Subject: English
Grade: 9-12
Brief Description
Students will look at how language can be manipulated to soften the
impact of what is happening.
Objectives
- Students will consider Nazi euphemisms.
- Students will find and collect euphemisms used today.
Key words
Euphemism, manipulate, deportation, annihilation, propaganda
Lesson Plan
Nazis used euphemisms to hide or blur the reality of what they were
doing. Here are some examples:
What they said What it meant
Deportation Traveling to concentration camps and killing center
Police Actions Round ups that often lead to mass murder
Final Solution The planned annihilation of every Jew in Europe
Find five examples of euphemisms in a newspaper, a news magazine,
or on the Internet. Good places to start are stories about military
action, business news, and the obituaries.
Assessment
Read your list to the class and listen as they read theirs. Talk
about the purpose of the euphemisms? Why is the language is being
manipulated this way. As the reader, how does that make you feel?
Discussion Questions
- What is the difference between euphemisms and propaganda?
- In what ways are they the same?
