racial policies.*

2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies · The War in Europe

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how Germany's 1941 attack on the Soviet Union opened a vast new front. They connect the planned killing of captured Soviet political commissars to Nazi racism and anti-communism.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain how fighting the Soviet Union drained German forces and changed the course of the war. They can use the order's date to show that the killings were planned before the invasion.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the killing order was a response to Soviet resistance, rather than a plan made before the invasion. They may think it targeted every Soviet prisoner instead of captured political commissars. Some miss how Nazi racism shaped military orders.
How to Assess It: Give students two dates: the order was issued June 6, and the invasion began June 22, 1941. Ask what the timing shows about Nazi plans and how the invasion changed the war.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a 1941 Europe map and colored pencils; have them trace the invasion routes and mark the new Eastern Front.
Show a short excerpt of the order and ask: What did German leaders plan to do to captured commissars, and why?
Give groups cards for the order, invasion, mass shootings, and failed drive on Moscow; have them sequence the events and explain two links.
Have students write a 40-word museum label for an Eastern Front map explaining how the invasion exposed Soviet captives to Nazi killing orders.

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