A book by the author of this essay provides the best background for issues raised here:

Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People In Depression And War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

These are other good recent studies of American life and politics in the period:

Brinkley, Alan. The End Of Reform: New Deal Liberalism In Recession And War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

McJimsey, George T. The Presidency Of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000.

Waddell, Brian. The War Against The New Deal: World War II And American Democracy. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2001.

Winkler, Allan M. Franklin D. Roosevelt And The Making Of Modern America. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006.

For comparable background on Germany and the rise and fall of Hitler's Third Reich, you might begin with these recent works:

Benz, Wolfgang. A Concise History Of The Third Reich. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

Lukacs, John. The Hitler Of History. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1997.

Nicholls, Anthony James. Weimar And The Rise Of Hitler. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000.

Williamson, D. G. The Third Reich. New York: Longman, 2002.

Your students might find the issues raised in this book especially interesting:

Stargardt, Nicholas. Witnesses Of War: Children's Lives Under The Nazis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.

Internet

To hear Professor Kennedy discuss his book, Freedom From Fear: The American People In Depression And War, 1929-1945, visit the Gilder Lehrman Institute's podcast page:

http://gilderlehrman.org/wp/?p=13

"Best of History Websites" has helpful list of links for materials on the Depression. "Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities and more" will be especially useful:

http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_GreatDepression.shtml

Wikipedia, which often has trouble monitoring materials on controversial modern history, has a balanced essay on Hitler:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler

To help your students learn about Nazi policies toward Jews, Gypsies, and other "undesirable" groups, go straight to the United States Holocaust Museum Website. You can easily download their excellent Teaching about the Holocaust: A Resource Book for Educators, which provides guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust, a historical summary and chronology, and an annotated bibliography and videography on Holocaust-related topics:

http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/

You'll also want to take a careful look at the links on the Museum's "Resources" page:

http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/resource/