1. Holocaust

2. Definition
holocaust- (n. Greek holo, “whole”; caustos. “burned”) A great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire
Holocaust-The systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II

3. Problems in Germany
Treaty of Versailles (1919) - signed after WWI blamed Germany for causing the war and made them pay heavy reparations ($33 billion)
Hyperinflation in Germany (1923) trillion Reichmarks to purchase one US dollar

4. Rise of Hitler
Mein Kampf (my struggle) (1925) - details Hitler’s radical ideas and becomes ideological base for the Nazi party
German Nationalism
Anti-Semitism
And anti-communism
Aryans are the superior race
1933- Hitler and the Nazi party come to power

5. Nuremburg Laws Strict guidelines for determining who was Jewish
Deprive Jews of basic civil rights
Marriage between Jews and non-Jews illegal
Sept German Jews required to wear a yellow star on their clothing

6. Kristallnacht (Nov. 9 1938) - night of broken glass
Nazi’s destroyed 200 synagogues, 7,000 Jewish businesses, hundreds of Jewish homes
First large round up of Jewish men

7. Ghettos (created 1939)
Used to consolidate the population of Jews in Poland
Separate walled-off areas of cities
Only Jews were allowed in or out
People died of disease and starvation
Mass deportation of German Jews not until Sept 1941
There were 356 ghettos created by the Nazi’s
Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Lublin, and Lvov

8. Killed Jews and communists
Einsatzgruppen (1941) - mobile killing squads in Poland and Soviet Union
Killed Jews and communists
“Final Solution” Jan plan outlined by Reinhard Heydrich to exterminate entire Jewish population in Europe by using extermination camps (death camps)
Camps built in Poland
Inmates were stripped of possessions and forced into gas chambers
Zyklon B

9. Concentration camps Built throughout Europe Served as slave labor
Worked in factories or mines
Long hours and poor nutrition led to many deaths
Some served as temporary holding until they were sent to extermination camps
Hitler commits suicide on April 30, 1945