1. Hitler & Anti- Semitism

2. Why?  There is no known reason why Hitler hated Jews  But, there are 4 possibilities:  1) Hatred of Communist ideology  2) Hitler’s “Master Race” theory  3) Jews= Cause of all evil  4) Jews blamed for Germany’s loss of World War I

3. Hatred of Communism  Communism= Society where economic production controlled by members of the working class  Working Class vs. Bourgeoisie (Factory owners)  Workers will one day revolt against the bourgeoisie  Communism, according to Hitler, supported by ALL JEWS  Fascism was supported by wealthy industrialists; Hitler had to hate communism  Treaty of Versailles destroyed Germany’s economy  Hitler blamed Jews  Jews held great control of economy because they controlled important merchandises & expert fields  Jews not impacted as badly by poor economy

4. Master Race Theory  Hitler focused on racial purity of Germans; Influenced by Social Darwinism  Master Race= White people of Nordic descent  Traits of Nordic peoples= truthful, equitable, competitive, naïve, reserved, and individualistic  The Master Race referred to as the Aryans; Aryans= Pure race of Germany  Jews= Not a member of the Aryan race  Meaning Jews were perceived as an inferior race

5. Jews= Cause of all Evil  Hitler influenced by post-WWI German literature  German literature= Largely Anti-Semitic  Jews perceived as disloyal and untrustworthy  Incapable of being true German citizens

6. Jews & World War I  “Stabbed in the back” story  German loss blamed on “internal traitors”= Jews/Communists  Story widely believed and used as propaganda by German military to take responsibility away from them  Jews were believed to have started & profited from the War in order to destroy Europe; Desire to control Europe for themselves  Foreign Jews were helped by German Jews in peace negotiations after World War I; Allowed Germany to be punished

7. German Anti-Semitism  Gradual process:  1) 1933-1934= Jews became sub-human; Star of David and Juden placed on Jewish stores/shops in order to destroy Jews economically  2) 1935= Violence towards Jews escalated due to Nuremberg Laws  Jews defined by their family history, not if they were actually a member of the Jewish religious community  German citizenship taken away from Jews  Intermarriage between Jews & non-Jews illegal

10. German Anti-Semitism  Gradual process:  3) November, 1938= Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)  Pogrom against Jews; 10,000 Jewish homes, synagogues, and stores looted and destroyed  Jews forced to pay for the damages  4) 1939-1940= Germany begins WWII by invading Western half of Poland  Forced Polish Jews into ghettos in Poland  Eventually deportation of Jews would transform to eradication of Jews

11. Ghettos

12. Kristallnacht

13. The Holocaust (1942-1945)  A genocide in which Nazi Germany exterminated over 6 million Jewish men, women, and children  Used several concentration camps & death camps  Use of mass gassings to eradicate European Jews  ALL Jews were in danger; Women, children, elderly, and men

14. The Holocaust